Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 31 May 2023
211. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will confirm that the grant offer of €200,000 to an organisation (details supplied) under the town and village scheme in January 2021 will remain in place, as the project has been delayed but is now almost ready to be commenced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26432/23]
View answerThe Town and Village Renewal Scheme is part of a range of measures to support the revitalisation of rural Ireland. The programme is funded under Project Ireland 2040 and supports the objectives of Our Rural Future, Ireland's Rural Development policy, as well as the Town Centre First policy.
Since the introduction of the Scheme in 2016, over €149 million has been approved for more than 1,600 projects across the country.
Under the 2020 Town and Village Renewal Scheme Galway County Council was allocated funding of €690,000 for 6 projects. Of this, Claregalway was allocated €200,000 for the construction of an extension to the Community Centre to develop a 10-desk digital innovation hub. The completion date for projects funded under the 2020 Town and Village Renewal Scheme was 31 August 2022.
The Town and Village Renewal Scheme is administered by local authorities on behalf of my Department. Officials from my Department have engaged with Galway County Council over the last number of months on this project and have acknowledged the hard work of the local authority in seeking to progress a viable project for the community. However, as project costs have increased substantially since the proposal was submitted in October 2020 and it is more than a year beyond the deadline for completion but building work has yet to commence, it would be prudent for Galway County Council to decommit this project and consider preparing a revised proposal for submission under a future call. The 2023 Town and Village Renewal Scheme is due to be announced in June.
In November 2022, my Department made an offer of €30,000 to Galway County Council towards the cost of pre-development works done to date, i.e. preparations of drawings, tenders etc. To date this offer has not been accepted by Galway County Council, but this still remains available if the local authority wishes to avail of it.
My Department also offers funding opportunities to support the refurbishment of buildings through the LEADER Programme and the Rural Regeneration Development Fund, subject to certain conditions. Galway County Council may consider pursuing a proposal under one of these schemes, if consistent with scheme terms and conditions, for the full works envisaged.
