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

I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for raising this matter. The RRDF provides funding for the development and construction of capital projects in towns and villages and rural areas across Ireland. The fund has to date allocated funding of €280 million for 191 projects across the country worth a total of €380 million. The RRDF is central to achieving the objectives and key deliverables of Our Rural Future, the Government's five year policy for rural Ireland. The projects supported by the fund assist in the regeneration of rural towns and villages by addressing vacancy and dereliction and positioning them for further growth through regeneration and town centre renewal. The fund also invests in strategic projects that contribute to further economic development in rural areas.

The 2022 allocation for the RRDF is €60 million. There is also a carry forward from 2021 of €9 million which can be utilised across the wider programme area depending on the level of demand. The total spend to date in 2022 from the fund is €20.3 million, with significant levels of further funding draw downs expected before year end. In January, I announced funding of €24.5 million for 27 projects from the third call for category 2 applications. Category 2 provides smaller grant funding to enable the development of project proposals suitable for future calls. The fourth call for category 1 applications to the RRDF, which are the large scale capital projects with planning in place, closed earlier this year. I expect to be in a position to make a substantial announcement on the successful projects arising from that call in the coming weeks. This will further strengthen the pipeline of projects to be delivered under the fund for the coming years.

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