Question No. 59 is from Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, who is being substituted by Deputy Paul Donnelly.

How much funding has been drawn down from the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, in each month since the Minister took office?

I propose to take Questions Nos. 59 and 75 together.

The rural regeneration and development fund provides funding for the development and construction of significant and transformative capital projects in towns, villages and rural areas across Ireland. The fund is central to achieving the objectives and key deliverables of the Government's five-year policy for rural Ireland, Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025. At the heart of Our Rural Future is a commitment to revitalising towns and villages across rural Ireland, making them more attractive places to live, work, raise a family and invest. The projects supported by the fund assist in the regeneration of rural towns and villages, including by addressing vacancy and dereliction and positioning them for further growth through regeneration and town centre renewal. The fund also invests in strategic projects that contribute to further economic development in rural areas.

I have been fortunate to see first-hand many projects supported by the fund during my time as Minister and I have seen the real benefits they are delivering to rural communities. Calls for applications to the fund are sought under two categories, category 1 and category 2. Category 1 relates to large ambitious capital projects with all necessary planning and other consents in place which are ready to proceed, that is, shovel-ready. Category 2 provides smaller grant funding to enable the development of project proposals suitable for future calls for category 1 applications.

Since the RRDF was established in 2018, funding of €409 million has been approved for 215 projects. When matching funding is included the total value of these projects is €560 million. Since my appointment as Minister for Rural and Community Development in June 2020, funding of more than €111 million has been drawn down from the fund. The table sets out the monthly drawdowns since June 2020, as requested by the Deputy.

Total RRDF Drawn Down – Grand Total €111,873,057.75

The budget for the RRDF in 2023 is €60 million and an additional €10.5 million of capital carryover. I remain committed to ensuring this vital funding can deliver real and transformative change in towns across rural Ireland. Underlying this is the need to ensure delivery on the ground. To this end, I have outlined to local authorities the priority I attach to the delivery of these projects and have asked my officials to ensure there is an ongoing process of engagement with the local authorities to ensure strong and timely delivery.

This issue is incredibly important. We see it especially as we travel around many of the towns and villages. Certainly when I travel around the country, I see quite a number of areas with a lot of dereliction where a lot of structural work is needed. I therefore welcome the Minister's work. Local authorities are important in the cross-collaboration of different agencies for delivery. Is the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage also involved in the process?

I have visited a good few projects and have seen them first-hand. Delivery is ramping up with the funding from my Department. There is a strong pipeline of projects. I was in Fethard, County Tipperary, earlier in the year, where a magnificent amenity has been developed. It is a remote working and community space. It is something else. I have been in Waterford, Kilkenny, Longford, Sligo, Meath and Roscommon and I was in Limerick last week, where I visited the Flying Boat and Maritime Museum in Foynes, which received funding. It is a game-changer for Foynes because it now has an attraction, a visitor destination that can be sold to tourists on the Wild Atlantic Way. I am seeing projects being delivered under the town and village renewal scheme, CLÁR, the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, the community centre fund, LEADER funding and the RRDF. It is important that projects are delivered. I am always speaking to local authorities to get them to spend the money.

I can see those projects being delivered. It is important to get the infrastructure in place so other developments can take place. Sometimes a blockage can prevent other projects from progressing. Category 2 is important because sometimes organisations or communities do not have the €10,000, €20,000 or €50,000 it costs to do a feasibility study or get a project up and running. This funding is welcome to enable them to develop their projects.

The Minister spoke about putting pressure on local authorities. Sometimes that is required. As Deputy Donnelly said, we need some kind of cross-departmental outlook for this. When we talk about LEADER funding, the town and village renewal scheme or the urban regeneration development fund, URDF, under the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and what I would like to see done with vacant properties, on some level, we need a more macro approach to deal with dereliction and vacancies and to facilitate our smaller towns and even some of our larger towns to get more people to live in their centres. That needs to be done. It might be up to the Minister to draw that together.

Some €409 million has been spent so far under the RRDF. Is it still planned to spend €1 billion by 2027?

Funding of €409 million has been approved for 215 projects. We have to get the money spent. There is no doubt that there have been delays due to different issues. That is why we now have category 2 funding. It means that people can have all their plans made and planning permission received. They can apply for category 2 funding to get the project ready and then they can apply for category 1 funding to complete it. When they receive the money they should be ready to press the button and go.

There is a good bit of joined-up thinking with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, including between the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and me, on the town centre first policy. The two Departments work well because we have the RRDF and the URDF. We need to work with the local authorities to get that joined-up thinking. We have appointed town centre first officers in the local authorities who work with businesses and communities to also get a joined-up approach. A good deal of investment has gone in. It is paying dividends and I want to see more of it happening and more projects delivered as quickly as possible.