Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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216. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development for a funding allocation comparison for public realm infrastructure between Portlaoise and Newbridge for 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43323/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The regeneration and revitalisation of our rural towns and villages is a key priority for my Department. In support of this priority my Department has put in place a range of supports and schemes, which focus on rural towns.

Towns such as Portlaoise and Newbridge which have a population of over 10,000, are not generally eligible for inclusion in such schemes. For example, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) is part of a range of measures designed to support these objectives. Since the launch of the TVRS in 2016 over €177 million has been allocated to almost 1,800 projects. The scheme provides funding to villages and towns with a population of less than 10,000 people with a minimum of 60% of the funding ring-fenced for villages and towns of less than 5,000 people.

However, as an exceptional measure, in 2020, funding was provided to TVRS which included funding for larger towns, including Portlaoise and Newbridge, aimed at assisting towns to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19. The inclusion of larger towns on this occasion was in recognition of their importance in supporting the economic and social fabric of their surrounding rural communities.

Kildare County Council applied for, and secured funding of €40,000 for the removal of existing on street car parking spaces to allow the installation of parklets as well as for the use of public realm to allow for social distancing along with market stalls, outdoor eating & queuing of patrons for businesses in Newbridge. Similarly, Laois County Council was awarded funding of €36,000 to make improvements to the public realm which included street furniture and planting.

In respect of larger towns, I can confirm that the Department of Housing Planning and Local Government manages the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) which has a specific focus on towns with a population of over 10,000. The URDF aims to deliver more compact and sustainable development, as envisaged under Project Ireland 2040. It does this by part-funding regeneration and rejuvenation projects in Ireland’s five cities and other large towns. More compact and sustainable development involves a greater proportion of residential and mixed-use development within the existing built-up footprints of our cities and towns. This will ensure more parts of our urban areas become attractive and vibrant places in which to live, work, visit and invest.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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217. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the projects in east Galway that have been approved for funding under the rural regeneration and development fund; the amount of funding received for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and the year to date, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43439/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) provides funding for the development and construction of large scale capital projects in towns, villages and rural areas across Ireland. Since 2018, funding of €584 million has been allocated to 243 projects.

Calls for applications to the Fund are sought under two categories – Category 1 and Category 2. Category 1 relates to large scale ambitious capital projects with all necessary planning and other consents in place and ready to proceed. Category 2 provides grant funding to enable the development of project proposals suitable for future calls for Category 1 applications.

Since 2020, seven Galway projects have been allocated RRDF funding of €19.5 million.

I announced the last round of successful projects on the 13th May 2024 for Category 1 funding. I was delighted to provide funding of €13.7 million to Galway County Council and Galway Rural Development for three projects in Galway – Athenry, Tuam and Glenamaddy.

I have listed all projects allocated funding in Galway, including the east Galway area, from 2020 to 2024 below.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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218. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the projects in east Galway that have been approved for funding under the town and village renewal scheme; the amount of funding received, for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and the year to date, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43440/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Our Rural Future, Ireland's Rural Development Policy 2021 – 2025, represents the Irish Government’s blueprint for the sustainable development of rural Ireland. It sets out a vision for a thriving rural Ireland, and to that end establishes a strategic framework for the delivery of capital investment under my Department's Rural Development Investment Programme. The delivery of these actions will enhance the wellbeing and quality of life for people living in our rural towns and villages.

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 €177 million has been allocated to almost 1,800 projects. Of this just under €7 million has been allocated to 76 projects in County Galway.

In line with the policy commitments of 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.

TVRS is administered through local authorities, who work closely with local communities and businesses to develop proposals that will bring long-lasting, positive impacts to rural towns and villages.

The 2023 Scheme placed particular emphasis on projects that bring economic and social vibrancy to town centres in line with Government policies, which will encourage more people into town and village centres to work, live, socialise and spend time in. At the end of April last, I announced €20.4 million in funding to support 82 successful projects under the 2023 Scheme, of which Galway has been allocated €750,000 for three projects.

Earlier this year, I launched a series of measures under the Town Centre First Suite of Supports to regenerate town centres. One such measure supports the completion of Project Development Measure (PDM) projects and on the 23 August 2024, I announced €2.6 million in funding to support 53 successful projects of which Galway has been allocated €148,925 for three projects.

The allocations in the table below include the amounts awarded to Galway under TVRS and the TCF Suite of Supports PDM.

The priorities for the 2024/25 TVRS are currently under review to inform the next iteration of the scheme which is provisionally scheduled to launch before the end of this year.

