Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 June 2018
518. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when the 2018 capital allocations for the town and village renewal scheme and the CLÁR programme will be finalised and published. [27414/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI launched the 2018 Town and Village Renewal Scheme on 27th April 2018 this year with a capital allocation of €15 million. Local Authorities are required to seek expressions of interest from communities for proposals under the scheme, and each county has been invited to submit up to 12 proposals to my Department for consideration.
The closing date for the submission of applications is 30th June.
My Department will assess all of the applications received, with a view to announcing successful projects as soon as possible thereafter. Projects will be expected to commence before the end of the year and will run for a period of up to 18 months.
Successful proposals are likely to include activities which have clear positive economic impacts on rural towns and villages. They will ideally also demonstrate close collaboration between communities and business interests in the design and delivery of the projects.
Over €31.6 million has been approved for more than 450 projects across the country since the Town and Village Renewal scheme was introduced in the second half of 2016. I anticipate that up to 200 further projects will be approved through the €15 million being allocated under the 2018 scheme.
The 2018 CLÁR programme was launched in February this year, with a closing date of end-April. My Department received in excess of 400 applications under CLÁR 2018 and my officials are currently finalising their assessment of these applications. I hope to make an announcement regarding successful applications shortly and listings of all successful projects will be available on my Department's website.
