Our Rural Future: Minister Humphreys announces almost €18.5m to combat dereliction & breathe new life into rural towns & villages
From Department of Rural and Community Development
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Rural and Community Development
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today (25th Feb 2022) announced almost €18.5 million to benefit rural towns and villages the length and breadth of the country.
The funding is being provided under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme as part of Our Rural Future and places a strong emphasis on projects which tackle vacancy and dereliction by bringing landmark town centre buildings back to life.
Speaking today, Minister Humphreys said:
"I am delighted to announce this latest round of funding as part of Our Rural Future. Many of the successful projects I am announcing today will see vacant and derelict town centre building such as old banks, garda stations and convents transformed into community, cultural and arts spaces. There is also a strong focus on remote working projects in this round of funding and I am pleased to see that a number of counties have set out ambitious marketing plans aimed at attracting remote workers to relocate."
Examples of the successful projects announced today include:
Minister Humphreys concluded:
“I have substantially increased the size of the grants available under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme this year and I am delighted to see that communities and local authorities across the country have worked together and put forward really ambitious projects which will make a lasting difference in towns and villages across the country. These projects will breathe new life into our towns and villages and are real life examples of the impact that Our Rural Future is having in communities across the country. The first progress report under Our Rural Future shows the excellent progress across Government in the first year of the policy. In the coming weeks, I will be announcing a further call for applications under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and I am asking local authorities and communities to come forward with more ambitious plans for their areas.”
A further announcement in respect of successful projects under the new Project Development Measure of the Town & Village Renewal Scheme will also be made shortly. This new measure will support the development of a pipeline of shovel ready projects for delivery in our towns and villages.
The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) is part of a range of measures to support the revitalisation of rural Ireland. The programme is funded under Project Ireland 2040 as part of “Our Rural Future “
Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for rural Ireland for the period 2021-2025. It represents a new milestone in the approach to rural development policy for Ireland and adopts a more strategic, ambitious and holistic approach to investing in and maximising opportunities for rural areas. The first annual progress report for Our Rural Future has now been published.
TVRS is funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and is administered by the Local Authorities.
Since the introduction of the Scheme in 2016, almost €94million has been approved for more than 1,300 projects across the country.
It has supported a range of activities from improving the public realm to job creation initiatives such as the development of enterprise hubs and remote working facilities. These projects have been identified by local community groups and businesses, in conjunction with their Local Authorities.
The priorities of the 2021 Town and Village Renewal Scheme included:
TVRS Main Scheme Approvals
County | Value | No. of Projects |
Carlow | €946,600 | 3 |
Cavan | €1,021,187 | 6 |
Clare | €733,910 | 3 |
Cork City | €329,120 | 2 |
Cork County | €893,001 | 4 |
Donegal | €390,000 | 4 |
Dublin Fingal | €45,936 | 2 |
Galway | €408,500 | 3 |
Kerry | €698,370 | 3 |
Kildare | €209,930 | 5 |
Kilkenny | €1,135,785 | 5 |
Laois | €766,652 | 4 |
Leitrim | €1,102,167 | 5 |
Limerick | €1,000,000 | 3 |
Longford | €677,093 | 4 |
Louth | €843,466 | 5 |
Meath | €700,000 | 4 |
Monaghan | €763,394 | 5 |
Offaly | €450,000 | 3 |
Roscommon | €950,065 | 4 |
Sligo | €1,300,000 | 6 |
Tipperary | €788,000 | 3 |
Waterford | €691,814 | 4 |
Westmeath | €257,231 | 2 |
Wexford | €920,914 | 4 |
Wicklow | €310,439 | 3 |
Grand Total | €18,333,574 | 99 |