Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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66. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the supports available for the acquisition of buildings for community use to help the regeneration of rural towns and villages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26170/25]

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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In villages and towns throughout Ireland, there are vacant or derelict properties that represent a blight on their locality. They are like husks of wasted potential, preventing residents from having local community centres or some form of social or commercial hub. Bringing these vacant and derelict properties back into use would support the revitalisation of rural Ireland. Will the Minister outline the supports available from his Department to assist local communities in acquiring such buildings for community purposes?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. 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. Central to the town centre first approach is a range of capital support funding that includes the rural regeneration and development fund and the town and village renewal scheme.

Both schemes facilitate the acquisition of buildings for community use and have already delivered landmark projects which tackle the issues Deputy Quaide referred to, such as vacancy and dereliction.

The rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, allows for the purchase of land and buildings, and provides funding for the development and construction of large-scale capital projects in rural areas, villages and towns throughout Ireland. Since 2018, €588 million has been allocated to 243 projects throughout the country.

Under the town and village renewal scheme, there is a specific building acquisition measure, which was introduced to support local authorities to acquire derelict or vacant buildings to allow for town regeneration. More than 50 properties have been purchased to date at a cost of €11 million. The main town and village renewal scheme has introduced a new option, which allows local authorities to acquire land to facilitate town regeneration. In addition, the main scheme has supported projects that bring vacant and derelict buildings back into use as multipurpose spaces through the purchase and renovation of vacant and derelict buildings.

The 2025 town and village renewal scheme is currently open and allows for the discreet purchase of land and buildings under the building and land acquisition measure, as well as wider project plans under the main scheme. In recent weeks I have visited a number of these projects throughout the country and I have seen the difference they are already making in towns and villages. This is only because they have the support of their local authorities and, in particular, the support of the local community within that town or village. They are community driven and community owned. When this community involvement is there, the project will be successful.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister for his response. I want to raise the particular example of Ballynoe in my constituency of Cork East where a former HSE dispensary building, a property owned by the State, has sat empty for several decades at least. Local residents believe it was last in use in the late 1970s or early 1980s but it has remained empty. It now sits boarded up with the gates locked and no access to the site. It is an eyesore for anyone passing it. Over the years the village of Ballynoe has seen its shops close. It has lost its butchers and its local pub and, in recent years, its only post office closed. A similar story has played out, as the Minister knows, in so many of our rural villages. Local residents have come together and set their sights on taking ownership of the derelict former HSE dispensary building. They want the opportunity to turn this property into a community hub, a remote working hub, a library or a space for people with additional needs. They are very open to various possibilities.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I cannot comment on the exact area of Ballynoe but what Deputy Quaide has described sounds exactly like a prime property for the town and village renewal scheme or the RRDF. For instance, in Drumshanbo in County Leitrim I visited a former Garda station that has been acquired and is being developed into a fantastic facility. Throughout Leitrim on a recent visit I saw former State properties that have been developed by groups such as that mentioned by Deputy Quaide, working in conjunction with the local authority.

The first port of call for that group should be Cork County Council, so they can work together. It is exactly the type of scheme we want to see. When the community group works with the local authority they can define the ask and what the new building will look like. It is very important that in developing a project such as this there is a relatively good business plan in place, or, for want of a better word, a development plan, so people are very certain of what will be there and that the building will be sustainable. There are dereliction officers in every local authority who are able to assist with the programme. Through the RRDF and the town and village renewal scheme we have funded old Garda stations, old FCA buildings, old schools and old railway stations that are being refurbished into exactly the type of hub Deputy Quaide has referred to.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister for his encouraging response. I hope the Department will help the local community when it makes the application. On behalf of the community council in Ballynoe I have already been in touch with the HSE, which has indicated to me that it is its intention to sell the building. In line with the HSE property protocol and Department of public expenditure rules, it will be offered to a State stakeholder before being placed on the open market. The Ballynoe residents are asking for the opportunity to lease the building and repurpose it for community use but they will need particular support to restore the building since it has sat in a derelict state for so long. It will be asking for funding from the Department. I am very pleased to hear the Minister's words today. The community is eager to create an intergenerational space. It is open to various options but it really wants to bring back more life into the village of Ballynoe.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I cannot comment on the HSE plans for the building as I do not have those details. I will say that this year, the building and land acquisition measure under the town and village renewal scheme allows local authorities to purchase up to three vacant buildings. The total fund available is up to €500,000. I would certainly encourage Deputy Quaide to have a discussion with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on the HSE element. As I have said, there are numerous projects throughout the country. I am more than happy to give Deputy Quaide details if the local committee wishes to visit them to see how successful they have been in terms of taking the journey. I commend the communities which do this and take this on. It is a big undertaking. The Department is there to support them through the undertaking, not only through funding but also with advice and access to other communities that have undertaken this journey.