Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for affording me the opportunity to speak on the streetscape enhancement scheme in the Chamber. I thank the Minister of State for his attendance. I was pleased to see in September that Kildare County Council had been successful in securing funding from the Department of Rural and Community Development through the 2021 streetscape enhancement measure. I was especially pleased to see that four lovely villages in my own local area were accepted by the scheme, namely, Castledermot, Ballitore, Monasterevin and my own home village of Rathangan.

This is a good scheme. It offers many small rural villages, not just those in Kildare but all around the country, an opportunity to access Government funding and use it in a way that is community focused and will benefit the entire area. A scheme such as this is needed in rural areas. The Minister of State will have heard me saying before that the Government must support rural Ireland both to develop its own way and, of course, to attract new residents and businesses. A scheme such as this, when it is fit for purpose, will result in a more attractive environment that residents, visitors, shoppers and businesses alike can enjoy. However, the deadlines and the practicalities in accessing such schemes must be logical, user-friendly and accessible.

When we devise schemes that are intended to be accessed by the general public, the deadlines and requirements need to be achievable. The turnaround time that was required to apply for this scheme deterred many people in Castledermot, Ballitore, Monasterevin and Rathangan from availing of this funding. As a Member of the Oireachtas, I was first notified of the scheme on 25 August. The closing date for receipt of fully completed applications was 5 p.m. on Tuesday, 7 September 2021. The following is what was required for a complete application: photographs of existing buildings; photographs of an example of what the new building facade would look like; maps identifying the location; records of protected structures' numbers, where relevant; exact details of work proposed, including a copy of relevant, plans, designs and specifications; indications of material type and colour; two written quotations for proposed works from builder contractor; one written quote for materials if the grant applied for was under €5,000; and three written rotations required for contracts above €5,000. All of the above was to be completed in just two weeks.

I appreciate that the closing date for applications was pushed out to 17 September, but that extension was not announced until 3 September. This meant that anyone who had not applied due to time pressures had lost another week. In addition to this, in order for an applicant to draw down the funding, works needed to be completed by Sunday, 31 October 2021, just three weeks after the cut-off for applications. It is practically impossible to get anybody to do any work for the smallest thing within a home. This is just ridiculous. I put it to the Minister of State that we are discouraging applications to good schemes by putting incredible pressure on business and property owners to provide a plethora of information and to complete works in a short time.It is simply not achievable. Only seven applications were received from the four towns I mentioned, and those applicants were not certain that it would be possible to get the works required completed in time. Is the Department planning another streetscape enhancement scheme? If so, will the Department learn from the haphazard approach adopted this year and support applicants in a way that will enable them to avail of the scheme?