The primary focus of Call 2 of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is on supporting projects that will contribute to compact growth and that will improve the liveability of our cities and towns. In total, my Department received 76 project proposals (with a total URDF ask in excess of €2bn) with every local authority submitting at least one proposal. Because of the nature of the URDF programme, many proposals were of significant scale, cost and complexity, and so each required detailed consideration. All applications were assessed in terms of their alignment with the intended purpose of the URDF and also their viability before being considered for approval.
The assessment process involved four distinct parts: -
- An initial assessment of all proposals carried out by my Department was provided to a Project Advisory Board (PAB) comprised of civil servants, specialists in the various relevant sectoral areas and representatives from other interested Government Departments/Agencies.
- The PAB considered each proposal in terms of the set URDF assessment criteria and made recommendations on suitability for consideration for URDF support.
- The PAB recommendations were reviewed by a sub-group of the Department's Management Board.
- Final recommendations were submitted for my consideration.
A copy of the detailed assessment of the unsuccessful proposal for the Port Access Northern Cross Route has been provided to the applicant, Louth County Council. My officials are available to engage with Council officials to provide any feedback/information required on the assessment of this proposal.
