In the context of the arrangements made in preparation for a new urban renewal scheme, Mayo County Council has made a submission to my Department in respect of six east Mayo towns comprising Ballyhaunis, Charlestown, Claremorris, Kiltimagh, Knock and Swinford.
Guidelines for that scheme made it clear that local authorities were expected, in selecting areas for the preparation of integrated area plans, to give priority to urban areas with the highest concentrations of physical decay and socio-economic disadvantage. The extent to which any case made by a local authority meets the criteria for the new scheme is undergoing examination by a broadly based expert advisory panel which I established last year to assess all of the plans submitted and provide advice in relation to proposals for the application of urban renewal tax incentives.
Until such time as plans have been examined by the panel and considered further in the light of the panel's advice, it will not be possible to say which towns are likely to be included in the new scheme.