Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The economic downturn had a significant negative impact on our urban centres. In recognition of this, A Programme for a Partnership Government set out an ambitious priority for urban renewal, with a view to breathing life back into our urban centres and helping to make them more attractive places in which to live and work. We recognise that some of these centres have declined over a long period of 20 or 30 years and not just over the last seven or eight years.

Rebuilding Ireland - An Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, published in July 2016, reinforces the Government’s commitment to the area of urban regeneration, and proposes a further range of measures.

In this context, an urban renewal working group, which I chaired and which comprised senior representatives from my Department, local authorities and other relevant bodies, was established with a view to bringing forward proposals for new urban regeneration measures. It was intended that the new measures would complement the existing regeneration programme under the Department’s social housing capital programme, as well as other relevant social regeneration initiatives.

As announced in budget 2018, a programme of €50 million in funding, supplemented by an additional minimum 20% contribution from local authorities, is being introduced to support projects and initiatives to regenerate and revitalise depopulated urban areas and facilitate more compact urban growth. While such projects may encompass a residential element, they will have a broader reach, addressing wider issues of dereliction and improvements to the public realm. An initial €10 million is being made available in 2018 to get the programme underway.

A key aim will be to maximise linkages with other programmes designed to bring vacant properties back into use, such as the repair and leasing and buy and renew schemes.

The terms of the new urban regeneration scheme will be finalised later this year, in consultation with local authorities and other relevant stakeholders, to maximise the potential outcomes from the available funding. We hope this funding will put local authorities in a position to drive urban renewal and regeneration in key areas. It will probably involve picking key projects and applying funding over a number of years to make them happen. It is not set down in stone yet. We will engage further with stakeholders and local authorities before we publish it. The €50 million is an initial contribution, and more funding will be required over the years ahead as we can make it available. Part of the work is bringing together all of the different funding mechanisms to ensure we get an impact from them in various towns, villages and large urban centres as required.

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