Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 September 2018
33. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the guidelines for indigenous businesses and enterprises to access the €2 billion urban regeneration and development fund and the €1 billion rural regeneration and development fund that he recently announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30458/18]
View answerI launched the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) in July as part of Project Ireland 2040 to support the compact growth and sustainable development of Ireland’s five cities, regional drivers and other large urban centres. The URDF is designed to leverage a greater proportion of residential and commercial development, supported by infrastructure, services and amenities, within the existing built-up areas of our larger urban settlements.
My Department has responsibility for implementing the URDF, which has an allocation of €2 billion over the 10-year period of the National Development Plan (NDP) to 2027. The first call for proposals under the URDF is currently open and will run until 28 September.
Proposals under the Fund, which will operate on a competitive, bid-based Exchequer grant basis, are required to demonstrate that they will be:
- Innovative and transformational urban regeneration projects;
- Public-sector led and with the option of community and/or private sector partners;
- Matched by at least 25% direct funding from other public and/or private sources;
- Based on a minimum bid of €2m;
- A catalyst for development that would not otherwise occur; and
- Likely to leverage significant further public and private sector investment.
My Department has encouraged participation by the business and enterprise sector in the application process, as long as proposals are public sector-led in an overall sense and in line with the stated criteria as set out in the application form.
Detailed information on the URDF and the application process, including a detailed explanatory note, is available at the following links: www.gov.ie/urdf and www.npf.ie/urdf.
