Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Fitzmaurice has raised these issues with me previously. Regarding the Tidy Towns competition, I cannot let this opportunity pass without complimenting everybody involved. This year is the 60th anniversary of the Tidy Towns competition, and what that competition does for small towns and villages, as well as big towns and cities is a credit to everyone involved. We do not thank them enough. We sometimes hear criticism of the committees, their work and the role that they play, but I cannot praise them enough. I have never met such dedicated people, whether they are in Roscommon, Mayo, Kerry or Cork.

It does not matter because they are committed to what they do, which is why at the end of last year I provided €1.4 million for Tidy Towns committees around the country. I gave them all a grant. I distinguished between villages, towns and cities but they were all delighted with the grants they got. It was only an expression of thanks and appreciation for the work they did. The money went on projects for this year, which is the 60th anniversary. I hope GAA, soccer, rugby and athletic clubs, the IFA and all communities will make a special effort this year for the Tidy Towns and clean up rural and urban Ireland for the 60th anniversary. It is terrible that as we are doing this, there are people dumping every minute of the day.

On the issue the Deputy raised, I was in east Galway recently. The town and village scheme gave a place called Woodford €70,000 to do exactly what the Deputy is talking about. The Deputy is right. It got €70,000. The footpaths had not been done in about 40 years. It gave a lift to the town. This year, the people there tell me they want to do the other side. It has given a lift to the community. They see progress and are delighted to see that at last there is a scheme that helps and supports them.

We are looking at the other issue the Deputy raised but it is not easy. I am being honest with the Deputy. We are looking at a pilot scheme to encourage residents to occupy properties they have. There are small towns where there were businesses in the past but as a result of the Internet and the way business has grown, shops are closing. We try to encourage people to go back to live in towns and villages. We are looking at a pilot scheme. My officials have had lots of discussions with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and other Departments, including the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. We are trying to bring in a pilot scheme to give people a grant to do up their properties. The scheme is not in place yet but its purpose would be to encourage people to go back and live in villages and towns and to repopulate small villages and small towns. We want to get that scheme running with the town and village scheme. I reiterate it is called the town and village scheme because sometimes, we forget about the villages. The Deputy is quite correct that the smaller areas need a small bit of support and a bit of a lift. That is why in the last round of these projects I asked councils to concentrate on towns and villages, particularly the smaller towns as opposed to the bigger ones, to give them an opportunity to advance and get some funding from these schemes. It has worked very well. We probably need more funding, which is something I need to discuss with Government to try to get money for these schemes because they are working well. I would love to see the pilot scheme up and running. I would love to pilot it around the country to see what effect it would have on small villages and small towns. It is something I am working on with my officials and the Departments of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and Public Expenditure and Reform to try to get it over the line. We want to put a scheme in place that will not complicate anything. We are working on it. I would like to see it happening.