Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 December 2025
288. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail the funding routes available for towns in Kildare north which have comparable regeneration needs but historically sat outside the URDF large town thresholds (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72710/25]
View answer289. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the new Towns and Cities Infrastructure Investment Fund will explicitly include towns in Kildare north, or whether the RRDF and Town Centre First will be the primary route; and to outline the timeline for access (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72711/25]
View answer299. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the eligibility under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund Calls 1, 2 and 3; the amounts allocated, profiled and drawn down to date; the key milestones achieved for towns in Kildare North (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73046/25]
View answer304. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether towns that have URDF masterplans but limited capital and towns outside the URDF's historic thresholds will be eligible for site assembly, public realm and enabling infrastructure under the new fund (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73052/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 288, 289, 299 and 304 together.
A flagship element of Project Ireland 2040, the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is supporting a programme of significant transformational capital projects that will contribute to the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan.
The URDF applies to the five cities and their metropolitan areas, larger towns with a population of more than 10,000 people and to a number of smaller towns with fewer than 10,000 people but with more than 2,500 jobs and which function as significant centres of employment.
The URDF is complemented by the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF), which is applicable to towns not eligible for the URDF and is overseen by the Department of Rural and Community Development.
The 7 areas eligible for URDF support in Kildare include: Celbridge, Leixlip, Maynooth, Naas, Newbridge, Athy, Kildare Town, with Athy and Kildare Town added in 2024 following publication of the Census 2022 results.
To date Kildare County Council has been provisionally allocated €21,991,603 in URDF support towards their seven successful proposals approved under Call 1 and Call 2. The table below has further details on the drawdown to date for Call 1 and 2 projects in Kildare.
|
Project Title |
Allocation |
Drawdown |
|
Naas Library (including Public Realm works) |
€6,826,897.56 |
€6,826,897.56 |
|
Celbridge Southern Relief Road & Second Liffey Crossing |
€419,560.09 |
€419,560.09 |
|
Newbridge Cultural and Civic Quarter |
€520,722.81 |
€520,722.81 |
|
Canal Quarter Naas |
€383,104.47 |
€304,437.15 |
|
Maynooth Town Centre Renewal - Strengthening the Grid |
€1,921,696.09 |
€192,989.71 |
|
Naas Town Centre Renewal Masterplan |
€1,682,121.96 |
€1,412,411.24 |
|
Celbridge to Hazelhatch Link Road |
€10,237,500 |
€726,151.28 |
While Calls 1 and 2 were for specific regeneration projects, the third round of funding (Call 3) is specifically focussed towards addressing long term vacancy and dereliction, while supporting the key objectives of Housing for All and Town Centre First.
The Council was allocated €7,000,000 for their approved Call 3 programme. As a signal of Government commitment to this initiative Kildare County Council received €800,000 of their Call 3 allocation by way of forward funding, so that they were well resourced to begin addressing this issue.
The agreed Programme for Government included a commitment to establish a new Towns and Cities Infrastructure Investment Fund to:
• invest in infrastructure, acquire land, assemble sites, de-risk sites;
• support the development of new transport orientated development towns as necessary; and
• continue and expand URDF (Urban Regeneration and Development Fund) investments in projects to regenerate the public realm;
• include all towns with a population over 10,000 in the designation of 'key towns' and ensure towns which fall slightly below the population thresholds are considered for applications under the Fund.
In that respect, and as set out in Delivering Homes, Building Communities, the initial €2 billion allocation to the URDF has been extended by a further €500 million to 2030 under the updated NDP. Working alongside other funding streams, this additional funding will expand URDF-type investments to provide broader public investment to support urban regeneration projects and the development of sustainable communities.
The detailed arrangements for the implementation of this additional funding stream, including the towns that will be eligible for funding, are currently under development following the completion of the National Development Plan Review process. Further details should issue to the local authorities in the coming weeks.
My Department will work closely with local authorities in respect of project development under the URDF. However, responsibility for the composition of any applications for funding and their advancement through the various stages of planning, development and completion will remain, in the first instance, a matter for the relevant local authority.
