Waterford North Quays funding
Deputy David Cullinane asked about State funding for the North Quays project in Waterford under the programme for Government and Project Ireland 2040. The Minister said it was a major project, had already received significant first-round funding, and would continue through subsequent rounds and a delivery board.
The programme for Government committed to a new national spatial strategy to deliver Project Ireland 2040 and the urban regeneration and development fund. Waterford City Council has submitted an application for funding to facilitate the North Quays development. I know the ask is for significant State funding of €105 million. This is to fund the access road into the development, a new pedestrian bridge and moving the train station on to the new North Quays as a new platform. The Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, along with Deputy Butler and I, had a high-level meeting with the developers. The difficulty is that all of these ducks must be lined up for this project to go ahead. My understanding is that the council hoped that the entire envelope of money - €105 million - would be delivered through the urban regeneration and development fund. It now seems that the part relating to moving the train station may need to be funded from the Department or from a different source, which complicates and potentially slows down the process. I asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government recently when we would get certainty with regard to the funding in terms of timescales and the next round of funding. Can he give a commitment that all three elements of this in terms of infrastructural ask, including moving the train station, are supported by the Government and the funding will be delivered?
Comment on this
I thank the Deputy for his question. It is a very significant project. If I recall correctly, under the urban regeneration and development fund, it received one of the largest allocations of funding under the first round of funding but it was just a first round. There are subsequent rounds to come over the period of the fund - €2 billion over ten years. The project has a number of moving parts, as the Deputy outlined. Funding has been given under this first phase for particular aspects of the project from the fund. A delivery board is in place to drive that forward so I will consult with the local authority to see if there are any obstacles in the way at present, but there should be no obstacles with regard to the drawdown from the urban regeneration and development fund.