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

I thank the Deputy. Funding of €279 million has been approved to date under the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, for 191 projects nationwide costing over €379 million. Calls for applications to the fund are sought under two categories, namely, category 1 and category 2. Category 1 relates to large-scale ambitious capital projects with all necessary planning and other consents in place and which are ready to proceed. Category 2 provides smaller grant funding to enable the development of project proposals suitable for future calls for category 1 applications. The third call for category 2 applications was completed in January 2022. I announced funding of €21.5 million for 27 projects from this call. This included €1.2 million for the Rialto Digital and Enterprise Hub project located in Nenagh. The fourth call for category 1 applications to the RRDF closed on 29 April. My Department received 42 applications to this call, which together sought funding of over €149 million. I understand that three applications for projects located in Tipperary were submitted to this call.

The application process for the fund is competitive in nature. Applications are currently being assessed by my Department under the oversight of the project advisory board, which is comprised of representatives from key Departments and independent experts. Once the assessment process is complete, my Department will prepare a report setting out recommended projects. My role as Minister will be to consider that report and make final decisions in relation to the allocation of funding. I expect to be in a position to announce the successful projects in the coming weeks.

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