Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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On 9 August this year, I launched the Town and Village Renewal Scheme with an allocation of €10 million in capital funding. A sum of €380,000 has been made available to each of the 26 counties, including Tipperary, under this initial phase of the scheme.

Local Authorities, in conjunction with local communities and businesses, were each invited to submit up to 8 proposals to my Department by the end of September for approval under the scheme.A total of 172 applications were received, including 5 applications from Tipperary County Council. An assessment of all of the applications is currently being finalised and I expect to be in a position to announce the successful projects shortly.

Vibrant towns and villages have an important role to play in revitalising rural Ireland. As part of Budget 2017, I have secured funding of €12 million for an enhanced Town and Village Renewal scheme next year. This represents a trebling of the original 2016 baseline allocation of €4 million. As part of the 2017 scheme I intend to include a pilot to encourage increased residential occupancy in town and village centres.