Pa Daly
Question:24. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to report on progress as part of the Town Centre First policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67798/25]
View answerThursday, 4 December 2025
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Launched in 2022, the Town Centre First (TCF) Policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. TCF supports the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland by setting out a framework to facilitate and resource the regeneration of Irish towns to ensure they are vibrant, viable places to live, work, invest in, and visit.
Significant progress has been made since the launch of the Policy towards achieving its objectives. Important developments include the establishment of a dedicated National TCF Office within the Local Government Management Agency which drives the actions under the policy; the establishment of Town Teams nationally and the appointment of 26 Town Regeneration Officers in each local authority (funded by my Department) who work as central drivers of TCF at a local level; and the establishment of a National Oversight and Advisory Group which oversees delivery of the TCF policy.
In December 2021, funding of €2.6 million was announced to support the development of 26 TCF Town Plans. These community-based plans are produced by individual Town Teams, drawn from local community and business representatives, and are helping communities develop a vision for their town and identify viable projects to realise that vision. This first phase of TCF plans are now complete and have moved onto project delivery phase. These Town Plans can be viewed on the TCF website at https://towncentrefirst.ie/.
In February 2024, a new TCF suite of supports was launched with of €4.5 million made allocated through three funding measures, which will help regenerate town centres through a bottom-up approach. This includes an allocation of €30,000 for the development of a further 26 TCF plans. The development of this second suite of TCF plans across these towns is now reaching a conclusion with individual towns currently approving and publishing their plans.
The 2024 suite of supports also includes a funding allocation towards the establishment and development of Town Teams nationwide and to allow towns prepare for major projects via the ‘Project Development Measure’. Further details of successful projects can be found at www.gov.ie/en/department-of-rural-and-community-development-and-the-gaeltacht/publications/town-centre-first-policy/.
As can be seen from the 33 actions contained within the policy, the significance of TCF is that it provides an integrated policy approach for the development of Irish towns rather than being a funded programme in and of itself. Importantly, the TCF approach is also underpinned by a range of capital funding streams across Government which have been aligned with the policy aims of TCF. These include the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the THRIVE scheme to revitalise our heritage buildings and the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund. The experience of recent funding calls for proposals has shown that the TCF approach is having an impact, resulting in higher quality applications based on clear local input.
The Programme for Government commits to the continued resourcing of the TCF model and to establish a Town Regeneration Team in every local authority. My Department will continue to work closely with colleagues in the National TCF Office, local authorities and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to ensure the ongoing implementation of the policy and to deliver on the goal of revitalising rural towns and villages.