Details of projects allocated funding in Galway, including those in East Galway, are provided below:

">Galway renewal funding 2020-2023

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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219. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the projects in east Galway that have been approved for funding under the local improvement scheme; the amount of funding received, for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and the year to date, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43441/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Local Improvement Scheme, or LIS, supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are generally not maintained by local authorities.

My Department reintroduced the scheme in 2017 after several years without dedicated funding. Between 2017 and 2024, my Department allocated almost €170 million to local authorities under the scheme. Up to the end of 2023, this has upgraded over 4,000 non-public roads and lanes, benefitting nearly 20,000 landowners and residents in these rural areas.

While my Department provides funding for the scheme, it is administered by each local authority, which is responsible for the selection and prioritisation of roads in accordance with the eligibility criteria set out in the scheme outline. My Department retains LIS information on a county rather than municipal area basis. Details relating to municipal areas may be available from the relevant local authorities.

Last year, over €1.99 million in funding was granted to Galway County Council, including LIS funding for repairing island roads. This brings the total amount allocated to Galway since 2017 to more than €10.4 million. The table below sets out the overall funding allocated to Galway County Council in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, and to date in 2024, as well as the number of roads completed.

Dedicated funding was introduced last year for LIS repair works on eligible island roads. Galway received €476,000 and has been allocated €500,000 in LIS funding across 2024 and 2025.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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220. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the projects in east Galway that have been approved for funding under the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme; the amount of funding, for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and the year to date, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43442/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as walking trails, cycleways, water-based recreation sites and mountain trails. Since 2020, funding of almost €5 million has been allocated to 58 outdoor recreation projects in County Galway.

A table detailing the ORIS projects approved in County Galway since 2020 is set out below. This information relates to the funding approvals per calendar year rather than each annual iteration of the scheme. For example, projects under measures 1, 2 and 3 of the ORIS 2023 scheme were formally announced at the start of 2024 and are included under the 2024 column below.

Details of all approved projects can be found on my Department's website.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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221. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the projects in east Galway that have been approved for funding under the CLÁR programme; the amount funding received, for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and the year to date in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43443/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The CLÁR programme provides targeted investment for small scale infrastructural projects in defined rural areas. Since 2020, over 90 projects have been approved in county Galway with almost €5.7 million in funding. To date this year, there have been approvals under Measures 1 and 2 of CLÁR 2024 and I hope to announce Measure 3 projects in the coming weeks

The following table lists the projects approved in Galway since 2020.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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222. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the projects in east Galway that have been approved for funding under the community centre investment fund, for the years 2022, 2023 and the year to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43444/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Under the 2022 Community Centre Investment Fund, almost €46 million was committed for the improvement and refurbishment of existing community centres across Ireland. There was a huge uptake of this funding and over 860 different projects are being delivered in centres the length and breadth of the country. I am happy to confirm that 61 projects totalling over €4.2 million were approved in Galway. These are outlined in the table at the link below.

In 2023, the focus of the Community Centres Investment Fund moved to new builds. Earlier this year, funding of €30 million was approved for the construction of 12 new community centres covering nine counties. County Galway had two successful projects under this fund. Áras Lae, Maigh Cuilinn has been approved €6 million in grant aid and Newcastle Community Centre in Galway City was approved for over €4.3 million. Again, these are outlined in the table at the link.

The Community Centre Investment Fund 2024 will provide funding towards capital costs for the refurbishment of existing community centres. The window for applying for the scheme closed in early September. These applications are currently being assessed and I expect to begin announcing successful projects before the end of the year.

">Community Centre Investment Fund Co. Galway

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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223. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the projects in east Galway that have been approved for funding under LEADER; the amount funding, for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and the year to date, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43445/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The LEADER Programme is a key intervention of Our Rural Future, the Government’s Policy for rural development, which aims to deliver a range of actions to rural communities over the lifetime of the policy. It supports a broad range of activities that aim to respond to the diversity of the local needs of our rural areas.

From 2020 to 31st December 2023, 151 projects with a value of over €4.5 million were approved for funding by Galway Rural Development, the Local Action Group (LAG) under the 2014-2022 LEADER programme in east Galway. This programme closed for approvals at the end of 2023.

The 2023-2027 LEADER programme has now commenced in east county Galway. The LAG is in the early stages of implementation, which involves engaging with the communities and working with them to develop their project proposals. As such, there have been no projects approved to date in 2024 under the new programme but I look forward to seeing progress in this area over the coming months.

Details of all projects approved under the 2014-2022 LEADER programme by the LAG operating in east Galway and the funding allocated to them is available on my Department’s website at: www.gov.ie/en/publication/b849be-local-action-groups-approved-projects-2014-2020/