Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

3444. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development he steps she is taking to address the issue of vacant and derelict buildings in towns and villages that are presently eyesores but could assist to resolve housing issues and return vibrancy to small towns and villages long-term. [40245/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The refurbishment of vacant properties is being addressed by a number of initiatives delivered by my Department, in line with the commitments contained in Our Rural Future.

In April, I announced investment of €81 million for 25 landmark projects for funding under Category 1 of the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF. The projects will combat dereliction, increase the vibrancy of rural towns and villages and regenerate town centre buildings. A call for RRDF category 2 projects opened in May.

I have also announced funding of €15 million that is available under the 2021 Town & Village Renewal Scheme. A key focus of this year’s scheme is to renovate derelict and vacant buildings in our town centres, including for residential living. I have increased the maximum grant available under the Scheme to €500,000 to permit projects of additional scale to be funded.

I will also shortly be announcing a new €2 million scheme to fund the development of town masterplans which I expect will identify strategic actions tailored to address vacancy and support town centre living in each town.

There are a range of other initiatives outlined in Our Rural Futurewhich will contribute to addressing vacancy in our towns and villages. In particular, an interdepartmental group has been established to develop a Town Centre First Approach, with a focus on vacancy and dereliction, and to bring forward recommendations to Government. As part of its role, this group is also considering the suggested actions from the report of my Department’s Town Centre Living Initiative which was published last year.

Finally, as part of Budget 2022, and in the context of the Town Centre First approach, we will examine the scope to introduce new supports and incentives for the refurbishment of vacant properties to increase town centre living.