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

2704.To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the uptake of supports provided by her Department to rejuvenate town centres and high streets at the county level; whether she has considered the idea of local one-stop shops for information to increase the uptake of these supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33568/24]

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.

My Department's key capital investment schemes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) are strategically aligned to these policies. This strategic link between policy, communities and schemes is key to successful outcomes. Earlier this year I announced funding for 30 large scale capital projects under the RRDF with a total value of €164m. I also announced over €20m in funding for 82 projects under the TVRS. Details of approved projects under these schemes in recent years are available on my Department's website.

My Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage jointly manage the Town Centre First TCF) policy, and the National TCF Office is key to its success . The National Office is rapidly developing expertise on town centre revitalisation including preparing a best-practice manuals and other resources which can be found on the dedicated TCF website to support the implementation of the policy.

Amongst the other 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 I launched in 2021, consisted of 26 plans and are now all completed and can be viewed on the towncentrefirst.ie website.

Earlier this year I launched a new suite of supports which is providing an additional €4 million to support broader efforts to regenerate town centres through a bottom-up approach. This measure supports the development of a further 26 town plans, the establishment and development and establishment of Town Teams and the completion of Project Development Measure (PDM) projects. I have announced the successful towns that are being supported to complete a town plan and develop/establish town teams, which includes 94 towns with a funding allocation of €1.46 million. I expect to announce a new batch of successful PDM projects shortly.

My Department is also funding Town Regeneration Officers (TROs) in local authorities to work as a central driver of Town Centre First on a local level. TROs work in collaboration with Town Teams and local authority staff, including vacant homes officers.

The TCF policy will be reviewed in 2025 and the future direction of TCF will be informed by this review. The review would seem to present an opportunity to consider the merits of new initiatives, potentially including one-stop shops. In the meantime, my Department remains fully committed to the success of the Town Centre First policy to deliver on the goal of revitalising Ireland's towns and villages.