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

I thank Deputy Heydon for raising the need for a second bridge over the Liffey at Newbridge, County Kildare to be progressed through Project Ireland 2040 and the urban regeneration development fund, and for giving me the opportunity both to discuss that today and to outline how we as a Government believe that Project Ireland 2040 helps causes like this and helps to achieve, through the urban regeneration development fund, vital infrastructure like the bridge the Deputy has just outlined and other infrastructure.

The Deputy is correct in saying that Project Ireland 2040 sets out the plans for the next 20 to 25 years in this country, and through it we are going to try to rebalance population growth and housing construction with all of the required services. It will not just happen on the east coast, in Meath, Kildare, Dublin and many other places, but throughout the country. An important part of that regional balance is that while accommodating future development and growth in all counties, including additional growth in Meath and Kildare, we rectify some of the mistakes of the past. A key part of Project Ireland 2040 is recognising that examples can be seen in many areas in the greater Dublin region of Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and probably Louth where increased housing development, with all of the pressures that brings, was not matched with the infrastructure or services required. We want to try to correct that through the various funds as well as allowing for more compact development, developing a lot of those back streets in towns and villages, which the Deputy referred to, together with those brownfield sites that are not necessarily being used very well.

The urban regeneration development fund, URDF, is a flagship element of Project Ireland 2040, comprising an allocation of €2 billion in the national development plan to 2027, with €58 million available in 2019 and an overall Exchequer allocation of €550 million earmarked up to the end of 2022. The URDF was established to support more compact and sustainable development - sustainable is the key word when it comes to Newbridge - through the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland's five cities and other large towns, like Newbridge, in line with the objectives of the national planning framework and the national development plan. This is to enable a greater proportion of residential and mixed-use development to be delivered within the existing built-up footprints of cities and towns and to ensure that more parts of our urban areas can become attractive and vibrant places in which people choose to live and work as well as to invest in and visit.

That is the key part here, which is trying to go back into areas that experienced housing development - the Deputy pointed out Newbridge has quite a large population of 22,500 - and make such places are more attractive as places that people want to live in and raise their families. It is also to help these towns win investment and jobs to support people already living there and who will live there in the future. It is important that we get that right. We know that by investing through these funds, we are making towns, villages and cities more attractive and secure. This is about future-proofing communities, neighbourhoods, towns and villages, and that is what we are trying to achieve here.

Bids were invited from public bodies for funding under the URDF and a total of 189 applications were received by my Department in the first call for proposals earlier in 2018. On 26 November 2018, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, announced the initial URDF support of €100 million for a total of 88 projects throughout the country. The applications received contained a wide variety of themes and sectoral areas, from urban regeneration and public realm works to enabling strategic infrastructure to leveraging further development to cultural and amenity development. Applications received fell into two categories: projects that were ready to go and funding to support the initial development of projects, that is, master planning feasibility to ensure a pipeline of projects into the future.

The Deputy asked me what Kildare can do. Kildare County Council submitted seven proposals on the previous occasion, one of which was Newbridge. It was not successful at that time. It was the link road on the bridge from Great Connell Road to Athgarvan Road in Newbridge. This proposal did not achieve full marks and was not awarded the go-ahead then. The Deputy asked whether planning should be applied for. Planning would certainly help. There is also funding available under section B, to progress the planning, study, marketability and feasibility of that, which is also the case in Celbridge, County Kildare. That funding can be used as proof of concept to bring it through the various planning stages and to have it ready for funding under section A as well. There are two options with this fund that would suit this project, and Kildare County Council should make another application, as applications will be open again in the near future before the end of this year. I hope such an application will be successful this year.

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