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

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Our Rural Future sets out a blueprint for the development of rural Ireland over the next five years. It is supported by some 150 commitments based on the challenges and opportunities identified for rural communities.

A key element of Our Rural Future is the commitment to develop and deliver a collaborative town centre first approach to put the development and regeneration of rural town centres at the heart of decision-making. The Government has committed, as part of this overall approach, to provide and resource dedicated local authority staff to support town centre renewal. It is envisaged that such staff would assist the towns themselves to identify and deliver the key interventions required for the town.

My Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are jointly chairing an interdepartmental group established to progress these matters. The group has made good progress in identifying specific actions. As part of its work, the group is considering all of the suggested actions identified in the report on the town centre living Initiative published by my Department last year. That report suggested the appointment of town centre officers or management teams to support the regeneration of our towns.

The work of the group is being supported by an advisory group which includes a wide range of stakeholders and is chaired by my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Peter Burke. Based on the work of both groups, I expect recommendations on the delivery of the town centre first approach to be presented to the Government in the coming months. This will include provisions in respect of dedicated staff for town centre renewal.

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