Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 January 2016
234. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his proposals to introduce specific programmes through the local authorities to assist small businesses to maintain and create employment in villages and small towns that have lost vital public services in recent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1715/16]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, specific programmes for creating and maintaining employment are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. However, in the context of supporting the sustainable development of communities all over Ireland, my Department does have a remit which includes support for the development of rural towns and villages. As part of this remit my Department operates a number of schemes, including the Social and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) and the LEADER elements of the Rural Development Programme, that deliver a range of benefits and supports to communities throughout Ireland, including those in our rural towns and villages. Details of these schemes and other schemes delivered by my Department are available on my Department’s website at the following weblinks: http://www.environ.ie/en/Community/LocalCommunityDevelopment/ and http://www.environ.ie/en/Community/RuralDevelopment/EURuralDevelopment/RuralDevelopmentProgrammeLEADER2014-2020/.
In addition to the SICAP and LEADER programmes, the Government recently announced a new Town and Village Regeneration scheme, which will be delivered by Local Authorities in conjunction with local communities to support the sustainable development of Ireland’s towns and villages.
This new scheme is part of a concerted effort to support the development and revitalisation of rural towns and villages, not only as a component of a broader approach to rural development but also to improve the environment of rural dwellers in a way that will increase their quality of life and simultaneously support potential economic activity in their areas into the future. The scheme will be multi-annual in nature and will have an overall budget of €30 million. It is proposed to allocate €5m to the scheme each year from 2016 to 2021. Details of the application process will be available shortly.
