Written answers

Thursday, 2 December 2021

Department of Rural and Community Development

Departmental Schemes

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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251. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of towns and villages which have been supported under the town and village renewal scheme and whether she has conducted a review of the effectiveness of this scheme. [59576/21]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Town and Village Renewal Scheme 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.

Since the launch of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme in 2016, over €93 million of funding has been approved for more than 1,340 projects in over 800 towns and villages across Ireland. This year's  Scheme places particular emphasis on projects supporting remote working and enhancing town centre living. The maximum grant available has increased to €500,000 to permit projects of additional scale to be funded. I will be announcing details of successful applicants under this year's scheme in the coming weeks.

A Focused Policy Assessment of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme has recently been undertaken by staff of the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service located in my Department and was published last month. The assessment included a number of recommendations which are being considered by my officials.  A copy of the Focused Policy Assessment can be found on the Gov.ie website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/a0a03-programme-evaluation/ 

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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252. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the initiatives and their value which have been supported for rural renewal. [59580/21]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) provides investment to support suitable projects in towns and villages with a population of less than 10,000, and outlying areas, which will deliver on the National Strategic Objective of Strengthened Rural Economies and Communities. The funding from the RRDF will also further the aims of Our Rural Future, the Government's 5 year policy for rural development, which highlighted the need to build strongly on existing investment and to strive for even greater ambition to achieve significant and rapid progress on the objective of balanced regional development.

Calls for applications to the Fund are sought under two categories – Category 1 and Category 2. Category 1 relates to large scale ambitious capital projects with all necessary planning and other consents in place and which are ready to proceed. Category 2 provides smaller grant funding to enable the development of project proposals suitable for future calls for Category 1 applications.

Three calls for Category 1 applications have been completed to date, while two calls for applications have been completed in relation to Category 2. Arising from the outcome of these calls, 89 Category 1 projects have been approved for funding of €221 million for projects worth €301 million. 75 Category 2 projects have been approved for funding of €34 million for projects worth €46 million. In total, funding of €255 million has been approved to date for 164 projects worth a total of €347 million.

The third call for Category 2 applications closed in July 2021 and I expect to announce the successful projects in the coming weeks.  The fourth call for Category 1 applications will be announced before the end of 2021.

Table 1 below lists the 89 Category 1 projects approved for RRDF funding. Table 2 below lists the 75 Category 2 projects recently approved for RRDF funding. 

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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253. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will extend the completion date for the town and village streetscape enhancement scheme (details supplied). [59651/21]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I introduced the Streetscape Enhancement Measure this year as part of a commitment in  Our Rural Future. The initiative, introduced under the Town & Village Renewal Scheme, is being delivered by Local Authorities and funding of €7 million was allocated at the outset.

Approximately 120 towns and villages the length and breadth of the country are benefitting from the funding. Improving streetscapes by painting buildings in vibrant colours, upgrading and restoring traditional shop-fronts and removing unnecessary clutter from main streets will serve to add colour and vibrancy to our rural towns and villages.

The Deputy may be aware that I have already extended the completion date for works to 31st December and afforded Local Authorities a wide degree of flexibility in delivering the initiative locally. Local Authorities also have the autonomy to allow some works to be completed on projects after 31stDecember 2021 in circumstances where it has not been possible to conclude works before this date. In particular, this refers to works such as painting/murals which may be impacted by adverse weather conditions or where there are issues with the capacity of contractors locally to deliver within required timeframe.

The Deputy may wish to contact the relevant Local Authority in respect of any individual case he is familiar with. 

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