Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 October 2023
122. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when call four of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund will be open to local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44234/23]
View answerFollowing the review of the National Development Plan, the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) has been extended to 2030 with an associated level of additional investment. To date there have been two Calls for proposals under the URDF with more than €1.6 billion provisionally allocated so far in respect of 132 proposals, comprising of almost 400 projects.
In January of this year, my Department announced a third round of funding support under the URDF. Supporting key objectives of Housing for All and Town Centre First, this round of URDF support specifically addresses long term vacancy and dereliction across URDF eligible cities and towns.
My Department intends to launch a fourth round of URDF funding during 2024, which will revert to the wider scope of URDF projects. This further round of funding will provide an opportunity for a number of the ‘pipeline’ projects which have or will emerge from master planning exercises carried out under Calls 1 and 2 to be considered for funding.
The URDF is an innovative programme which is improving the liveability of our cities and towns and making a real difference to their social and economic sustainability and development. For the first time local authorities have the opportunity to coordinate their planned regeneration and rejuvenation of our large towns and cities with a stream of tailored Exchequer capital investment, ensuring that the right project is happening in the right place.
