Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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961. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount of funding allocated to Kilkenny County Council under the €30,000,000 fund announced in 2015 under the town and village renewal scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24971/16]

Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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962. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount of funding allocated to Carlow County Council under the €30,000,000 fund announced in 2015 under the town and village renewal scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24972/16]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 961 and 962 together.

In 2015, the then Government announced plans for a fund of €30 million over a six year period for a Town and Village Renewal scheme. The current Government acknowledges the importance of town and village renewal as a way to revitalise rural Ireland and has included a commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government to support the revitalisation of towns and villages.

On 9^thAugust this year, I launched the Town and Village Renewal Scheme as part of the Government’s programme to support rural development. I have allocated €10 million for the scheme this year. A sum of €380,000 has been made available to each of the 26 counties, including Kilkenny and Carlow, as part of this initial phase of this scheme. Local authorities, in conjunction with local communities and businesses, have been invited to submit proposals to my Departmentby the end of September for approval.

I look forward to developing the Town and Village Renewal Scheme further in future years, subject to budgetary provision.