Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

66. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if a review of the initial town centre first initiatives is being undertaken; and if she envisages further development of the approach for the future. [26498/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Launched in 2022, the Town Centre First (TCF) Policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. It supports the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland.

Amongst the initiatives supported by my Department under TCF is the development of TCF Plans that are helping rural communities develop a vision for their local areas and identify viable projects to realise this vision. The initial pilot programme which consisted of 26 plans are now all completed and can be viewed on the towncentrefirst.ie website.

Last February, I launched a new suite of supports which is providing €4.5 million to support broader efforts to regenerate town centres through a bottom-up approach. This measure is supporting the development of a further 26 town plans, the establishment and development of Town Teams and the completion of Project Development Measure (PDM) projects.

All PDM applications have been received by my Department and are currently undergoing the competitive assessment process. I expect to announce successful projects shortly.

The National TCF Office is currently reviewing the completed pilot TCF plans and preparing a best-practice manual which will aid the development of the new plans. I want to emphasise that TCF is a policy approach relevant for towns of all sizes and local authorities are being supported to roll-out the approach more broadly. To this end, my Department is funding Town Regeneration Officers (TROs) in local authorities to work as a central driver of Town Centre First on a local level.

My Department also administers a range of funding schemes, many of which are linked to TCF such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. This strategic link between policy, communities and schemes is key to successful outcomes.

A full review of the TCF policy will be completed in 2025 and discussions are underway on the specifics of this review. Decisions on the future direction of TCF will be informed by this review. In the meantime, my Department remains fully committed to the success of the Town Centre First policy to deliver on the goal of revitalising rural towns and villages.