Mr. William Parnell:

I thank members for the opportunity to attend today's meeting to discuss the pilot town centre living initiative. The committee has taken a keen interest in this pilot since the outset and it has invited representatives from the local authorities participating in the pilot to the meeting to give a first-hand account of their engagement in the process. I propose to give a short background to the initiative and then to hand over to the local authority representatives.

The town centre living pilot was announced by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring, in October 2018 to develop innovative proposals to encourage more people to live in rural town centres. The pilot complements the town and village renewal scheme and the rural regeneration and development fund, both of which are administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development.

The Chairman mentioned the six towns that were identified initially to test the pilot approach. The towns in question are Boyle, County Roscommon; Callan, County Kilkenny; Ballinrobe, County Mayo; Banagher, County Offaly; Castleblayney, County Monaghan; and Cappoquin, County Waterford. These towns are of different sizes and in different locations. We hope that the learnings from their involvement in the pilot will provide an indication as to what might work well for similar types of towns on a wider scale. The issue of residential occupancy in many rural towns is not necessarily a need for new houses, but, rather, it is a question of how to the make best use of properties that are available and to encourage people to live in them even if they have to be renovated.

The reasons properties are not being used in town centres for residential purposes are complex. I am sure the committee will hear more about this from the local authority representatives today. Apart from issues that can arise relating to the property itself, other factors such as the availability of services, recreational facilities, civic space and a good retail mix all need to be part of the offering to encourage people to want to live in town centres. It is also important to recognise that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to rejuvenating small towns and villages. Each settlement is different, each with its own strengths, as well as issues that need to be addressed.

The pilot scheme was designed to allow the participating local authorities to examine the issues in their own particular towns and to develop blueprints to attract more people to live in the town centres. The Department is making technical assistance of up to €100,000 available to each local authority to support its work and to develop proposals to encourage town centre living. The committee will hear how the local authorities have been using this money to identify the issues and solutions that influence the number of people living in their town centres. It is envisaged that the lessons learned through this pilot will help to inform the approach to supporting and investing in towns and villages in the future.

The rural regeneration and development fund provides an opportunity to take forward the blueprints that emerge from this pilot by providing funding for strategic proposals that can rejuvenate towns and increase town centre living. It is encouraging that some of the towns involved in the pilot have applied for funding from the rural regeneration and development fund, while others have received funding through the town and village renewal scheme. I will leave my comments there for the moment to allow the representatives of local authorities to make their presentations. Of course, I will be happy to answer any questions the committee may have later on.