Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

904. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for an update on the town and village renewal scheme, including details of the percentage of applications to the scheme that get approved and rejected, the value of approved and rejected applications and the primary reasons for any rejections; if he will provide this information broken down on an annual basis for every year since the commencement of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35602/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Town and Village Renewal Scheme was introduced in 2016 and is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages across Ireland in line with the objectives contained in Our Rural Future, Ireland's Rural Development Policy, and the Town Centre First policy.

Since the launch of the scheme 2,394 applications have been received and 1,794 projects have been allocated funding of over €177.2 million. Full details of projects allocated funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme can be found on my Departments website: gov.ie/en/department-of-rural-and-community-development-and-the-gaeltacht/collections/town-and-village-renewal-scheme-funding-allocations/

All applications for funding received by the Department under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme are assessed as part of a competitive process. Funding under the scheme is awarded following the assessment of application and reviewing matters such as the suitability against the published scheme criteria and objectives, the quality of the proposed project, the readiness of the project to commence and the level of funding available to the Department. Applications may not be successful for a range of reasons including that they fail to meet scheme core criteria and objectives, they may not have the statutory consents in place required to undertake works, the proposed works may be deemed ineligible for funding etc.

The 2025 Town and Village Renewal Scheme, which was launched in March, intends to support the revitalisation of rural Ireland by focusing on stimulating town centre economic and social regeneration. The 2025 scheme includes three funding streams for project applications, the Building or Land Acquisition Measure (BLAM), the Main Scheme and the Project Development Measure (PDM). The BLAM is now closed for applications and the assessment process is ongoing. Details of the successful projects will be announced shortly.

The Main Scheme and PDM is currently open for applications via local authorities with a closing date of 25 July 2025. It is expected that successful projects will be announced in late 2025. Full details of the 2025 scheme are available on my Department's website: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-rural-and-community-development-and-the-gaeltacht/policy-information/town-and-village-renewal-scheme/#the-2025-town-and-village-renewal-scheme

The table below details the number of applications received and the percentage of applications that have been approved on an annual basis since the scheme commenced in 2016.