Holly Cairns
Ceist:690. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the supports available by her Department to address vacancy and dereliction in rural towns and villages. [21215/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 14 May 2024
Ceisteanna (690)
Freagraí scríofa
The Town Centre First Policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. It supports the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland.
Last February, I launched a new suite of supports which is providing €4.5 million to support broader efforts to regenerate town centres through a bottom-up approach. It is supporting the development of 26 town plans, the establishment and development of Town Teams and the completion of Project Development Measure (PDM) projects. Funding has been awarded to successful towns to develop a town plan and I expect to announce further towns to receive support and successful PDM projects shortly.
Central to the Town Centre First approach is the range of capital support funding in place, including my Department’s Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) and Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS). Both schemes have already delivered landmark projects across rural Ireland which tackle issues of vacancy and dereliction.
This week, I announced funding of €164 million for 30 projects under the 5th Call for Category 1 projects located right across the country. These projects will be transformative as they focus on revitalising our rural towns and villages by supporting sustainable regeneration projects. The RRDF is having a demonstrably positive impact on addressing dereliction, in particular when it comes to heritage buildings in rural towns.
The Town and Village Renewal Scheme was launched in 2016 and since then over €177 million has been allocated to almost 1,800 projects. The 2023 Scheme placed a particular emphasis on projects that bring economic and social vibrancy to town centres, and to encourage more people into town and village centres to work, shop and socialise. In April I announced €20.4 million in funding to support 82 successful projects under the 2023 Scheme.
A full list of the approved projects under both these schemes can be viewed on my Department’s website.
The Building Acquisition Measure is also supporting local authorities in purchasing vacant and derelict buildings for future development for community purposes. Over €10 million has been awarded to local authorities to support the purchase of 53 vacant and derelict buildings to date. This initiative will see vacant properties such as bank buildings, courthouses, and Garda stations redeveloped as community facilities across rural Ireland.
My Department remains committed to addressing the issues of vacancy and dereliction in our rural towns and to the success of the Town Centre First policy in delivering on the goal of revitalising our rural towns and villages making them better places to live, work, visit and invest in.