It is stated on pages 12 and 13 of the programme for Government that the Government will prioritise a town centres approach to the regeneration of our villages, bring forward and expand the town and village renewal scheme, bring vacant and derelict buildings back into use and promote residential occupancy. Will this be made a priority so that towns like Monasterevin, Portarlington and Rathangan can have the blight of derelict buildings removed from their main streets and that these will be transformed into much-needed homes? They can also be transformed into business premises so that the daily exodus from Kildare and Laois in search of work will be reduced as well, as will the consequent impact on the environment.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which is very much a priority for Government. We are determined to make more progress on it. Much has been done already with the town and village renewal scheme in recent years through the Department of Rural and Community Development. However, we need to accelerate it. When we see it done in a town, it is great to see derelict buildings being brought back into use for housing or for community use and to see old banks that were closed being reinvented as enterprise hubs so that people are working there again and spending money in the shops, pubs and cafés in the town. Where it works, it works really well and is something we need to accelerate in the years ahead. We will certainly want to include the towns the Deputy mentioned.