The NDP will see significant increases in our funding programmes over the coming years. Those allocations are for each year. It is new money every year; it is additional money. We want to spend it in 2021 and I want to try to get as much of it out as possible. That is why I am putting a great deal of pressure on local authorities and project promoters to get their projects delivered and the money spent. It will be difficult for me to make the case for more money next year if I do not spend what I have this year. Th…

In regard to the €162 million funding, many of the bills will come in at the end of the year. That is usually the case. The pressure is on to get as much in as possible. The last thing I want to do is return money to the Exchequer. I want to see the funding being spent on the ground. The Deputy mentioned the north west. Like the Deputy, I come from that region and I am very aware of the challenges it faces. We work closely with the Western Development Commission in rolling out broadband, co-working spaces and remot…

I thank the Deputy for the question. The rural regeneration and development fund has to date approved funding of €252 million for 164 projects nationwide costing over €343 million. Projects initially approved for funding in principle progress through a comprehensive due diligence process before final confirmation of funding is provided by my Department. At each stage of this approval process, the project is reviewed by my Department to ensure it continues to meet its stated objectives, including financial sustainab…

I have visited some of the really good projects in the Deputy's constituency, including the Athenry regeneration scheme and the Bia Innovator Project, which is an absolutely fantastic project that is going to make a huge difference. I was delighted it secured €3.5 million from the rural regeneration and redevelopment fund. There are a number of other projects, including Portumna Courthouse, which is another really good project. To be clear, we look at them on a case-by-case basis. If it is a matter of genuine const…

I thank the Deputy. I appreciate I am working from a very strong base. I inherited a great Department. Deputy Canney and Deputy Ring did a great deal of hard work and it is my honour to build on that work as I deliver more projects for rural Ireland. To go back to Deputy Canney's original question, to date we have provided additional funding totalling €6.3 million for 20 projects, which are listed on the Department's website. When they find that projects are going to cost more than initially thought, applicants put…

I thank the Deputy for his kind words. I genuinely mean it when I say there are some great schemes in this Department that he developed when he was there. It was a new Department he set up with Deputy Canney and people in rural Ireland are really starting to reap the benefits. He is right about the playgrounds. I am going to mention a few schemes but the Deputy is well familiar with them. Playgrounds, public green spaces and public parks are all key to community well-being and he is dead right that they were a gods…

I take the Deputy's point and I will see if there is anything we can do to provide funding to upgrade the playgrounds and carry out necessary repairs. It will not cost a fortune to do a bit of work on these playgrounds, which are essential. The Deputy is also correct about security cameras. The Department of Justice is developing community partnerships, which involve gardaí, local authorities, local agencies and communities coming together and making suggestions for their local areas. Security cameras will be sough…

As Minister for Rural and Community Development, I can only assess applications that I receive. Cork City Council needs to examine the issue the Deputy raised. Perhaps the council has a plan for the area. The best thing to do would be to map out where the deficiencies lie. We have supported local authorities with funding to produce plans for rural areas, although the Deputy is talking about a city, which is somewhat different. We have helped many towns to bring their communities together to develop a plan for their…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 11 together. I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The LEADER programme is a key intervention implemented by my Department ,which will help to underpin the Government's rural development goals, as outlined in Our Rural Future. The programme is co-funded by the EU under Pillar Il of the Common Agricultural Policy. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is Ireland's managing authority for the CAP and thus has lead responsibility for negotiations of the new polic…

I am very committed to ensuring that a sufficient budget is allocated to LEADER to allow it to continue to successfully deliver a range of locally-led projects across rural Ireland in the new CAP period of 2023 to 2027. This will entail both EU funding and a significant Exchequer contribution. It is expected that all scheme allocations for the range of schemes in the new CAP will be announced shortly and these will form the basis for further stakeholder consultation. My officials are engaging closely with the Depar…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. My Department currently operates a number of initiatives focused on supporting remote working, as outlined in Our Rural Future, the Government's rural redevelopment policy for the period from 2021 to 2025. This summer, I awarded €8.8 million through the connected hubs funding stream for existing digital hubs and broadband connection points in every region. This investment will add capacity to remote working infrastructure with more than €3 million of the funding awarded to…

The broadband connection points have proven to be successful. They are exactly for that purpose of allowing people who do not have high-speed broadband in their area to go to their local community hall or local centre. We have provided much support to the local authorities, which have identified where these broadband connection points need to go to get the high-speed broadband in place. We provided a great deal of money to help them kit out these halls and centres with furniture called "pods" in order that people c…

A number of hubs have been supported. I am delighted to support these remote working hubs across the country but in particular in Cork. Benchspace Cork and Republic of Work in Cork city received funding and there are a number of others. Of course, the greatest success of all is the Ludgate Hub. That is an amazing centre, but we cannot all have a Ludgate Hub, but we can have small core working spaces we develop and work with. Our colleague, Deputy Michael Moynihan, is anxious about a project that has applied for fun…

My officials are engaging with the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government on the town centre first initiative. That will be a good policy. My Department will provide funding for local authorities to appoint town centre first officers. That is important, because we need to get this joined-up thinking in the towns and we want them to be able to work with the businesses, local communities and landowners on how we can do more, in a planned way, in our town centres. Significant work is ongoing in this area…

Like the Deputy, I believe we can respect the architectural heritage and importance of the building, while converting it for modern-day use. It is much better to have people in a town centre, living and breathing new life into it, than having derelict buildings. Sometimes it is about finding that balance, but there is no reason we cannot find it. It has been done in many towns and cities throughout Europe. We can do it here as well. The town centre first policy will consider these issues. They are being raised and …

The outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme, ORIS, provides funding for the development and enhancement of outdoor recreational infrastructure such as trails, cycleways and blueways in rural areas. Since 2016, ORIS funding has been awarded for 17 projects in County Louth to the value of almost €900,000 and 30 projects in County Meath to the value of more than €2.6 million. To date, 31 of these projects have been completed and it is expected the remaining projects will be completed over the coming 12 to 18 months. …

I will give the Deputy a short brief on the Mell Greenway. Louth County Council was approved for funding of €200,000 under the 2019 outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme for the development and the enhancement of the Boyne Greenway. This year, it requested permission to revise the scope of the reproved works. This amendment has been approved by my Department, subject to the submission of a project implementation plan. The Deputy knows how important that project is. We will certainly work with the local authority…

Maybe I am biased because I am from Monaghan, but there is nothing more beautiful than the Cooley Peninsula. Carlingford is an amazing part of the country. You can go on then through south Armagh and back, of course, to beautiful Monaghan. We want to use those wonderful natural facilities we have and I want to see us investing in them. That is why it will be particularly important to have the rural recreation officers. They will be able to liaise with the landowners. We cannot do any of these walks without the agre…

I thank the Deputy for the question. The LEADER programme, as the Deputy knows, will continue to be a key component of the new Common Agricultural Policy from 2023. I am committed to ensuring the programme continues to play a central role in delivering on the Government's vision for rural Ireland, as set out in Our Rural Future. Indeed, the extensive public consultation undertaken by my Department in the preparation of Our Rural Future clearly highlighted the vital role LEADER continues to play. My Department conti…

I will continue to engage with the ILDN. It is always important that agencies that are delivering taxpayers’ money get an opportunity to raise their issues of concern with me directly. I do that, but my officials work with them closely. More than 4,700 projects to the total value of €198 million have been approved nationally by the local action groups since LEADER operations began in the mid-2016. Like the Deputy, I know the benefit of this funding on the ground, whether is to help businesses or communities. They g…