Written Answers Nos. 789-799
793. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of applications received in each of the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024, per county, for funding under the rural regeneration and development fund; the number therein that were successful; the number that were unsuccessful; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19156/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) provides funding for the development and construction of capital projects in towns, villages and rural areas across Ireland. Funding is allocated to local authorities and other State-funded bodies.
To date, 215 projects have been approved for RRDF funding of €414 million.
The attached table sets out the number of applications received, the number of unsuccessful and successful applications per county for each call under the RRDF from 2020 to date There was no call for applications in 2023.
The fifth call for applications was announced in November 2023. The closing date for applications was the 8th February 2024. I expect to announce the successful applications under the fifth call in the coming weeks.
794. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of applications received in each of the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024, per county, for funding under the Clár programme; the number therein that were successful; the number that were unsuccessful; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19157/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe CLÁR Programme provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of depopulation over a defined period.
Since the programme was relaunched in 2016, it has supported a wide range of measures with over €70 million being approved for almost 2,400 projects throughout rural Ireland. This funding is making a real difference in many of our smaller and more remote communities.
I launched the current iteration of the CLÁR scheme on the 12th of April this year. As yet no application have been received in 2024.
The tables below outline the information requested by the Deputy in relation to the number of CLÁR applications received by my Department, and those that were successful and unsuccessful in the years requested.
795. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of applications received in each of the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024, per county, for funding under the community recognition fund; the number therein that were successful; the number that were unsuccessful; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19158/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Community Recognition Fund was first introduced in 2023 to recognise the huge efforts made by communities in welcoming and supporting people coming to Ireland.
The funding is specifically targeted at projects that are located in cities, towns and villages that are hosting the Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection and/or International Protection Applicants including towns identified for the rapid build homes programme
Applications were administered at local level by local authorities in consultation with local communities. Each local authority was assigned a financial allocation under the fund, and the decisions in relation to which applications to forward to my Department for approval within that application were made at local authority level. Under the 2023 scheme, 907 projects were submitted by the various local authorities to my Department, and were deemed eligible and approved for total funding of €50 million. The following table illustrates the number of applications per county.
|
County |
Number of CRF 2023 Projects |
|
Carlow |
9 |
|
Cavan |
13 |
|
Clare |
79 |
|
Cork |
122 |
|
Donegal |
51 |
|
Dublin |
98 |
|
Galway |
35 |
|
Kerry |
42 |
|
Kildare |
10 |
|
Kilkenny |
19 |
|
Laois |
48 |
|
Leitrim |
13 |
|
Limerick |
90 |
|
Longford |
22 |
|
Louth |
11 |
|
Mayo |
48 |
|
Meath |
26 |
|
Monaghan |
8 |
|
Offaly |
26 |
|
Roscommon |
19 |
|
Sligo |
27 |
|
Tipperary |
28 |
|
Waterford |
13 |
|
Westmeath |
16 |
|
Wexford |
27 |
|
Wicklow |
7 |
|
Total |
907 |
To provide additional support to communities, I announced a further €50 million of funding under the Community Recognition Fund in March of this year.
Applications under the current round of funding can be submitted by local authorities across three phases, so as to allow flexibility and adequate engagement and collaboration on larger projects. No applications have been received as yet for 2024. The closing dates for applications are May 31st 2024, September 30th 2024, and January 31st 2025.
796. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development to list all Acts and Statutory Instruments sponsored by her Department which became law from 20 February 2020 to date in 2024 and which were necessitated, either in whole or in part, to transpose or give effect to regulations, directives or other measures passed at European Union level. [19172/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm to the Deputy that my Department did not have any Acts or Statutory Instruments over the period of time referenced, necessitated to give effect to regulations, directives or other measures passed at European Union level.
797. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of applications received in each of the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024, per county, for funding under the town and village renewal scheme; the number therein that were successful; the number that were unsuccessful; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19190/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) was introduced in 2016 and is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. Since the launch of the scheme over €177 million has been allocated to almost 1,800 projects across Ireland.
Indeed I have just announced the successful projects under the 2023 scheme, with a further 82 projects set to receive €20.4million in funding.
In line with the commitment in Our Rural Future , TVRS priorities are reviewed at the end of each scheme year to ensure that funding is targeted effectively to support vibrant and attractive communities and to respond to changing needs and opportunities. They will be reviewed again in advance of the announcement of the 2024 Town and Village Renewal Scheme, which is due to launch in quarter four of 2024.
Further detail requested by the Deputy regarding applications under TVRS since 2020 are appended to this answer
798. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will provide the amount of grant-aid returned and or surrendered to her Department, by local authority in 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024, to include the heading of which it was intended for. [19367/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraLocal Authorities are key delivery partners for many of the schemes operated by my Department, and funding of €210,458,015 and €245,528,487 was made available to local authorities in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
On occasion funds are returned to the Department for a number of reasons. For example, projects which have been pre-funded may return funds where the project is completed for less than the maximum grant amount, or funds may be returned on foot of inspections finding some ineligible expenditure.
The information requested by the Deputy regarding the amount of grant-aid returned and or surrendered to my Department by each local authority for the years referred to are outlined in the attached appendix. It should be noted that the substantial returns from Mayo County Council in 2022 relate to projects which were subject to inspection findings. It should also be noted that the returns relating to the Town and Village Streetscape Scheme 2021 resulted from works which were pre-funded not being completed within agreed timeframes, which included extensions to the original timelines.
799. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the supports available to renovate a building (details supplied) to encourage more activities and events; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19384/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the range of capital investment schemes impIemented by my Department, I have prioritised in recent years the development and enhancement of community centres across the country to improve access and provide suitable social spaces. This has been achieved through various schemes administered by my Department, which may be of relevance to the project referenced by the Deputy. These schemes include the CLÁR programme, LEADER, the Town and Village Renewal scheme and the Local Enhancement Programme. It is also why I introduced the new Community Centres Investment Fund with targeted support for these centres. are a vital resource for any community.
Under the 2022 Community Centre Investment Fund in particular, over €45.8 million was committed for improvement and refurbishment works on over 860 existing community centres across Ireland. There was a huge uptake of this funding and communities are now enjoying the improvements to the fabric of their community centres as a result of this Government initiative.
Following on from this investment, I wanted to assist community groups who are striving to build their own community centre to service their local needs. That is why, in 2023, the focus of the Community Centres Investment Fund moved to new builds.
Last year I announced a new fund to support communities with shovel-ready projects on green or brownfield sites for the construction of new community centres. I was very pleased to recently announce approval of twelve new build community centres in nine counties with a total fund of €30 million. I will now give consideration to the need for further rounds of funding under the Community Centre Investment Fund in the context of available funding.
