Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 December 2023
414. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount provided to Wicklow County Council in Urban Regeneration Development Funding in 2022 and 2023 in respect of the Bray Harbour improvement project; the amount of this funding that has been drawn down to date; the amount unspent; and the amount allocated for 2024 and 2025. [54918/23]
View answer415. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has engaged with his Ministerial colleague and or officials in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in respect of the Bray Harbour improvement project; the amount of funding he has committed to providing for the project; and if he has released funds to the local authority to date for the project. [54919/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 414 and 415 together.
A key measure in Project Ireland 2040, the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) programme is supporting significant transformational capital projects that will contribute to the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s five cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the National Planning Framework.
To date there have been three Calls for proposals under the URDF with more than €1.8 billion provisionally allocated. Calls 1 and 2 have supported 132 proposals, comprising almost 400 individual projects whilst Call 3 is supporting the tackling of vacancy and dereliction through a €150m revolving fund.
In 2021, following the second call for proposals under the URDF, I announced a preliminary allocation of €7,140,000 towards Wicklow County Council's proposal for the regeneration of the Bray Harbour Area. The proposal, made up of 6 individual projects, includes amenity and public realm works, promenade boardwalk linking the promenade with the harbour, a cycle bridge, and a feasibility study to examine options to enhance the amenities of the existing harbour, such as a harbour wall extension.
In line with URDF policy, the preliminary allocation of €7,140,000 represents the maximum 75% URDF grant funding available for an approved project. Wicklow County Council propose to fund, from its own resources, the remaining 25% of the overall estimated project costs of €9,520,000.
It should be noted that while my Department works closely and communicates regularly with Wicklow County Council in respect of the Council's URDF programme, responsibility for the advancement of Wicklow County Council's URDF supported projects through the various stages of planning, development and completion is, in the first instance, a matter for the Sponsoring Agency, Wicklow County Council. Accordingly, any detailed queries regarding the proposal, their engagements with other potential funding partners and/or the various statutory processes should be directed to the Council.
Following a recent URDF Programme meeting between officials from my Department and Wicklow County Council, the Council submitted a Preliminary Business Case for the Bray Harbour proposal to my Department for consideration and approval as part of Decision Gate 1 of the Public Spending Code. My Department is reviewing the submission and giving further consideration to the continued advancement of the proposal. The Bray Harbour proposal is at a very early stage in its advancement and consequently no funding has been drawn down to date from my Department.
