Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
2197. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will provide an update on targeted funding via the rural regeneration and development fund to support the town centre first approach, as part of the wider objectives for the regeneration of cities, towns and rural areas under Housing for All. [43337/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Rural Regeneration and Development Fund provides funding for the development and construction of capital projects in towns and villages and rural areas across Ireland. To date, 191 projects have been approved for funding of €279 million for projects costing €379 million.
The Fund seeks to support the delivery of a number of key Government strategies, including Our Rural Future, Housing for All, Town Centre First and the Climate Action Plan.
The fourth call for Category 1 applications to the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund closed on 29 April 2022. Category 1 relates to large scale ambitious capital projects with all necessary planning and other consents in place, and which are ready to proceed. My Department received 42 applications to this call, together seeking funding of over €149 million.
The focus of this Category 1 call for applications was to support ambitious capital projects which make the best case in terms of their contribution to:
- Assisting in revitalising our rural towns and villages, in line with the Town Centre First approach, through planned and sustainable regeneration and development projects which will drive greater economic activity and footfall, address vacancy and dereliction, and ensure the re-use of heritage and other existing buildings; and
- Providing the necessary appropriately-scaled facilities and infrastructure in rural areas in terms of remote working, town centre residency, economic and enterprise development etc., which will assist in attracting people back to live in rural areas and drive economic development within these areas.
I expect to be in a position to announce the successful projects arising from this call in the coming weeks.
In terms of future calls for applications to the fund, my Department will continue to review the fund in consultation with stakeholders to ensure that it remains responsive to the needs emerging in these key policy areas.
