The establishment of the Tipperary town task force came about at my request following significant protests in Tipperary town. March4Tipp highlighted issues such as long-term unemployment, a lack of industry and employment opportunities, high social deprivation, high levels of vacancy and dereliction in the town centre, a lack of confidence in the Government's commitment to the town and a lack of consensus on what is required to solve issues locally.

Carmel Fox was appointed in 2019 by the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, to lead a task force that would develop a plan and look at addressing many complex issues. A dedicated manager has since been appointed to support this work. The task force was convened in early 2020 and is a multi-stakeholder group that has the active support of local community and voluntary organisations. Despite the global pandemic, the task force set about a broad and deep-reaching community and stakeholder consultation. A 15-year strategy action plan has been developed, which is aimed at arresting the decline in the town and driving socioeconomic recovery.

The task force has had some early successes. The commitment by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to the construction of a bypass to alleviate town centre congestion is a major boost. However the extent of the remaining task should not be underestimated. The scale of the challenge around social inclusion is especially daunting. Parallel to developing an overall plan for the town, the task force has developed a detailed and comprehensive social inclusion plan aimed at addressing a myriad of issues that prevail. These include the fact there is up to 40% male unemployment in areas of the town, there are high levels of welfare dependency, 36% of households are lone-parent households and there are high levels of disability and sickness. Several of the key indicators are more than twice the national average and will require significant multi-annual funding support to achieve meaningful outcomes.

I welcome the recent announcement by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, that funding is to be provided for a social inclusion co-ordinator for Tipperary town for an initial three-year period. This commitment in itself is an acknowledgement of the seriousness of the issue. I ask that the commitment is further underpinned by ensuring the person is given the appropriate resources needed to deliver the required results. The task force opened dialogue with the agencies that operate in the area of social inclusion and has been met with broad support. However, it is already obvious that as these agencies operate on the basis of an annual programme and budget, it is not possible for them to commit to the multi-annual funding required to implement the plan.

The range and depth of the issues facing the town are extraordinary. It now requires an extraordinary response from the Government. We need a lead Department to take responsibility, such as the Department of the Taoiseach or the Department of Finance, to co-ordinate, fund and deliver the objectives of the plan across a ten-year period.

I thank Deputy Lowry for raising Tipperary town in the House, the challenges faced there and the need for the Government to support the efforts to revitalise the town. We are very much aware of the challenges that are undoubtedly there. We continue to provide supports and investment to assist the area to tackle challenges and build a sustainable place to live and work. As the Deputy is aware, last Friday the Tánaiste and the Ministers of State, Deputy English and Deputy Troy, launched the mid-west regional enterprise plan to 2024. The Government has developed nine region-specific plans and we are investing up to €180 million to aid their implementation. The plans show a huge appetite to grow job opportunities and facilitate enterprise development throughout the mid-west region, including in Tipperary.

The plan concentrates on measures to encourage innovation, focus on sustainability, enable enterprise growth in regional cities, towns and rural communities, and increase the economic activity for local start-ups, microbusinesses and SMEs. Deputy Lowry has acknowledged the commitment that the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has previously outlined for how a bypass of Tipperary town should be prioritised under the proposed upgrade of the Cahir to Limerick Junction roadway. We all acknowledge that this project is badly needed.

The Deputy referred to the task force that has been set up and operational for some time now with regard to Tipperary town. He will be well familiar with a number of the elements of the package that have already been introduced such as funding from the Heritage Council to support the production of a collaborative town centre health check for Tipperary town; funding across 2020 to 2022; ring-fenced discretionary funding sources to support the Tipperary town revitalisation project; and the allocation of €100,000 to Tipperary County Council as a contribution to the cost of recruiting a project manager for a three-year period to drive the implementation of action items arising from the town centre health check.

I acknowledge the point made by the Deputy about the level of unemployment in the town. This is a key priority for the Government to address through the enterprise plans. In addition, the Deputy will be aware that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, announced funding of €120,000, which the Deputy has acknowledged, for a social inclusion programme co-ordinator for the Tipperary town revitalisation project. We very much look forward to seeing that implemented over the period ahead.

Our Rural Future has also launched, and it provides significant opportunities for Tipperary town and other towns across Ireland. I acknowledge the work of the Tipperary town task force in feeding into the town centre first strategy. There will be a third call shortly for funding under the urban regeneration and development fund. We will be inviting projects that are specifically focused on the implementation of the town centre first policy, and this will provide further opportunities for Tipperary town.

The real issue here is the funding of the task force to allow it to fund its objectives. Is it possible for each agency and the Department to contribute to a central fund, which would be guaranteed in advance and would be available to the task force? This is the key issue.

The most pressing issue in the town at the moment is non-participation and exclusion. Whole communities in the town are living without any sense of hope or opportunity. The Tipperary town social inclusion plan is designed to offer these people a future through education and employment pathways, supports at household level for distressed families, and programmes aimed at assisting young people to remain engaged in education. Without this support, the wider efforts of the task force, in terms of economic development and other improvements to the town, are doomed to failure. We will have history repeating itself in Tipperary town. Is it possible that the Minister would liaise with the chairperson of the task force to discuss the funding situation and give it some funding in order that it can plan ahead, and not be living from month to month and year to year?

We can all acknowledge that revitalising a town such as Tipperary town requires a multifaceted approach. Deputy Lowry touched on the need for investment in educational facilities and infrastructure, and the need to generate employment, especially where we are dealing with a high level of unemployment and intergenerational disadvantage, which has manifested itself in Tipperary town. We acknowledge the need for significant community supports to support the community and voluntary efforts that are being made in Tipperary town and to work with all of the stakeholders in the region. I will commit to taking up the issue raised by Deputy Lowry with the relevant line Ministers to examine their budget lines, to see what support is already there and to examine what further opportunities there may be for us collectively as a Government to provide further support for the revitalisation efforts for Tipperary town.