Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The rural regeneration scheme is new. I have been reviewing it as recently as this week. On the previous occasion, we left the scheme rather open. We are looking to clarify some of the rules and regulations relating to it. The idea is not to make it more difficult to make applications. From his time in the Department, Deputy Ó Cuív will be aware of the difficulty involved. I do not want my rural regeneration scheme to be used by the various other Departments to deal with their problems. I must ensure that it is used specifically for what it should be used for, namely, rural regeneration to revitalise rural Ireland.

Deputy Ó Cuív mentioned CLÁR. As he is aware, we have only €5 million in the programme, which we reintroduced in 2016. We have spent €27 million on the programme. If we average the figures for 2016, 2017 and 2018, it comes to €9 million per year. I have a little flexibility with any savings. I look at three or four schemes from which there may be savings. These include, CLÁR, LIS and the Tidy Towns initiative. All these funding projects are worthy of support. A total of 1,270 projects have been supported by the CLÁR programme. I am pleased with the CLÁR programme. I am not going to start tampering with the rural regeneration scheme. I want to get it opened as quickly as possible. As I said, seed funding was put into the local authorities. Some communities and groups made applications to get projects ready. I expect we will have better projects. It will take some time. It is like every scheme that we ever introduced. It takes a little time for organisations, whether they are state agencies or councils, to get up-and-running and to get good projects. Deputy Ó Cuív referred to the Athenry scheme and there are schemes with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Fáilte Ireland and the LEADER companies. These are all good schemes. They will learn how to develop and get better in future.

As Deputy Ó Cuív stated, I am keen for the programme to target areas in need. The CLÁR programme has worked well. The rural regeneration scheme will be a good scheme.

The Deputy knows about some of the schemes we had in the past under LEADER, town and village funding and other bits and pieces of funding. If a project comes to the rural regeneration scheme, it is guaranteed to get substantial funding in order to enable completion. However, there is one thing I will not allow. I am making this clear to the Deputy, other members and the officials in the Department. The projects get one shot; those involved are not coming back to finish a project for which they have received funding. If a group made an application this year but finds that it needs more money next year, it will not get it. Such a project can stall where it is. If it is shovel-ready or ready to go and if we are informed that the latter is the case and that part of the funding already allocated relates to it, then it gets the remainder from the Department.

Members will know of the pilot scheme we operated with six towns. We have given €100,000 to each of the local authorities involved to enable them to sit down with communities, the local chamber of commerce, if there is one in the town, and whatever community groups are in place. We hope they will come back with ideas to help us to regenerate towns and villages. The six towns might come back with different ideas or with a common denominator of one or two schemes they would like to see put in place. I have discussed the matter with the Minister for Finance, the Taoiseach and the Government. We want to see what the towns throw up or what proposals they might bring to Government. Another Department had a scheme involving grant aid to refurbish old houses but it simply did not work. Why was that the case? The scheme was not right in the first instance. We have to operate certain schemes. Deputy Ó Cuív referred to the CLÁR programme, the town and village renewal scheme and the outdoor recreation scheme. We know why the LEADER programme did not work. We tied it up in knots with rules and regulations. I have freed up the programme by making 32 changes. We know what to do if we do not want something to work.

Deputy Ó Cuív knows from his time here that we cannot make rules and regulations so difficult that applicants are unable to draw down funding. Six towns have been selected, namely, Boyle, Callan, Ballinrobe, Banagher, Castleblayney and Cappoquin. That is a representative group nationally, although I could have included another 20 towns. We are hoping they will use the funding we have given them to employ people with some good ideas. Private sector concerns have contacted me to make proposals for the scheme. I did not entertain the proposals and insisted they speak to the groups directly and to the local authorities. That is not my game. My game is to provide the funding and I want the groups to come back with proposals. It will then be my job to go back to the Government and see what I can do to revitalise towns and villages around the country. What is needed? Perhaps simple things can help, for example, making compulsory purchase orders which councils need to use more.

Ballinrobe is in Deputy Ó Cuív's area but it is a town I have a great love for.