Minister of State for Regional Economic Development, Michael Ring, this week announced that €380,000 will be made available to Mayo County Council this year to support the regeneration of rural towns and villages across Mayo.
Total funding of €10 million in capital funding will be provided by the Government in 2016 for the Town and Village Renewal scheme. An allocation of €380,000 was made available in each of the 26 counties for town and village renewal projects. There are two categories of eligible towns/villages, the first category is for towns/villages with a population of less than 5,000 and the second category is for towns/villages with a population of between 5,000 and 10,000.
Speaking about the anouncement Minister Ring said “An allocation of €380,000 is being made available by the Government this year for the Town and Village Renewal Scheme in Mayo. This represents a significant increase on the initial proposed allocations for this scheme, and reflects the Government’s determination to breathe life back into our rural towns and villages. For rural communities to thrive, we need our towns and villages to thrive. I would hope that this scheme, which will be administered through Mayo County Council, can make a real and lasting impact in revitalising Mayo’s rural towns and villages. I look forward to seeing the results of closer collaboration between our local authority, local businesses, and local communities over the coming months.”
However, Sinn Féin Midlands, North and West MEP Matt Carthy slammed the announcement, saying, “I welcome this belated Government acknowledgement that urgent and special attention is needed for rural communities following the absolute devastation felt by them over the past decade. However this announcement will be seen by many of those communities as nothing more than a publicity stunt. €380,000 per county will go nowhere towards addressing the problems that exist in rural Ireland.
Donegal, Mayo, and Sligo have all witnessed decreases in population while several other rural counties have stagnant growth rates. It is clear that there is a difficulty in keeping young people in these rural areas anymore. A genuine strategy with meaningful commitments is what is now needed to tackle issues faced by rural areas. This requires proposals to address the gaps in infrastructural development, job creation and public services in those areas that need the most support.
“Sinn Féin has been calling for a focus on creating employment in rural towns through imposing an obligation on enterprise development agencies to do so. There must be an end to the closure of vital local services such as post offices, libraries, and Garda stations and an end to upward only rents for small businesses.These are some of the elements of a genuine approach to tackling the problems of rural Ireland as opposed to gimmicks. While all available funding will be gladly seized by communities it will not be enough to address the real needs of rural Ireland.”
Funding will be allocated to local authorities to meet up to 85 per cent of the total cost of each project. Each county can apply for grants for up to eight separate towns/village projects and submit outline plans to the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in September for approval. To ensure a focus on smaller towns/villages, at least 50 per cent of the project proposals and at least 50 per cent of the value of funding sought at county level should be for category one towns/villages (<5,000 population ). A maximum of two category two town proposals will be funded for each county under this phase of the scheme. The maximum grant for any single project is €100,000.
Measures which are taken under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme should have a sustainable and visible impact on the town/village. The type of projects to be funded under the scheme could include measures to increase the attractiveness of the town or village as a local commercial and social centre, and increase its sustainability as a place in which to live and work; enhance its environment and amenity in the interests of residents, businesses, and visitors; enhance the culture and local heritage assets of the town/village; and promote tourism and to tackle minor physical infrastructural deficits and land assembly issues.
