I thank the Deputy. The town centre first policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. Central to the town centre first approach is a range of capital support funding that includes the rural regeneration and development fund and the town and village renewal scheme. Both schemes facilitate the acquisition of buildings for community use and have already delivered landmark projects which tackle the issues Deputy Quaide referred to…

I cannot comment on the exact area of Ballynoe but what Deputy Quaide has described sounds exactly like a prime property for the town and village renewal scheme or the RRDF. For instance, in Drumshanbo in County Leitrim I visited a former Garda station that has been acquired and is being developed into a fantastic facility. Throughout Leitrim on a recent visit I saw former State properties that have been developed by groups such as that mentioned by Deputy Quaide, working in conjunction with the local authority. Th…

I cannot comment on the HSE plans for the building as I do not have those details. I will say that this year, the building and land acquisition measure under the town and village renewal scheme allows local authorities to purchase up to three vacant buildings. The total fund available is up to €500,000. I would certainly encourage Deputy Quaide to have a discussion with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on the HSE element. As I have said, there are numerous projects throughout the country. I am more than happy…

I thank Deputy Collins. The local improvement scheme is a vital support for rural communities to improve non-public rural roads and local laneways. Since 2017 almost €170 million has been provided by the Government to local authorities under the scheme. I will repeat that figure of €170 million. In April 2024 €40 million in funding was announced for the LIS for all local authorities for 2024 and 2025, with €2.87 million allocated to Cork County Council. While the Department provides funding for the scheme, it is ad…

I thank Deputy Collins. I would point out that since 2017 Cork county has received €12.9 million for the LIS. It is the third highest amount nationally. It is not the Department's role to select individual roads. That is a matter for each local authority. We are looking at local authorities on the waiting list and the individual expenditure by local authorities on the scheme. I want to make sure that we are getting value for the money we are investing in it and that we are getting consistency from local authority t…

I have figures that show that at the end of 2024, 175 roads in Cork were awaiting repair, 264 have been completed since 2017 and 23 will be done in 2025. The full allocation will be used. That gives the Deputy a sense of the demand in Cork, but it is replicated across the country. LIS roads are very much part of my daily work. The scheme is very important to communities. That is why the eligibility was expanded in recent years, but in expanding it, demand increased. I assure the Deputy that I am working to secure a…

I thank the Deputy. This question fits across both of my roles. This Government recognises and values the many contributions made to society by not-for-profit, voluntary and community organisations in Tipperary and I commend the Deputy's work in this space. The Department of Rural and Community Development supports the community and voluntary sector through a number of schemes, most notably the community services programme, CSP, the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, and the scheme to suppo…

Despite all our GAA talk, we had managed to avoid last weekend until the Deputy's intervention. That suited me anyway. We have made announcements this week under the growing social enterprise fund. Borrisoleigh Community Centre in Tipperary has been awarded €15,000 for solar panel installation. Canon Hayes Recreation Centre, with which the Deputy is familiar, has been awarded €11,559; Cloughjordan has been awarded €15,000; the Newport development association has been awarded €3,800; and €45,000 has been awarded to …

The schemes do superb work. I compliment the Deputy and all the volunteers who run them and are on the boards. I have the report into the future of the rural social scheme, which I am considering at the moment. We will be making some announcements imminently around that. Again, on making it easier to get participants, I believe, as I have discussed with the Deputy previously, that the schemes have changed. They are no longer entirely labour market activation schemes. They are much more community social support sche…

The issue of rural isolation, especially among the elderly, is relevant to the work of several Departments. It is a complex issue and can undermine the physical and mental well-being of people in both rural and urban settings. Loneliness requires a wide range of responses, including health interventions, community policing, rural transport, which we discussed earlier, tackling social exclusion and addressing disadvantage. Our Rural Future is my Department’s whole-of-government strategy for rural development with ac…

The Deputy makes a good suggestion and we will certainly look at it. The potential in the new Our Rural Future document is there to highlight rural isolation and what is happening. I encourage Deputy McCormack to attend the new in-person public consultation event on 17 June in Tullamore for Our Rural Future. As I said, we have a range of schemes and there are schemes within the Department. For instance, the community centre investment scheme, which is not specifically an isolation or older persons intervention, pro…

There is nothing I disagree with in either Deputy's approach. I met the postmasters last week and the post office report is a very solid report. It is not only about the post office but about the postmen and postwomen who go out to communities and houses. For many people, this is the only contact they may have, and let us be realistic about it. As I said, through the community services programme, we are supporting many organisations across the country, including in Waterford and Offaly, that are driving meals on wh…

I thank Deputy Burke. In his previous role as Minister of State, he did much work on rural isolation and rural loneliness, and I acknowledge that. Regarding the Deputy's question, the development and enhancement of community facilities is a priority for me and full details of the capital supports available are on my Department’s website. The community centre investment fund has provided in excess of €109 million since 2022 for the enhancement and refurbishment of existing community centres and the construction of n…

Planning issues are a matter for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I agree that there should be a community element to all planning decisions. As regards Blarney, we allocated €204,000 in 2021 for the development of the Inch Park amenity. In 2023, €324,000 was allocated. This includes upgrades for the community centre. There was also €125,000 allocated to Glanmire in 2021 for enhancing John O'Callaghan Park. I commend the Ballincollig Tidy Towns committee. I was there in March. The Minister …

In the overall context of any development such as the housing referred to by the Deputy, first it is a matter for the local authority to put the plans in place. It draws down development levies for all of that construction. It should put the plan in place to have that facility developed. My Department will then be more than happy to work with it to identify potential funding opportunities. Part of the funding for Glanmire was to do a feasibility study for a community centre hub in 2021. I would be very interested t…

Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for sustainable rural development. It seeks to ensure that all rural areas are attractive for people to live, work and raise their families in. One of the high-level outcomes set out in Our Rural Future is to increase the number of people living in rural areas. Rural population trends, as we discussed earlier, in line with many of the issues addressed by Our Rural Future, require input from across a range of Departments. This can be seen in the range of actions tha…

Absolutely. We will work with all the Departments on this. There is no point in us making this level of investment in rural communities unless we can encourage younger people to come back. I share the Deputy's frustration and agree with what he said about educating younger people. We must ensure they have the opportunities to bring them back. I point to the level of investment in Offaly in projects such as the regeneration of the Tesco site in Edenderry, which is a €12.2 million investment under the RRDF. A total o…

As the Deputy says, agriculture is still the core of rural Ireland, not just economically but socially as well in terms of the leadership, skills and supply chain that are provided. I will engage with the farming organisations as we carry out the consultation process on Our Rural Future. We will be looking for their input and support. There have been various iterations of support from my Department, through social enterprise. This year, for example, there has been very good investment in FoodCloud and trying to red…

I thank the Deputy. As he is aware, CLÁR is a very important funding stream for remote rural areas. In recent years it has funded a vast array of community amenities such as community centres, sporting facilities, playgrounds, sensory gardens and walking trails. As we already discussed, it is also a growing source of funding for vehicles to transport people with disabilities and to allow people to access vital health services, such as cancer services. I have provided the Deputy with a table outlining the level of f…

I agree with the Deputy about that kind of funding. We will be looking at that from 2026 onwards. We have already funded sensory parks under CLÁR and we will continue to do that. We have also funded the upgrading and replacement of many facilities across the country, including in Mayo, to make equipment more suitable for children with disabilities and communities with disabilities. When local authorities submit applications I would encourage them to ensure there is a space included for that purpose. I visited Carlo…