Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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358. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the extent to which she expects to assist various tidy towns projects throughout the country in 2022, some of which may have suffered during lockdown; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9004/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Despite the cancellation of the SuperValu Tidy Towns competition in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, I was delighted to see that the entry to the 2021 competition was very strong and the competition continues to reach out to all parts of our communities. I particularly want to thank all the Tidy Town groups for implementing the changes we introduced to the competition last year which ensured the competition could continue and that it was delivered safely.

I was pleased to be in a position at the 2021 SuperValu TidyTowns Awards Ceremony to announce a funding package of €1.5 Million to support TidyTowns groups in preparing for the 2022 competition. This brings the total funding allocated to TidyTowns groups to €6.7 Million since my Department was established in 2017.

This round of funding can be used for projects that support and encourage sustainable living with particular emphasis on biodiversity, green spaces or actions supporting the Sustainable Development Goals, and to assist them in preparing their entry for the 2022 competition.

My Department, with support from the National Panel of TidyTowns Adjudicators, recently redrafted the TidyTowns Handbook to bring it in line with the competition categories and to further assist the TidyTowns groups. My Department continues to support TidyTowns groups by ongoing engagement through regular newsletters, sharing information on the TidyTowns social media pages and information webinars.

I look forward to launching the 2022 SuperValu TidyTowns competition shortly and I have every confidence that the competition will continue to grow.