Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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264. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of approved and rejected applications from counties Laois and Offaly to the town and village renewal scheme including the accelerated measure strand in 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24314/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The 2020 Town and Village Renewal Scheme was tailored to focus on interventions that can assist our rural towns and villages to respond to the challenges presented by COVID-19.  The scheme includes an Accelerated Measure which will enable towns and villages to introduce initiatives immediately to support increased footfall and encourage people to shop and socialise safely in accordance with public health guidelines.  Approvals under the Measure will be made under three funding rounds.

Successful projects under Round 1 and Round 2 of the Accelerated Measure have recently been announced, with a total of €6.1 million being approved for 226 projects.  Not all applications submitted met the minimum scoring criteria for funding and my officials would be happy to provide feedback to the relevant Local Authority should it be required.

Applications under Round 3 of the Accelerated Measure are currently being assessed, as are applications from Large Towns who were permitted to apply as an exceptional measure this year. 

Details of the applications received under the Accelerated Measure for Co Laois and Co Offaly are provided on the Tables 1 and 2 below:

Table 1:  T&V Accelerated Measures Applications received for Co Laois.

Table 2:  T&V Accelerated Measures Applications received for Co Offaly

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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265. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of the proposed plan outlined in the Programme for Government to expand the town and village renewal scheme to bring vacant and derelict buildings back into use and promote residential occupancy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24679/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for Government includes a commitment for an expanded Town and Village Renewal Scheme to bring vacant and derelict buildings back into use and promote residential occupancy.

In October 2018, my Department launched a Town Centre Living Initiative to explore in a holistic way how to encourage increased residential occupancy in rural towns and villages.  The pilot focused on 6 towns with different characteristics in different parts of the country. 

An independent report on the pilot Town Centre Living Initiative was published on 22nd June 2020.  The report outlines the approach taken by each town under the pilot and sets out the key issues identified to encourage increased town centre living and the repurposing of vacant properties for residential purposes. 

The report, which is available on the Gov.ie website, highlights the multiplicity of factors that need to be addressed which cut across a number of Government Departments and agencies.  

It also highlights the importance of Local Authorities consulting with local communities and property owners on town centre development proposals and the value of developing a shared vision or master plan for the town. 

Programmes such as the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and can provide funding for projects which emerge from this process, subject to meeting the required criteria and the quality of the proposals.

In this context, my Department is examining how the Town and Village Renewal Scheme can be further focused to support town centre living in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government.