Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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225. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the amount of funding paid out by her Department for the commissioning of the pilot Town Centre Living Initiative report by a company (details supplied) which was published in June 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25757/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Town Centre Living Initiative Synthesis Report, which was published on 22June 2020, is an independent report on the pilot Town Centre Living Initiative which was trialled in 6 different towns across the country between October 2018 and the middle of 2019.

The aim of the initiative, which was supported by my Department and led by the relevant Local Authorities, was to explore how to encourage increased residential occupancy in rural towns and villages and, at the same time, address the issue of vacant properties.

The report on the Initiative outlines the approach adopted by each of the participating towns and their future plans to achieve improved residential occupancy of vacant buildings in their town centres. The report also includes a number of suggested actions for further consideration.

The cost of this report was €12,880.

The learnings from the 6 towns involved in the initiative can now be drawn upon by other Local Authorities to develop their own approach to town centre living. This was one of the objectives the pilot and will enable the mainstreaming of the pilot approach into the operations of other Local Authorities.

Programmes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme can provide support for projects that emerge from the Local Authorities to support town centre living, subject to meeting the criteria of the relevant schemes and the quality of the proposals.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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226. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development when the steering group which is to be established to review the suggested actions identified in the independent report on the pilot Town Centre Living Initiative will be operational; the details of the membership of the group; the terms of reference of the group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25758/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The aim of the pilot Town Centre Living Initiative was to explore how to encourage increased residential occupancy in rural towns and villages and, at the same time, address the issue of vacant properties.

The independent report on the Initiative was published on 22 June 2020 and contained a number of suggested actions for further consideration.

An Inter-Departmental Steering Group is now being established to examine all of the suggested actions in the Synthesis Report in detail, with a view to bringing forward a set of proposals for consideration by Government. The Terms of Reference for the Steering Group and the membership of the Steering Group are currently being finalised.