Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)

Apologies; I was at the justice committee until now. I am a TD for County Louth and east Meath. From Drogheda and Dundalk along with Ardee and Castlebellingham, there is not a town or village in the country that has not been affected by huge numbers of vacant properties in towns and rural areas. We heard in the budget that Drogheda and Dundalk are going to be included in the living city initiative, which is welcome. I fought hard to have them included in my nine months as a TD, as have many before me. This kind of news really raises the hopes of the inhabitants of towns like Drogheda about the potential impact it will have on a town centre. The questions are coming hard and fast. How soon can we do it and how much money will we be allocated? There has been a rise in funding towards grants. From the perspective of the witnesses, are there concrete, hard examples of the effect it has on a town or city when those buildings are revived? Two big towns are now included. Drogheda people believe the town should be a city; I tend to concur. Will the witnesses provide hard examples of what we can expect when we manage to turn it all around?