The Government is to allocate a €4.5 million package to support rural towns and villages.
As part of a suite of measures, a new Town Team Support Fund will be established to build and develop a network of Town Teams nationwide. €10,000 per town is to be provided to help towns establish a new Town Team or to build up the one already in place – this is limited to 3 towns per council in this year’s Scheme.
Under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, up to €50,000 will be invested in supporting the development of projects designed to breathe new life into rural communities with a limit of two per county. Eight counties in the North West of Ireland will be entitled to enter 3 projects per county in this category as the Department says these areas face specific challenges.
Furthermore, some towns will also be provided with up to €30,000 in funding to develop their own Town Centre First (TCF) Plans. Roscrea in County Tipperary published it’s Town Centre First Plan in 2023 as it was selected the previous year as one of 26 towns to benefit from a Town Regeneration Officer leading the work to develop a Town Centre First Plan.
These supports announced today will specifically target rural towns with a population of under 10,000 people.
