Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

5. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development her plans to roll out the town centre living initiative to other towns following the pilot project involving six towns; the criteria by which such towns will be assessed for inclusion in the initiative; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24393/20]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

On the same theme, the Minister's predecessor rolled out a pilot for six towns. My question relates to that. There are three Bs and three Cs: Ballinrobe, Banagher, and Boyle followed by Callan, Cappaquin and Castleblayney. The Department was to learn from the pilot and roll it out as a matter of urgency to all other towns. Where does this stand? The Minister had no input into the choice and said the towns were chosen by officials.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Ithank the Deputy for raising the issue, in which I have a great interest. The pilot town centre living initiative was launched in October 2018 to explore in a holistic way how to encourage increased residential occupancy in rural towns and villages. The pilot focused on six towns with different characteristics in different parts of the country. Funding of up to €100,000 was made available to each of the participating local authorities to support their work. An independent report on the pilot town centre living initiative was published on 22 June. The report outlines the approach taken by each town under the pilot and sets out the key issues identified to encourage the increased living in town centres and the repurposing of vacant properties for residential purposes. The report, which is available on gov.ie, highlights the multiplicity of factors that need to be addressed that cuts across a number of Departments and agencies. Based on the common issues identified across the six towns in the pilot and the suggested follow up actions presented in the independent report, I do not think it is necessary to extend the pilot initiative. However, all local authorities can benefit from taking on board the findings of the report, including the importance of consultation with local communities, property owners on town centre development, the value of developing a shared vision or master plan for the town and programmes, such as the rural regeneration and development fund, and the town and village renewal scheme can provide funding for projects which emerge from this process, subject to meeting the required criteria and the quality of the proposal.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am a little disappointed. The initiative was launched in January 2017 as a pilot. It took up to October 2018 to roll it out. The report, which I have read in detail, was published in May and was available to the Department in February. What did the report cost? The complexity was already noted when this was launched by the then Minister, Deputy Ring. He said the reasons more people do not live in town centres are many and complex. We knew that there were many reasons, we knew about consultation and we knew about working with chambers of commerce and community groups in towns. This initiative was to learn and to see how we could roll it out. Incidentally, not a single town in the Gaeltacht was chosen. The Minister's predecessor noted and acknowledged that it was a gap that needed to be remedied. Why, when the pilot project was run and the report was commissioned and lessons were learned, has it not been rolled out? There are towns in Galway that would benefit, but I do not wish to be parochial. It could be rolled out to any town in any county.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The point is that it is a complex issue, there is no doubt about that. If it was easy it would have been solved years ago. I want to see more people living in the centre of towns. It is about more than buying a house and moving in, many more issues need to be considered so that it is attractive for people. There are significant costs associated with repairing older buildings which are in poor structural condition and often have protected status. Adapting older buildings to modern building standards and requirements can be difficult. Return on investment is a factor as the value of the vacant properties after intervention and repair will often be less than the cost of refurbishment and investors get a greater return on investment on new sites on the edges of towns. Sometimes owners have inherited the property and have limited resources for investing. There are also inexperienced property owners. A range of different issues need to be addressed but the report's findings will inform local authorities across the country. The same issues exist in all the towns.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We know that. We have had the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas, CEDRA, report and many Government initiatives. Earlier this year, the Department established a steering group to do exactly what the Minister spoke of. It examined it and concluded the most effective way to do this was to set up a small number of well-planned pilot initiatives that could be delivered and scaled up quickly. Are we disregarding this report? Will we just shred it - I used this language about another report recently - or will we follow it up and publish the criteria by which we will choose the next round of towns and get on with the job? How much did the report cost? Did each town receive the €100,000? If so, that represents a significant investment of €600,000 for six towns. Let us learn from that and, if it was effective, let us roll it out.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We are learning from it. There are really good findings that can be applied to other towns across the country. This is not just about my Department alone but it is cross-Government. For example, in my own town of Clones, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government has done really wonderful work in centre of town regeneration. It spent close to €5 million in refurbishing derelict buildings. It has taken some time but it is nearly complete. It is a fantastic initiative. My Department is responsible for the rural regeneration development fund. In rural Limerick, €2.5 million in funding was awarded to the towns of Rathkeale, Abbeyfeale, Askeaton, Ardagh, and Bruff under category 2 of the rural regeneration and development fund to help them to assist in delivering town and village regeneration and contribute to economic development and recovery. There is a further €3.3 million for other towns and villages. It is about working with local authorities, local towns and all the different stakeholders and trying to make the towns more attractive. Some really good plans have come out of the pilot project. I do not have the cost of the report but I will have it sent to the Deputy. As she said, it was €100,000 for each town.