Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 October 2024
648. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development her priorities for town regeneration; the initiatives she is taking to support town renewal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39667/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraLaunched 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. It supports the Our Rural Future vision for a thriving rural Ireland.
The TCF policy, a joint initiative by my Department and the Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), encourages innovative proposals for the reuse of vacant and underused residential and other buildings in town centres.
Significant progress has been made since the launch of the Policy towards establishing momentum in achieving its objectives. For example, the establishment of a National TCF Office within the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) which drives the actions under the policy; the appointment of 26 Town Regeneration Officers in each local authority (funded by my Department) which 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 are important developments in this regard.
In December 2021, I announced €2.6 million in funding to support the development of 26 TCF Plans. These community-based plans are produced by individual Town Teams, drawn from local community and business representatives, that are helping communities develop a vision for their town and identify viable projects to realise that vision. These Town Plans can be viewed on the TCF website at www.towncentrefirst.ie.
In February last, I launched a new TCF suite of supports which is providing an additional €4.5 million to support broader efforts to regenerate town centres through a bottom-up approach. The measures supported the development of a further 26 town plans, the establishment and development of ‘Town Teams’ nationwide, and funding local authorities through the Project Development Measure (PDM) to initiate and fully scope key infrastructure in the areas. All successful projects and towns supported under the TCF suite of supports are available to view on the following link on Gov.ie: www.gov.ie/en/publication/473d3-town-centre-first-policy/. This funding is also supporting the establishment of a further 68 Town Teams nationwide.
As can be seen from the 33 actions contained within the TCF policy, the significance of Town Centre First is that it intended to provide for an integrated policy approach for the development of Irish towns rather than it being a funded programme in and of itself. Central to the success of TCF is the range of support funding in place right across Government, including my Department’s Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) and Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS). Both schemes have already delivered landmark projects across rural Ireland which tackle issues of vacancy and dereliction - examples of recent funding announcements include the €164m announced for 30 regeneration projects under the RRDF in May, and the €20m allocated to projects under the TVRS in April.
