Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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86. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the supports made available by his Department to address rural vacancy and dereliction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55943/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his question and his ongoing interest in this area. We launched the town centre first policy in 2022. It a major cross-Government policy to tackle vacancy and combat dereliction, and in doing so to breathe new life into town centres. Town centre first complements other policies, including Our Rural Future and Housing for All as well as the national planning framework, which also aims to tackle vacancy and dereliction.

Town centre first also seeks to achieve balanced regional development and support local communities. We have aligned major funding streams with town centre first, including the rural regeneration and development fund, the town and village renewal scheme, the urban regeneration and development fund and the THRIVE scheme. The rural regeneration and development scheme is a major capital investment programme supporting large-scale, ambitious projects delivering sustainable economic and social development in rural areas. The town and village renewal scheme, introduced by my Department in 2016, is designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. A range of other support funding has also been put in place by Government. Town centre first was developed in conjunction with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Bringing Back Homes details over 20 incentives, funded measures and grants that seek to address vacancy and dereliction. Supports include the vacant property refurbishment grant under the croí cónaithe initiative, the repair and leasing scheme, the buy and renew scheme, and the living city initiative.

I am fully committed to the success of the town centre first policy and to working with our town teams across the country, with colleagues in the Oireachtas and with the local authorities. I would also encourage the local authorities to make greater use of the powers they have available to them to address dereliction in town and village centres and to address every building that can be addressed through existing powers. Any building that is taken out of dereliction rejuvenates a town and there needs to be a lot more proactivity on the part of local authorities in doing that.

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his response. While I appreciate the great work of the Department in supporting rural communities and the great work that both the Minister and the Minister of State are doing, vacancy and dereliction in our towns and villages remains a real concern. I appreciate that the Department of housing is the main Department tasked with tackling this problem but it is important for Departments to continue to engage directly with each other on vacancy and dereliction in order to properly address it, to actively encourage footfall and to drive local economies. I acknowledge that the Department's rural regeneration and development fund plays a major role in this regard. It encourages the reuse of vacant, derelict and heritage buildings. Given its importance, is the Minister considering any expansion of the RRDF?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy knows, last week we announced €20 million in rural regeneration and development funding for 30 projects across Ireland, including in his home town. I thank Deputy McCarthy for his work in lobbying for that. Fermoy will see the €772,000 development of a derelict site. This is something that the Deputy and the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, worked closely with me on. That is the kind of project we need. It will allow Avondhu to promote and get ready for a major application. That is what our RRDF announcement last week was about. It will allow the preparatory work to be done for the submission of a major funding application, some in two years and others before then. The RRDF is beginning to have a major impact right around the country.

I mentioned earlier that I was in Athy on Friday visiting the Shackleton Experience which involved the refurbishment of a 300 year old historic building in the middle of the town. It is now a state-of-the-art, 21st century visitor experience that is driving development in Athy. A food hub is also being developed in Athy through the RRDF to support the promotion of local enterprise. Athy is a really good example of what is possible and I would encourage any community around the country to visit Athy to see the RRDF in action.

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for the rural regeneration and development funding for Fermoy. It was very welcome and I thank both the Minister and the Minister of State for their support on that. While several factors contribute to rural vacancy and dereliction, one important issue is the lack of community facilities which may discourage people from moving to a particular area. In this context, what work is the Department doing to encourage the establishment of rural community halls or facilities in existing vacant or derelict buildings?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has funded 26 town centre first plans which are focused on existing facilities and buildings within town centres. They are concerned with what we call the public realm and aim to enhance the town centre experience. I make the point regularly, and did so again when I spoke at a national conference in Leitrim on Monday, that we have to come up with new reasons for people to visit towns. As people move away from the traditional retail space and go online, we need to re-equip and refurbish our towns to make them even more attractive for leisure and recreation, as well as for commercial and retail purposes. If we improve leisure and recreation opportunities, that will support existing retail businesses.

In Cork under town centre first we have invested over €259,000 and right across the country there are 70 towns with town centre teams that are working with their local authorities to identify spaces such as those Deputy McCarthy has just identified. Then, through community centre investments, CLÁR or other programmes, my Department can fund specific adaptations of existing buildings for community spaces.