Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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695. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the members of the project assessment board for assessing and allocating funding for the urban regeneration and development fund; the process of selection for the board; the qualifications required for membership; the renumeration provided for each of the positions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15239/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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All applications received under Call 2 of the URDF were assessed in terms of their alignment with the intended purpose of the URDF programme and also their viability before being considered for approval. As part of this process, and in line with a Government Decision of May 2018, the assessment process included consideration by a Project Advisory Board (PAB) consisting of relevant Government departments, State agencies and independent experts from relevant sectors.

The composition of the PAB for Call 2 of the URDF is set out in the following table.

Remuneration provided for the three independent expert members, in respect of their time spent on preparation for and attendance at meetings, was €450 each per meeting amounting to €3,150 for the seven meetings that took place.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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696. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the breakdown of funds applied for and subsequently allocated to the urban regeneration and development fund by county in each of the years 2018 to 2020, in tabular form; when the next round of applications under the fund will open; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15241/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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There have been two calls for proposals under the URDF. In 2019, approval in principle together with provisional funding allocations issued in respect of the 87 projects approved under the first call which was launched in 2018.

The Table below lists the 87 projects approved under Call 1 together with up-to-date provisional URDF funding allocations. With regard to the difference between the current provisional allocations and the URDF support initially sought by applicants at application stage it should be noted that in some cases proposals were not sufficiently developed to warrant the allocations sought or contained project elements that would not attract URDF support. In other cases allocations have since been increased beyond what was initially sought in order to respond to more refined and updated project budgets.

A second call for proposals was launched last year, and following a rigorous assessment process I have only recently approved a further 45 projects for URDF support. There are no plans at the present time to announce any further calls for proposals under the URDF.

Table - Projects approved under URDF Call 1

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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698. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide a schedule of works and-or projects granted funding under the urban regeneration and development fund 2021, by county. [15264/21]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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732. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the allocations that have been made under the urban regeneration and development fund. [15895/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 698 and 732 together.

The Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), which was launched in 2018 to support more compact and sustainable development, is one of four funds established under the National Development Plan 2018-2027.

The URDF supported capital programme is applicant led and all applications for URDF support are assessed in terms of their alignment with the intended purpose of the URDF programme and also their viability before being considered for approval.

There have been two calls for proposals under the URDF. In 2019, approval in principle together with provisional funding allocations issued in respect of the 87 projects approved under the first call which was launched in 2018. The second call for proposals was launched last year, and following a rigorous assessment process I have recently approved a further 45 projects for URDF support. My Department will soon be in contact with the local authorities involved concerning the arrangements and conditions attached to this URDF support.

In this regard, it should be noted that responsibility for the advancement of URDF supported projects through the various stages of development and completion is, in the first instance, a matter for the relevant successful applicant, the Sponsoring Agency. Each URDF supported project is unique as each addresses location specific issues, and many are of significant scale, complexity, and cost. As is normally the case, such projects must be carefully developed and managed by the Sponsoring Agency in accordance with the normal conditions and arrangements that apply to public sector managed projects including exercising appropriate cost control and delivering each project as approved and in full compliance with the Public Spending Code.

Table 1 lists the 87 projects approved under Call 1 together with provisional URDF funding allocations. Table 2 lists the 45 projects recently approved under Call 2 together with provisional URDF funding allocations.

TABLE 1- Projects Approved under URDF Call 1

TABLE 2- Projects approved under URDF Call 2

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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699. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason funding under the urban regeneration and development fund 2021 has not been granted to Kildare County Council in respect of a second bridge in Newbridge, County Kildare. [15265/21]

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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711. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason a project (details supplied) in County Kildare did not receive funding under the recently announced urban regeneration and development fund; if the project will be considered under future funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15419/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 699 and 711 together.

The second call for proposals under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund was launched in January 2020. A copy of the circular setting out the objectives of the Fund together with the application form and assessment criteria have been available on my Departments website since then, and can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/908737-how-to-apply-for-the-urban-regeneration-and-development-fund/.

The primary focus of Call 2 of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is on supporting projects that will contribute to compact growth and that will improve the liveability of our cities and towns. In total, my Department received 76 project proposals (with a total URDF ask in excess of €2bn) with every local authority submitting at least one proposal, and all of which required rigorous assessment.

The quality of proposals submitted under Call 2 was generally very high, demonstrating the commitment of local authorities to avail of the opportunities provided through the URDF. Most applications were well aligned with the objectives set out in local Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSES) and Metropolitan Area Strategic Plans (MASP) where relevant, demonstrating local authorities’ evident ambition to effect impactful regeneration and rejuvenation of urban areas and in that context local authorities’ clear understanding of and commitment to implementation of the National Planning Framework.

Generally, proposals were deemed suitable for URDF support for the following reasons:

(i) Proposal is the right project in the right place, addresses the particular location specific requirements and aligns well with the objectives of NPF (City/Regional Drivers);

(ii) Proposal itself is a good response to the core assessment criteria;

(iii) Proposal represents a strategic and integrated approach to Urban Regeneration (has the potential to act as a catalyst for wider advancement of the regeneration agenda)

(iv) Proposal represents a viable option for investment (viable, deliverable and sustainable)

Generally, proposals were deemed unsuitable for the following reasons:

(i) Proposal did not respond to core assessment criteria of Fund or the quality of the proposal was low;

(ii) Proposal was a routine standalone capital project more related to other capital funding sources available by another Department or Agency;

(iii) Proposal did not demonstrate value for money or was not considered deliverable or sustainable in the context of the URDF programme.

The proposal in question was one of four submitted by Kildare County Council under Call 2 of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund. While this proposal was unsuccessful, the Council was very successful in securing €15,642,624 in URDF support which has been provisionally approved in respect of its other three proposals.

A copy of the detailed assessment of this project will soon be provided to Kildare County Council following which my officials will be available to engage with Council officials to provide any further feedback/information required.