Applications for funding under the €1 billion Rural Regeneration and Development Fund are now open.
The funding from my Department, the Department of Rural and Community Development, will focus on supporting economic recovery in Rural Ireland in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and delivering sustainable regeneration for rural communities.
The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund is an opportunity for significant funding for major projects.
It supports the implementation of regeneration projects under Category 1 and the development of detailed plans under Category 2 to get projects shovel-ready.
This is the third round for Category 1 funding and it comes in addition to a €30 million package of integrated supports already announced by my department.
Previous funding has included more than €3.5 million for the BIA Innovator Campus in Athenry and more than €1.6 million for the regeneration of Loughrea Town Hall and areas around the town centre.
An allocation of €175,000 was made under Category 2 funding for the development of a masterplan for Tuam town centre. When the masterplan is ready, it will then be submitted for Category 1 funding. It is expected that a call for new Category 2 applications will be issued in the near future.
Funding such as this is transformative for our communities. There is €1 billion available for Rural Ireland over ten years with €315 million allocated for 2019-22 on a phased basis.
We need to seize the opportunity to bring forward plans and ideas for our towns and villages.
The Fund is seeking to support large-scale, ambitious projects with a minimum funding request of €500,000.
Applications must be led by State-funded bodies, for example Galway County Council, Galway Rural Development, State agencies and commercial State bodies, but collaboration between parties, including with communities, is strongly encouraged.
The closing date for the receipt of proposals is 12 noon on Tuesday December 1 2020.
Full details of the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund are available on the Department of Rural and Community Development website at
https://drcd.gov.ie/about/rural/rural-regeneration-development-fund/