Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's response. I may be a city person who travels through towns and villages only when going on a weekend trip or visiting family, but there undoubtedly is a great deal of dereliction, with many unoccupied buildings. It can be shocking at times to pass through some of the smaller villages and to see the extent of, first, the housing crisis but also the image the dereliction presents.

On the issue of staffing, the Minister stated in October, "A key function of these Officers will be the development of Town Centre First Plans at local level." She described the recruitment of further staff as "well advanced". Will she provide an update on that? How many staff have been recruited to deliver this at local level? She might also comment on the implementation and evaluation of the policy.

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