Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is right that the town and village renewal scheme has been very successful since it was launched in 2016. It has worked extremely well, due to its co-ordinated bottom-up approach whereby local people work with local authorities and different groups to identify the projects and put in applications to get funding to make them a reality. The Deputy was very supportive of this scheme when he was chairing the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Rural and Community Development. He is also a big advocate for remote working.

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I was delighted that Cross in Clare got €40,000 to repurpose an old school to create a remote working hub and community social space. This is the kind of project that makes a difference.

Regarding the town and village renewal scheme, I will engage with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform on the budgetary ask but I assure the Deputy that it will remain a priority scheme for me and it will remain next year because it has proved to be very successful.

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