Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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39. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if the money that has been allocated by her Department to the local authorities to date has been used and or if there is a blockage in the system. [62470/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides a wide range of funding and supports for rural areas through the Local Authorities under schemes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF), Town and Village Renewal Scheme, Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme and the Local Improvement Scheme. This targeted investment supports rural regeneration, facilitates new working opportunities, and fosters regional enterprise growth.

Good progress is being made under these schemes. For example, under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) over €100 million has been invested since my Department was established in 2017. In 2022 I doubled the LIS scheme to €22 million, resulting in improvements to 590 non-public roads and lanes.

The Town and Village Scheme is one of a series of national and local support measures designed to rejuvenate small rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. It is managed on behalf of the Department by the Local Authorities. Since the Town and Village Renewal Scheme commenced in 2016 it has gone from strength to strength with over €149 million in funding approved for over 1600 projects to date under the scheme, with €90 million of the allocated funding paid to date.

The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development of new outdoor recreational infrastructure. To date funding of over €92 million for more than 1400 projects throughout rural Ireland has been approved. I recently announced further funding of almost €14 million under ORIS, which will see the development of 59 outdoor recreation amenities including walking and hiking trails. This latest investment will take cumulative ORIS funding to €104 million since the scheme was launched in 2016, with €57 million of the allocated funding paid to date.

Under the RRDF over €395 million has been approved for 215 projects across Ireland, worth a total of €542 million, including €115 million that was just announced for 23 projects last month. In total, this comprises 112 Category 1 projects and 103 Category 2 projects. To date €115 million has been drawn down, with spend this year likely to be around €35 million.

Challenges do exist in relation to delivery of capital projects under the RRDF and other programmes, with the continued impact of COVID-19 on projects moving to construction, subsequent supply chain issues and, more recently, inflation issues making procurement more challenging. Local Authorities are aware of the importance of delivering on these projects and progress is being made. Under RRDF there are now 13 Category 1 projects complete and a further 43 are at construction phase which will lead to increased levels of completion in 2023 . Others are moving through formal approval and procurement processes.

My officials work closely with Local Authorities on an ongoing basis to maximise spend across our capital schemes. I’m confident that the funding provided by my Department through the various schemes, including those progressed by Local Authorities, will continue to be progressed and deliver benefits for our rural areas and communities in the future.