Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 October 2017
176. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the method and criteria used in assessing projects under the town and village renewal scheme; if a scoring system was used; if the county councils and voluntary groups have been advised of the system; the score that needed to be achieved to be approved funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43094/17]
View answerThe 2017 Town and Village Renewal Scheme was launched on 13th April last, with a focus on improving the economic development of our rural towns and villages. The scheme forms an important part of the Action Plan for Rural Development.
When the scheme was launched, Local Authorities were given full particulars of how the scheme would operate, including the scheme outline and detailed information regarding the qualifying conditions, assessment criteria and scoring system that would be applied. Local Authorities were also required to advertise for expressions of interest from towns/villages in their area and to select up to 15 proposals for development into detailed applications to be submitted to the Department.
My officials assessed each Town and Village application under 5 separate criteria:
- Economic Development potential;
- Strategic nature of the proposal, in line with Local Economic and Community Plans (LECPs);
- Demonstration of need and potential;
- Realistic nature of the proposal; and
- Value for Money.
In order to reach a minimum qualifying standard, a score of at least 65% had to be achieved under each of the criteria listed above.
On the 4th October last, I published a list of 281 successful towns and villages that will be supported under the 2017 scheme, to a total value of €21.6 million.
