Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The publication of this town centre first policy document is a much-needed call to action. In so many of our small, medium and large towns there are derelict buildings in need of regeneration. Today is a good news day.

The Northern and Western Regional Assembly recently published a vacancy and dereliction analysis for the region. It makes dismal reading. I will give some details in regard to a number of towns in my constituency where there was an increase in vacant commercial stock between 2015 and 2020.

In Carrick-on-Shannon, there was a 25% increase. In Manorhamilton, there was a 34% increase. In Sligo town, the capital of the north west, there was a 26% increase. In Ballymote, there was an increase of almost 19%. Boyle saw an increase of 38% while Ballyshannon and Bundoran fared better, at 5% and 6% respectively. In truth, not all towns had such sizeable increases in vacant commercial properties. However, the average for the entire region was 13.3%. That gives an overall picture of what is happening. It is also worth saying that the report did not capture the impact of Covid-19 on commercial vacancy rates in 2021. In that context, this policy document is a response to the historic and more recent decline of towns throughout the country.

The policy can have many benefits, including derelict properties being brought back as homes where people can live and thereby contribute to vibrant and sustainable communities. People talk about the increase in rents and the cost of buying a home. Normally they are referring to the larger cities but the Minister of State and I know that those increases in rents have, in recent times, been higher in counties such as Sligo and Donegal than in other parts of the country. This is hitting everywhere and, therefore, making derelict homes liveable homes, in which families can live and help to build and contribute to communities, is important.

In this particular report, which I have scanned through, a number of pilot town initiatives are mentioned, two of which happen to be in the constituency I represent. One is in Boyle, County Roscommon. The report refers to the town centre living initiative project. Some €2.1 million has been approved for Boyle regeneration, which will facilitate the refurbishment of the old Royal Hotel premises to create an enterprise centre, remote working hub and community space. Funding has also been approved for King House and the former premises of the Roscommon Herald.

Sligo is also highlighted and the success of the business improvement district is noted. Sligo has had a purple flag award since 2015. It is an internationally accredited award for reaching a standard of excellence in the evening and night-time economy. Sligo has also been approved for €48 million in funding under the URDF. That approval is in principle and a lot of work must be done. There are some very exciting projects being planned. There are seven public realm projects, which include street and town enhancements, and a cultural and learning hub or city campus in the Connaughton Road and Stephen Street centre. All of that is positive but there is one crucial issue, which is match funding. The local authority has to come up with 25% of the cost of URDF projects. In the case of Sligo, that is €16 million. It is a big issue for all local authorities but for a local authority such as Sligo, which has considerable historical debts, €16 million is a massive amount of money. The last thing any of us wants is for the €48 million, or any part of it, to be lost because of the extreme difficulty the local authority will face in coming up with match funding of €16 million. The Minister of State and I know that certain local authorities will find that money more easily than others. I ask the Minister of State to take that into consideration when this funding is being rolled out.

I also highlight the fact that Sligo County Council has been asked to prioritise the towns of Tubbercurry, Ballymote and Enniscrone, all of which badly need investment and regeneration. I will be carefully monitoring what is happening.

I echo the words of Deputy Calleary around the point that Town Centre First is important but cannot come at the expense of one-off rural houses. We are told there is no ban on such development but in reality, getting planning permission for one-off rural homes is like pulling hens' teeth. The Minister of State and I can discuss this matter further. We talked in the past about a pilot programme for building one-off rural houses in Leitrim. What progress is being made in that regard?

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