Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1277. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of capital delivery teams that are now fully operational; and whether further supports are planned to accelerate project completions. [23392/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The last few years have seen a substantial growth in the level of capital funding that my Department provides to local authorities for the delivery of capital projects under our schemes. In addition, this government has ambitious plans for rural Ireland and this strong investment will continue, with over €170 million available to my Department for rural capital investment in 2025.

In light of this, a more strategic approach to capital project delivery through the local authorities was vital. My Department, in consultation with the County & City Management Association, established the Capital Delivery Teams initiative to drive this.

The initiative, provides each of the 28 local authorities that are eligible for rural development funding with up to €260,000 each year for a period of five years. This funding is utilised for the costs of staff to form a Capital Delivery Team dedicated exclusively to delivering the Department’s funded capital projects.

The funding has been made available by moving to an approach whereby all relevant local authorities receive funding, whereas the previous model provided an overhead on successful projects. This new funding model will ensure all authorities can develop and deliver the types of projects that will help drive government policy and enhance rural economies and communities.

The teams will focus on improving the delivery of existing projects, generating an enhanced pipeline of new projects for the Department’s schemes, and enhancing communications between local authorities, communities and the Department.

A total of 101 posts will be funded under this initiative. Many of these posts will be technical in nature (engineers, quantity surveyors, architects etc.) with each local authority designing their teams to address their specific needs.

A total of 72 staff are now in position nationally, and recruitment is ongoing for the remaining posts. Of the 28 teams, 27 are now operational, and candidates for the final team are currently at interview stage. Ten local authorities currently have fully staffed teams in place. An additional eight staff members are expected to be in place by the end of June 2025, which will bring the total number of full teams to 16.

In addition to providing funding for dedicated staff to drive the delivery of capital projects, my Department is engaging with the County & City Management Association through an advisory group that provides strategic guidance, addresses any issues that may arise and shares best-practice approaches to project delivery.

The Capital Delivery Teams initiative will ensure that my Department continues its strong record of fully utilising its capital allocation, and with a strong pipeline of approved capital projects in place, I am confident that this will continue in 2025.