Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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51. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht whether any additional funding streams are planned in 2026 to support community facilities, town centre renewal and rural infrastructure in the Dublin Fingal region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21734/26]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My department has a number of schemes under the Rural Development Investment Programme (RDIP) to support community facilities, town centre renewal and rural infrastructure which are available to communities in the Fingal region.

The Community Centre Investment Fund (CCIF) was introduced to provide high quality, accessible, community spaces that are available to all groups in all communities in both rural and urban areas. Some €111 million has been allocated since 2022 for the enhancement and refurbishment of existing community centres and the construction of new centres where such a need has been identified. Almost €1.4 million has been allocated to 34 projects in the Dublin Fingal region in the same period. I have today opened a further round of funding under the CCIF, focusing on refurbishments to existing community centres.

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 over €420,000 has been approved for 11 projects in the Fingal region. My officials are currently finalising the details of the next call for applications under ORIS and I expect to open this new round of funding to applicants in Q2 of 2026.

The current LEADER programme covers the period from 2023 to 2027. It provides support to rural communities under a broad range of themes, including Rural Infrastructure and Social Inclusion. A total allocation of €4.7 million is available to the LEADER Local Action Group in Dublin for the 2023-27 programming period.  The LEADER programme in Dublin covers rural areas of Fingal, South Dublin, and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown.

The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) is one of my Department’s schemes to support the revitalisation of rural towns and villages across Ireland. While it primarily targets funding at areas with populations of less than 10,000 people, applications for towns with populations of up to 15,000 people are also accepted where the project is of a high quality, displays good value for money and has the potential to significantly benefit the town. Since the launch of TVRS in 2016 over €210 million has been allocated to over 1,900 projects across Ireland. In December of last year I was delighted to approve funding of over €1m for 5 projects across Fingal including for town centre renewal and public realm works in Ballyboughal and Lusk as well as the for renovation of St Margaret’s community hall.  TVRS is administered through local authorities, who work closely with local communities and businesses to develop proposals that can make a lasting impact on rural towns and villages. The details of the next iteration of TVRS are currently being developed and I expect to announce details of the scheme later this year.

Also administered by my department is the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF), which 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 and located outside of the Dublin Metropolitan area. To date, the RRDF has allocated over €614 million for 273 projects across Ireland. I was delighted to recently announce the opening of a Category 1 Call for Proposals. The closing date for applications under the fund in July 28th and full details can be found on my Department’s website.

I am committed to ensuring that my Department will continue to support high quality and transformational projects across rural Ireland in line with the objectives of Our Rural Future and the Town Centre First policy.