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

I thank Deputy Collins for raising this question.

The rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, provides funding for the development and construction of capital projects in towns and villages and rural areas across Ireland. To date, 215 projects have been approved for funding of €395 million for projects costing €542 million across the country. The fund 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.

Three projects located in south-west Cork have been allocated RRDF funding of €9.6 million for projects worth €22.7 million. The projects are the Kinsale library project, for which Cork County Council was awarded €2.15 million under the first call for category 1 applications in 2018, and two projects for which I awarded funding under the fourth call for category 1 applications late last year. Those are the Bandon town centre renewal and regeneration project, for which Cork County Council was awarded €5.5 million, and the Neart enterprise, creative and digital hub on Sherkin Island, for which Comhar na nOileán was awarded over €1.9 million. The projects allocated funding in south-west Cork are large-scale capital projects that will have a lasting impact and be truly transformational for the communities there.

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