Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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368. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the details of the scheme to be introduced to assist in the upgrading of residential accommodation in towns and villages; if this grant scheme will be available throughout the country; the likely timescale for its introduction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5977/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Government’s Action Plan for Rural Development, which was launched on 23^rdJanuary, contains a number of measures which have the objective of rejuvenating Ireland’s rural towns and villages to make them more attractive places in which to live and work, and to increase their tourism potential.

As part of the Town and Village Renewal scheme, I intend to launch a pilot project to encourage residential occupancy in rural towns and villages. This pilot will be launched in the second half of the year, when details of the scheme have been finalised in consultation with relevant Departments. The pilot will examine ways in which properties that are currently not in use in town centres can be renovated to allow them to be used for residential purposes.