Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

230. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the amount allocated to each town in the second phase of the Town Centre First Programme, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40643/24]

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. TCF supports the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland by setting out a framework to facilitate and resource the regeneration of Irish towns to ensure they are vibrant, viable places to live, work, invest in, and visit.

In December 2021, I announced €2.6 million in funding to support the development of 26 TCF Plans. These community-based plans are produced by individual Town Teams, drawn from local community and business representatives, and are helping communities develop a vision for their town and identify viable projects to realise that vision.

A new TCF suite of supports was launched in February last, which is providing an additional €4.5 million to support broader efforts to regenerate town centres through a bottom-up approach. The suite of supports will implement a series of three measures for rural communities. These supports will ensure resources which are effectively allocated and provides clear support to local communities and town teams in leading the revitalisation of their towns and villages. All successful projects and towns supported under the TCF suite of supports, together with funding details, are available to view on the following link on Gov.ie: www.gov.ie/en/publication/473d3-town-centre-first-policy/.

The measures include the development of Town Teams, the development of a further 26 town plans, and the completion of Project Development Measure (PDM) projects. Details of these three measures are set out below and information in relation to the allocations are set out in the attached table.

1. Town Team Support Fund: In May I was delighted to announce the first ever dedicated investment in our Town Teams. This will support the establishment and/or development of town teams where they are not already well established and to better understand the unique features of towns. A total of 68 towns will be supported with €10,000 in funding per town.

2. Town Centre First Plan: In March funding of €30,000 was announced to support the development of a further 26 TCF plans following the successful completion of the initial phase of TCF plans in 2021.

3. Project Development Measure: Last August, I announced funding of €2.6 million to support the development of a wide range of Project Development Measure projects. This funding will assist local authorities in creating a pipeline of significant, well-developed projects in local towns across Ireland. A total of 53 projects will be supported with up to €50,000 of funding per project.

A review of the effectiveness of the TCF policy will be carried out mid-2025. Any learnings that emerge from the review will be used to inform future decisions regarding the future of the initiative. In the meantime, my Department remains fully committed to the success of the TCF policy and will continue to work closely with colleagues in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to deliver on the goal of revitalising rural towns and villages.