Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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357. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the percentage of rural regeneration and development fund schemes that have made it to completion, by county, since 2020. [17844/26]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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358. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the amount spent on the rural regeneration and development fund schemes, by county, which did not make it to completion. [17846/26]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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359. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the reasons rural regeneration and development schemes do not make it to completion; the percentage that make it only as far as phase 1; and the percentage that make it only as far as phase 2. [17848/26]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 357, 358 and 359 together.

The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) is a major programme which seeks to support large-scale, ambitious projects that can achieve sustainable economic and social development in rural area. The focus of the Fund is on rural towns and villages with a population of less than 10,000 people. The Lead Bodies for projects are deemed a Sponsoring Agency and are subject to the requirements related to Public Spending Code detailed in the Department of Public Expenditure NDP Deliver and Reform’s ‘Infrastructure Guidelines’. As such, the Sponsoring Agency has the responsibility for evaluating, planning and managing these public investment projects within the parameters of the Guidelines. This includes, for example, preparing the initial business case, project design and pre-tender works, procurement of a main contractor, monitoring and managing the implementation stage and managing and reviewing project delivery. RRDF funding is made available under two categories. Category 1 relates to large scale capital works projects with all necessary planning and consents in place and are ready to proceed. Category 2 providers funding for project development type works which are typically required before any large scale construction works. Funding here typically allows for project scoping and development and for the necessary works to secure statutory consents including planning permissions. This is with a view to the potential for further development to become ready for Category 1 status. Experience to date indicates that the typical lifecycle of RRDF Category 1 projects, as large-scale works, typically ranges between 3 and 5 years The three main stages of an Category 1 RRDF project once it has been approved in principle for an allocation of funding are detailed design (which tends to be the longest phase in the process), final tender (pre-tender approval) and approval to proceed to implementation/construction (post-tender approval). Of the 164 RRDF projects receiving approval since 2020, a total of 34 (or 21%) have now been completed. Per county details of the number of completed projects are provided in the table below. Of these 164 projects, 77 are Category 1 with associated construction works. These 77 projects were allocated funding on foot of separate calls for proposals under the Fund, with allocations being announced in April 2021, November 2022, and May 2024. 23 of these projects are at the initial detailed design stage, 11 have been approved to proceed to the tender for main works and 30 are at construction. I can confirm that 13 Category 1 projects under the tranches announced since 2020 have been completed. Separately, one RRDF Category 1 project originally approved has been decommitted, for which no RRDF expenditure was incurred. Of the 87 Category 2 projects approved from 2020 to date. To date, a total of 21 of these Category 2 projects have been completed, noting that 30 of these projects were only approved in late 2025, as part of the Fourth Call for Category 2 proposals.