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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 79, 92 and 93 together.

The town centre first policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. It supports the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland that is integral to our national economic, social, cultural and environmental well-being and development.

A key aim of both town centre first and the Our Rural Future policy is addressing vacancy and dereliction and ensuring that the policies and schemes in place directly address and tackle these issues in our rural towns and villages. This complements other national policies such as Housing for All and the national planning framework, which also aim to tackle vacancy, achieve balanced regional development and support local communities. Central to the town centre first approach is the range of support funding in place, including my Department’s rural regeneration and development fund and the town and village renewal scheme.

I announced the fifth RRDF category 1 call for applications last November, with a focus on revitalising our rural towns and villages through planned and sustainable regeneration that will drive greater economic activity and footfall, address vacancy and dereliction and ensure the reuse of heritage and other existing buildings. The closing date for applications is Thursday, 8 February 2024. Applications must be submitted to my Department through local authorities.

The town and village renewal scheme was introduced in 2016 and is one of several measures in my Department designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. Since the launch of scheme, over €156 million has been allocated to more than 1,700 projects across Ireland and has supported towns and villages the length and breadth of the country. The 2023 scheme, which I launched on 21 July 2023 with an overall fund of €15 million, will support projects that address the issue of vacancy and dereliction. This will be achieved by supporting projects that focus on town centre regeneration, enhancing our streetscapes and bringing vacant and derelict buildings back into use as community multipurpose spaces through refurbishment and renovation. This scheme closed for applications on 10 November 2023 and the competitive assessment process is currently under way. I expect to be in a position to announce the successful projects by the end of quarter 1 of 2024. I look forward to seeing a range of high-quality proposals emerging from both of these schemes.

Additionally, under the town and village renewal scheme my Department has developed the building acquisition measure, supporting rural communities to transform run-down, derelict and vacant buildings and turn them into useful community facilities that will benefit generations to come. This measure directly supports local authorities to purchase vacant and derelict buildings for future development for community purposes.

Two weeks ago, I announced funding of over €4.5 million for the 2023 building acquisition measure that supported the purchase of 24 vacant and derelict buildings across the country. Supported projects include the purchase of former Garda stations, schools, post offices, restaurants, parish halls and vacant sites to be redeveloped into 21st-century use. I look forward to seeing these buildings being developed for community use in the coming months.

My Department also supports broader practical efforts to regenerate Irish towns. Together with the Department of housing, my Department has established a national town centre first office, hosted by the Local Government Management Association to drive forward town centre first, working closely with local authorities and central government. A national oversight and advisory group, which met most recently last Friday, steers the work of the national office. Furthermore, I am funding town regeneration officers in all eligible local authorities. Their job is to lead the implementation of town centre first in their area, working closely with vacant homes officers, animating communities to develop local visions for rural towns and supporting them to leverage funding from right across government.

My Department remains absolutely committed to addressing the issues of vacancy and dereliction in our rural towns and to the success of the town centre first policy to deliver on the goal of revitalising our rural towns and villages, making them better places in which to live, work, visit and invest.

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