Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2026
34. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to provide an update on the progress of the implementation of the revitalised RAPID programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53321/26]
View answerThe Programme for Government commits to the establishment of a new scheme similar in style to the previous RAPID (Revitalising Areas through Planning, Investment and Development) programme, where all state agencies work together to implement community development and town-centre rejuvenation.
I was delighted to launch the successor programme to RAPID last week on the 8th July 2026. The new programme will be known as SÍOL, which translates to ‘Seed’ in English. SÍOL stands for Scéim Infheistíochta ag Obair Le Chéile, and this translates to the ‘Working Together Investment Scheme’. Capital funding of €31.5 million has been secured up to 2030 in the National Development Plan to support the new SÍOL programme.
The programme aims to deliver supports such as community safety projects, public realms works, projects to support health and wellbeing initiatives, and projects that support access to education and training, while targeting the supports to the urban areas with the highest concentration of disadvantage.
The new programme uses an evidence base including the Pobal HP Deprivation Index, information from the CSO report Urban and Rural Life in Ireland and research by the ESRI. In addition, the programme takes into consideration the areas in Ireland covered by the CLÁR programme to ensure geographical complementarity. Priority is given to those small areas with the highest population of extreme disadvantage, and the scheme is designed to provide similar supports to these areas that is given to rural areas through schemes such as CLÁR. 15 areas have been designated as SÍOL areas, and there will be €5 million funding available to these areas in 2026.
A Call for Proposals issued to all local authorities with responsibility for SÍOL areas on 8 July 2026 and the deadline for the submission of applications for funding is 14 August 2026. My Department expects to announce the successful projects in late 2026 and all projects must be completed within 18 months of approval.
