John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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67. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for an update on the publication of the call for the next round of funding under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund. [12717/25]

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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99. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to confirm that the funds for the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund are fully allocated; when funding will be available again since the fund is part of the Project Ireland 2040 programme; if an alternative funding stream will be provided to replace the fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12130/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 67 and 99 together.

A flagship element of Project Ireland 2040, the €2 billion Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is supporting a programme of significant transformational capital projects that will contribute to the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan. The Rural and Urban Regeneration and Development Fund is a matter for the Minister for Rural and Community Development

To date, there have been three rounds of funding provided under the URDF, with approximately €1.9 billion allocated. Under Call 1 and Call 2, 132 proposals comprising of some 430 individual projects, were approved for funding. URDF supported projects are now active in every local authority area in the Country.

While Call 1 and 2 were for specific urban regeneration and development projects, Call 3 funding is supporting an approved programme of acquisitions in each local authority to address long term vacancy and dereliction in URDF towns and cities, and support the key objectives of Housing for All and Town Centre First. In terms of URDF funding provided under Call 3, €142.5 million has been allocated to local authorities to date.

With regard to further rounds of funding, and in line with the agreed Programme for Government, it is my intention to continue and expand URDF-type investment in projects as part of the new Towns and Cities Infrastructure Investment Fund, which will allow for investment in infrastructure, the acquisition of land, assembly of sites and the de-risking of sites in existing towns and cities to maximise their potential growth.

The detailed arrangements for the implementation of these funding streams, including the types of projects to be considered, are currently under development. These arrangements will be clarified further following completion of the National Development Plan Review, which will enable the level of additional capital funding for infrastructure investment to be determined.

My Department will continue to work closely with local authorities in respect of project development under future rounds of funding. It should be noted, however, that responsibility for the composition of any applications for funding and their advancement through the various stages of planning, development and completion is, in the first instance, a matter for the relevant local authority.

In the meantime an interactive GIS Story Map site, containing details of all successful URDF projects under Call 1 and Call 2, is available to give elected representatives and members of the public access up to date information on all URDF supported projects at a Local Authority level. The site is available through the URDF site, www.gov.ie/URDF.