Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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400. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if a decision has been made on a towns and villages funding application (details supplied) for the provision of a footpath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40936/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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This year’s Town and Village scheme was tailored to focus on initiatives that could support towns and villages in responding to the challenges presented by COVID-19. The 2020 Scheme, which has a budget of €25 million, includes two separate funding Measures - an Accelerated Measure and a Standard Measure.

The Accelerated Measure was designed to support smaller scale projects that could be delivered immediately to assist towns and villages in adapting to the challenges presented by COVID-19, and to allow people to shop and socialise in a safe manner. I have approved funding of €10.4 million for 363 projects across three funding rounds of the Accelerated Measure and this particular Measure is now closed.

The Standard Measure of the 2020 Scheme, which has a budget of €15 million, is designed to help rural towns and villages to recover from the impact of COVID-19 in the medium-term. Funding under this Measure is awarded on a competitive basis and all applications received are currently being assessed by my Department. I can confirm that an application for the project referred to by the Deputy has been received and is being considered as part of the assessment process.

I hope to be in a position shortly to announce the successful applications under the Standard Measure.