Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, I am substituting for Deputy Farrell. I thank the Minister for what she has done to date, including on the local improvement schemes. She has somehow found money and pumped it into the town and village renewal scheme, which is very important. I remember that in my time in the House between 2011 and 2016 one could not get a penny for anything like this. There was not even a remote chance of getting the type of funding that is now available.

In the summer, I looked at the broad range of criteria for the 2023 town and village renewal scheme. The Department has shown great initiative with regard to the number of projects and ideas which can be covered by the scheme. I want the Minister to ensure that as many projects as possible go through. Perhaps she can find additional funding to do that. We also need to ensure progress is made as quickly as possible on the schemes that have been announced previously. Some local authorities are better than others at progressing projects once the allocations have been made, while others are somewhat on the tardy side. We need to ensure people on the ground start to see the tangible benefits of this scheme as quickly as possible once the allocations have been made.

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