Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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734. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if a community sports, recreation and youth facility consisting of playing pitches, walkways and recreation areas in proximity to a growing village can be considered partly or in whole under the qualifying criteria for the town and village renewal scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54612/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) provides funding to support the revitalisation of our rural towns and villages and make them more attractive places to live, work, socialise and raise a family. The initiative is a key part of Our Rural Future – the Government’s five year strategy to revitalise rural Ireland.

This year's scheme closed to applications on 16 July 2021. It placed particular emphasis on projects supporting remote working and enhancing town centre living as outlined in Our Rural Future.

Other eligible TVRS projects included proposals to develop parks, green spaces and recreational amenities in town centres to make them vibrant hubs for community enjoyment, and to increase footfall for local businesses. Only applications for funding for public or community owned or leased properties were considered and projects must have been located in the town or village centre.

The focus of the 2022 scheme will be reviewed in advance of the launch of the scheme next year. I would advise potential applicants to discuss the eligibility of projects with their local authority.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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735. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if a community sports, recreation and youth facility consisting of playing pitches, walkways and recreation areas in proximity to a growing village can be considered partly or in whole under the qualifying criteria for the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54613/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund provides funding for the development and construction of capital projects in towns and villages and rural areas across Ireland. To date, 164 projects have been approved for funding of €252m for projects costing over €343m.

A guidance document detailing the Fund's objectives is issued before each call for applications. Subject to those objectives, applicants can subject proposals for projects which meet the needs of a particular town, village or area. In that regard, projects which have been allocated funding to date range across sectors, including 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.

It would be open to a local authority or other State-funded body eligible under the rules of the Fund to make an application in relation to a the type of project described by the Deputy, if that were identified as a priority in that area, county or region. However, it should also be noted that the guidance document referred to above will set out clearly the aims and objectives of that particular call for applications under the Fund, as well as the type of projects that will and will not be prioritised for support. When considering making an application to the Fund, potential applicants should review this material carefully and engage with my Department through the information sessions provided as part of each call.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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736. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if a community sports, recreation and youth facility consisting of playing pitches, walkways and recreation areas in proximity to a growing village can be considered partly or in whole under the qualifying criteria for the CLÁR scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54614/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The CLÁR Programme provides funding under a number of different Measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of de-population over a defined period. There are designated CLÁR areas in all counties with the exception of Dublin, Kildare and Wexford.

The Outdoor Community Recreation Facilities Measure (Measure 2) of the CLÁR 2021 programme included funding for playgrounds, multi-use games areas (MUGAs) and other recreation amenities. The facilities must be located in a CLÁR area and fully accessible to the public. The 2021 Programme is now closed and all successful projects have been announced.

I intend to review the Measures to be supported under the 2022 CLÁR programme in advance of the launch of the programme next year.