Community Development Projects

15. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the way in which the €208 million allocated to rural development under budget 2027 will benefit communities in Roscommon and East Galway, particularly smaller towns and villages seeking investment in regeneration and community infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72834/26]

22. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the consideration given to ensure that grant funding is directed towards towns, villages and communities that are lacking in social infrastructure such as community centres, performance spaces and town parks. [72490/26]

57. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the further incentives he is considering to ensure that small towns and villages in rural Ireland grow, develop and thrive and have the facilities and social infrastructure needed to provide a high quality of life for their communities. [72996/26]

I pay tribute to the Minister's work for rural and community development and the Gaeltacht. Certainly, in my part of the world in Roscommon and Galway, there is a sense among the public that the Minister from the west of Ireland understands rural affairs extremely well and the importance of strengthening rural communities, especially where there is a dearth of infrastructure, including community and sporting infrastructure, to keep communities viable. I would appreciate if the Minister would make a statement on the €208 million for rural development announced in the budget.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 22 and 57 together. I thank Deputy Daly for his remarks. We were delighted to announce a departmental budget package of €628 million for 2027, including a total of €208 million for the rural development programme. Budget 2027 demonstrates the Government’s ongoing commitment to support communities across the country, including Gaeltacht and island communities. Communities will benefit from a wide range of supports, which are bringing positive changes to towns and villages across the country, including those in Roscommon, east Galway, Wexford and Wicklow. The budget builds on the sustained investment of recent years and ensures the continued delivery of schemes specifically targeted at delivering community infrastructure and town and village regeneration, as we have just discussed. Some of the main elements from budget 2027 include the €60 million for the rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, to support large-scale, ambitious capital projects that can achieve sustainable economic and social development in rural areas. The focus of RRDF is on rural towns and villages with populations of fewer than 10,000 people. To date, it has allocated over €611 million to 271 projects located across the country. Having issued a call for proposals for applications in February 2026, the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I will confirm funding for successful projects before the end of this year. However, I reiterate the need for local authorities to deliver on these projects. There is no point in us allocating funding unless it is spent. Allocated funding going unspent is unfair on those local authorities that want to drive on. The town and village renewal scheme has received funding of €23 million for 2027. It is one of a number of measures that will rejuvenate rural towns and villages across Ireland. It places particular emphasis on projects to support sustainable employment creation, town centre regeneration, enhanced streetscapes and, as we have just discussed, bringing derelict and vacant buildings back into use as multi-purpose spaces. Since the launch of the scheme, over €217 million has been allocated to almost 2,000 projects across the country. A call for proposals is currently open with a closing date of 22 January 2027. I emphasise, however, that this is the closing date for submission to the Department. Local authorities have different closing dates and people should familiarise themselves with those in their areas. The LEADER programme, which we also discussed, is cofunded by the EU and is marking 35 years of operation in the delivery of tangible benefits to rural communities. Funding of €43 million will be made available for the LEADER programme in 2027. The community centre investment fund is a relatively new fund to support the development and refurbishment of high-quality community facilities. It is available to community groups in both urban and rural communities. To date, some €112 million has been allocated for the enhancement and refurbishment of existing community centres and the construction of new centres, where such a need has been identified. The outdoor recreation and infrastructure scheme, ORIS, has been allocated €17 million. It provides funding under several measures for the development of new outdoor recreational infrastructure and for the necessary repair, enhancement or promotion of existing outdoor recreation infrastructure in country areas across Ireland. This includes walking trails, cycleways, mountain access routes and facilities at river and lakes, such as those I visited with Deputy Daly in Ballymoe during the summer. This year, we have announced the 2026 CLÁR programme with a record budget. We have already approved €2.5 million for 44 vehicles and we will be making further announcements totalling almost €12 million under the remaining CLÁR measures over the coming months. The local improvement scheme, LIS, funds the upgrade of non-public rural roads and laneways that are not usually maintained by local authorities. Since 2017, over €201 million has been allocated to local authorities, resulting in the improvement of over 5,500 local roads. The delivery of these capital funds comes under the umbrella of my Department's policy, Our Rural Future. It is also supported by the town centre first policy, which is a joint initiative between my Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The core aim of the town centre first policy is to support place-based regeneration and the provision of community infrastructure that enhances the social and economic revival of towns and villages and addresses the challenges of vacancy and dereliction. My Department funds town regeneration officers, who work closely across multidisciplinary teams in local authorities. We also work closely with capital delivery teams, broadband officers and vacant home officers across the country. I thank local authorities across the country which are essential partners in delivery on the ground but, most importantly, I acknowledge and thank communities and volunteers who make all of this happen in their local space.

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. I will pick out an example of the work that has been done and the funding for projects in rural areas. Mo Chairde in Keadue, County Roscommon, has received grant funding for a new meals on wheels van. It delivers meals to elderly people throughout a dispersed rural population in north Roscommon. It serves 200 people and delivered nearly 1,400 meals in September alone. That is an example of the type of funding that has improved the lives of people in rural areas and enabled rural communities to support their own people. I also pay tribute to those behind the introduction of scéim infheistíochta ag obair le chéile, SÍOL, and the inclusion of Ballinasloe, which, as we know, has significant community deprivation and intergenerational unemployment issues. I note the Minister's comments about the projects that have been submitted and I hope that the fund is not simply a slush fund for local authorities. It should be for groups that have no other pathways for funding, especially in the social enterprise area.

The CLÁR transport programme to which the Deputy referred, which the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I announced a few weeks ago, makes such an enormous difference through meals on wheels programmes across the country, not just in terms of the delivery of food but because, for some, it may be the only human contact they have on a given day. The Department of Social Protection also works through community employment. This year, the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I have been very focused on groups such as meals on wheels groups that are facing particular challenges with costs, including inputs and fuel costs. We have a small fund of €2 million for 2027 to assist affected groups with their current account funding. We had a good discussion on SÍOL earlier. We will be making announcements around SÍOL in the coming weeks. The Deputy has been a passionate advocate for Ballinasloe and its regeneration since before being elected. The projects for the Ballinasloe area being provided by Galway County Council will make a difference. That said, the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I want to revisit SÍOL to make sure it is making an impact on the ground for communities as opposed to local authorities.

I thank the Minister for that reaffirmation of the aims and targets for the SÍOL programme. I am reassured. I know that CLÁR is coming to a point of decision in relation to bigger projects. My community in Ballygar, County Galway, has developed a €2.4 million sports park for the GAA but also for the general community, and is in the process of developing a sensory garden for neurodiverse people and for people who need that type of recreational space. Ballygar has become an autism-friendly town, and that is going to be launched in the next week or two. The community has applied for funding from CLÁR to develop the sensory garden and I hope the Minister will take note of that. In addition, there are tremendous projects in places like Termonbarry and Castlerea, at the swimming pool, which the Minister knows well, and, of course, Ballinasloe Rugby Football Club, which has also submitted very worthy projects. I hope they are given due consideration.

I thank the Deputy for that tour of the constituency. We want to acknowledge the strength of all of those applications. I know that the Ballygar community has put in extraordinary efforts in respect of the sensory park application and the autism-friendly town. CLÁR is making an enormous difference right around the country. It is a great pleasure to be able to visit projects and see the impact the programme is having. What I see with CLÁR projects is that they are community owned. Ultimately, I want SÍOL to be community owned and community driven. We will be making CLÁR announcements before the end of the year and have taken on board the representations the Deputy has made.