Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) was introduced in 2016 and is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. Since the launch of the scheme, more than €156 million has been allocated to in excess of 1,700 projects throughout Ireland. Of this €958,920 has been allocated to Cork City Council and €7,364,347 allocated to Cork County Council.

In line with the commitment in Our Rural Future, TVRS priorities are reviewed at the end of each scheme year to ensure that funding is targeted effectively to support vibrant and attractive communities and to respond to changing needs and opportunities.

The 2023 Scheme has a renewed focus on town centre economic and social vibrancy. This will be achieved through projects focusing on town centre regeneration, enhancing our streetscapes and bringing vacant and derelict buildings back into use as community multi-purpose spaces through refurbishment and renovation.

The 2023 Scheme is now closed and the competitive assessment process is currently ongoing. The 2023 TVRS is heavily subscribed, and funding will be allocated based on suitability against scheme criteria, the geographical spread of projects, the quality of the proposed projects and the available budget. I expect to be in a position to announce the successful projects before the end of Quarter 1 of 2024.