Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 May 2021
71. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there is an appeals process for unsuccessful applicants under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund; if so, the process for submitting an appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22860/21]
View answerThe primary focus 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. All applications for URDF support are assessed in terms of their alignment with the intended purpose of the URDF and also their viability before being considered for approval.
The second call for proposals under the URDF was launched in January 2020 and a copy of the circular setting out the objectives of the Fund and application conditions together with the application form and assessment criteria have been available on my Departments website since then at the below link:
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/bcc0ae-eligibility-for-the-urban-regeneration-and-development-fund/
Also, to assist local authorities with the application process my Department hosted a number of workshops to provide information on the purpose of the URDF programme and the types of proposals that would be considered for support.
In all seventy six proposals were received, with every local authority submitting at least one application, and involving competing demands with a total combined value exceeding €2 billion. Before being considered for approval all applications were assessed in terms of their alignment with the intended purpose of the URDF programme and their viability, and also in the context of the many competing demands on the limited funds available.
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.
Ultimately, following this comprehensive assessment process, thirty proposals were not approved for any URDF support under Call 2.
In this regard my Department is currently issuing the local authorities involved with a copy of the assessment produced in respect of their unsuccessful proposals together with a document that sets out the related assessment process.
Should the local authority require further feedback or information on the matter my Department will be available to meet with local authority officials, and if following that meeting the local authority wishes to pursue the matter further it will be open to the local authority to request a process review which will be undertaken by my Department's Management Board.
