Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which is very much a priority for Government. We are determined to make more progress on it. Much has been done already with the town and village renewal scheme in recent years through the Department for Rural and Community Development. However, we need to accelerate it. When we see it done in a town, it is great to see derelict buildings being brought back into use for housing or for community use and to see old banks that were closed being reinvented as enterprise hubs so that people are working there again and spending money in the shops, pubs and cafés in the town. Where it works, it works really well and is something we need to accelerate in the years ahead. We will certainly want to include the towns the Deputy mentioned.

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