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The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today announced €21.5 million for 27 landmark regeneration projects in rural communities across the country.
The funding, under the Rural Regeneration Development Fund (RRDF), is being invested in projects that will rejuvenate town centres, drive economic growth and footfall, combat dereliction, develop pedestrian zones and outdoor spaces and boost tourism in Rural Ireland.
A number of the projects approved for funding involve the re-purposing of old, derelict and historical buildings into modern-day remote working hubs, as well as enterprise, cultural and community facilities.
The funding being announced today will bring these projects through the development stage and to the point where they are ready to commence works.
Announcing the funding for the 27 projects, Minister Humphreys said:
“In 2022, we will continue to roll-out unprecedented levels of investment in Rural Ireland – making our towns and villages even better places to live, work, raise a family and run a business. Today’s announcement is proof of our strong commitment to supporting our rural communities both economically and socially. The projects being invested in represent the huge ambition that underpins ‘Our Rural Future’ and will have a truly transformational impact right across the country. When complete, these projects will leave a lasting difference on these locations for generations to come, benefitting tens of thousands of families in Rural Ireland.”
The successful projects announced today are Category 2 Projects. Projects funded under Category 2 are those that require significant development before they reach the stage of being shovel ready.
The projects receiving funding include:
A full list of the successful projects is available here
Commenting further on the funding announcement, Minister Humphreys added:
“The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, along with the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Fund, is delivering unprecedented levels of investment to rural communities. This Fund alone has now delivered €277 million in funding for 191 projects worth a total of €374 million. I’m particularly pleased to see that so many projects being supported today will provide remote working opportunities for tens of thousands of people. Remote Working is the now very much part of the fabric of Rural Ireland due to Covid-19. By continuing to invest in remote working facilities - by turning old, run-down buildings into digital hubs, we will ensure more of our young people can work and live in their own community.”
Today’s announcement relates to Category 2 of the Fund which provides seed funding for strategic, large-scale projects which will assist in delivering town and village regeneration and economic and enterprise development.
The funding provided will enable the development of these projects to a high standard and get them to a point where they are ready to commence works. The funding also ensures a continuing ready-made pipeline of projects which can be progressed in the future with the support of the Fund or other funding streams.
The applications for funding were subjected to a comprehensive assessment process by the Department, with oversight provided by an independent Project Advisory Board, made up of representatives drawn from key Government Departments along with external independent experts.
Further details of the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund are available here .
Rural Development Investment Programme
The Department of Rural and Community Development’s Rural Development Investment Programme includes a number of integrated funding interventions:
• Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF)
• Town and Village Renewal Scheme
• CLÁR
• Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme
• Local Improvement Scheme
• LEADER
• Walks Scheme
The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund
The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund was established to deliver on the National Strategic Objective in the National Development Plan of Strengthened Rural Economies and Communities. The Fund is administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development.
The Fund provides investment to support suitable projects in towns and villages with a population of less than 10,000, and outlying areas, which will deliver on the National Strategic Objective of Strengthened Rural Economies and Communities and achieve sustainable economic and social development in these areas.
Calls for applications to the Fund are sought under two categories. Category 1 relates to projects with all necessary planning and other consents in place and which are ready to proceed, while Category 2 projects are those which required further development to become ready for Category 1 status.
The successful projects being announced today relate to Category 2.
To date, the Fund has now provided €277m for 191 projects across Ireland, worth a total of €374m.
The Department’s new rural development policy, Our Rural Future, was launched in March 2021. The policy is the most ambitious and transformational policy for rural development in decades. The funding from the RRDF is provided to further the aims of Our Rural Future, which highlighted the need to build strongly on existing investment and to strive for even greater ambition to achieve significant and rapid progress on the objective of balanced regional development.
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.