Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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272. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will outline each individual project awarded funding in County Leitrim since January 2020 under funds and schemes (details supplied); the amount of funding allocated to each project and the purpose of the grant, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15944/24]

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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273. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will outline each individual project awarded funding in County Donegal since January 2020 under funds and schemes (details supplied); the amount of funding allocated to each project and the purpose of the grant, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15945/24]

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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274. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will outline each individual project awarded funding in County Sligo since January 2020 under funds and schemes (details supplied); the amount of funding allocated to each project and the purpose of the grant, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15946/24]

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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275. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will outline each individual project awarded funding in County Monaghan since January 2020 under funds and schemes (details supplied); the amount of funding allocated to each project and the purpose of the grant, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15947/24]

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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276. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will outline each individual project awarded funding in County Cavan since January 2020 under funds and schemes (details supplied); the amount of funding allocated to each project and the purpose of the grant, in tabular form;; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15948/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 272 to 276, inclusive, together.

Our Rural Future, Ireland's Rural Development Policy 2021 – 2025 represents the Irish Government’s blueprint for the development of rural Ireland. It sets out a range of actions for delivery across Government, and sets the strategic framework for the delivery of capital investment under my Department's Rural Development Investment Programme.

In total, from 2020 to date, my Department has allocated funding of €143 million under the funds and schemes to projects in the counties referenced by the Deputy. I have outlined the totals per county below, with further details about projects supported in the tables attached.

The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) is a key capital investment scheme which directly supports the objectives of Our Rural Future and the Town Centre First policy. The RRDF provides funding for the development and construction of capital projects in towns, villages and rural areas across Ireland. To date, 215 projects have been approved for RRDF funding of €415 million for projects costing €572 million. The total funding allocated to projects in Counties Leitrim, Donegal, Sligo, Monaghan and Cavan combined since January 2020 is €73 million.

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 over €156 million has been allocated to more than 1,700 projects across Ireland. I expect to be in a position to announce the successful projects under the 2023 scheme shortly.

The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as walking trails, cycleways and blue ways throughout rural Ireland. Since the launch of the scheme in 2016, funding of almost €109 million has supported over 1,550 projects across the country

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 depopulation over a defined period. Since the CLÁR programme was reintroduced in 2016, funding of over €70 million has been approved for almost 2,400 projects. This includes supports for a vast array of projects that will benefit people of all ages and abilities such as playgrounds, sensory gardens, outdoor cinemas, walking tracks, and community gyms. I expect to launch the 2024 CLÁR programme in the coming weeks.

Under the 2022 Community Centre Investment Fund, over €45.8 million was committed for improvement and refurbishment of existing community centres across Ireland. There was a huge uptake of this funding and over 860 different projects are seeing improvements to the fabric of their community centres as a result of this Government initiative. In 2023, the focus of the Community Centres Investment Fund moved to new builds. The assessment of these applications is almost complete and an announcement is expected shortly.

The LEADER programme is based on a community-led approach to rural development and plays an important role in supporting communities and enterprises in progressing job creation, social inclusion and environmental projects at local level. LEADER funding is provided to the Local Action Group (LAG) in the sub-regional area it represents and each LAG is responsible for selecting and awarding LEADER funding to projects within their geographical area.

Finally, Our Rural Future also recognises the opportunity for rural rejuvenation that remote working presents and commits to establishing a comprehensive and integrated national network of 400 remote working hubs by 2025. €14 million has been invested in almost 200 projects via the Connected Hubs fund between 2021 and 2022, enabling successful applicants to add additional capacity to existing remote working infrastructure in digital hubs and Broadband Connection Points throughout the country.

More details about the funding provided to the relevant counties under all of these schemes is contained in the appended tables.