Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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932. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will consider extending financial support via the rural regeneration and development fund or similar to bolster public transport services for Meelick, Parteen, Ardnacrusha and other communities in County Clare peripheral to Limerick city which are served by infrequent buses at present and leaving many isolated. [3640/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The allocation of Rural Regeneration and Development funding is overseen by my Department with a view to supporting the development and delivery of ambitious and strategic projects which contribute to sustainable rural regeneration and development in towns and villages with a population of less than 10,000 and outlying areas. To date, 139 projects around the country have been allocated €166 million in support from the fund.

Applications are not limited in terms of sector. Projects allocated funding to date include town and village regeneration, enterprise development, tourism development, digital and co-working initiatives, libraries, arts and cultural facilities and sports and recreation facilities. Projects are often a combination of a number of these elements. However, it should be noted that no portion of funding has been ring-fenced for any particular sector or project type.

It would be open to a local authority or other State-funded body eligible under the rules of the scheme to make an application in relation to a public transport services project and the evaluation and marking system which is applied to projects, takes specific account of the extent to which national, regional and local strategic objectives are met by project proposals submitted. The application process is competitive in nature and applications undergo assessment by my Department under the oversight of a Project Advisory Board, comprised of representatives from key Government Departments as well as independent experts.

Recommendations for successful projects are then submitted to me, as Minister, based on the outcome of the internal evaluation process, the observations and advice of the Projects Advisory Board, and the alignment of the proposal with the overall objectives of the Fund and the requirement to achieve balanced regional development.

The third call for Category 1 applications - relating to projects with all planning and other consents in place and ready to commence works - closed on 1 December 2020. A further call for Category 2 applications – relating to projects that require further development - will be announced in early 2021.