Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 May 2024
364. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated timeframe for when the next round of urban regeneration and development funding is to be announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22889/24]
View answerA flagship element of Project Ireland 2040, the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) was one of four new funds established under the National Development Plan (NDP) 2018 – 2027. Launched in 2018 with committed Exchequer funding of €2 billion the review of the NDP in 2021 extended the URDF to 2030.
To date, there have been three rounds of funding provided under the URDF with more than €1.9 billion allocated so far. While Call 1 and 2 was for specific proposals, the latest round of funding (Call 3) is supporting a programme of acquisitions in each local authority to address long term vacancy and dereliction. Under Call 1 and Call 2 there were 132 proposals, comprising of almost 400 projects, approved for funding.
Subject to additional funding being made available, it is intended to launch a fourth round of funding support in 2024. A fourth round of funding would provide an opportunity for a number of ‘pipeline’ projects which have or will emerge from master planning exercises carried out under Call 1 or Call 2 to be considered for funding. It would also support a number of key settlements that have not yet received the level of funding required to support the growth proposed for them in the NPF and the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies.
By targeting support in an integrated, dynamic and responsive way, the fund has proved to be a game changer, injecting momentum into the advancement of local authority plans for regeneration and development of our towns and cities, with URDF supported projects now active in every local authority area in the country.
