Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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325. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the eligibility population threshold for towns applying under the newly announced Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund; to confirm whether the threshold is 10,000, 9,000, or another figure; the basis for the threshold applied; whether it is based on Census 2022 settlement populations; and whether towns with a population below 9,000 for example, Lusk approximately 8,806 can be considered under this fund or are intended to be directed to alternative regeneration schemes. [23502/26]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The new Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund, which I announced on 5 March last, will continue to support urban regeneration projects and the development of sustainable communities, building on the success of the previous Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) in that respect. The new Fund will also provide a greater focus on disadvantaged areas.

As set out in my 5 March announcement, and following completion of a review of the latest Census 2022 data by my Department to assess the additional towns that can be included, I have decided to lower the limit for eligible towns from a population of 10,000 to 9,000. More towns will now be able to benefit from the funding we are providing as a result. Towns with more than 2,500 jobs, and which function as significant centres of employment, were also already eligible areas under the URDF scheme and will remain so under the new Fund.

Lusk does not meet the revised eligibility criteria for funding under the new Fund. However, the Deputy may wish to note that the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF), overseen by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (DRCDG), is targeted at settlements and rural areas with fewer than 10,000 people located outside city boundaries and the Dublin metropolitan area. Further information on the RRDF and its current Call for Proposals can be accessed on the DRCDG website: