689. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if a building (details supplied) will be community asset transferred for community use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13454/26]

I understand that this query relates to a local men’s shed group which is interested in the development of a property for community use.

I firmly support the role that Men’s Sheds continue to play in communities across Ireland and I am fully committed to supporting Men's Sheds in the valuable work they do. My department provides funding to Men's Sheds under various funding supports, including the Local Enhancement Programme; The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme 2024 - 2028; and the LEADER programme. In addition to these schemes, since 2021, my department has provided approximately €2.5 million in funding to Men’s Shed through the Irish Men’s Shed Association (IMSA) and the funding announced in 2025 is currently being distributed to individual Men’s Shed via the IMSA.

My department also implements a range of capital investment schemes which support the development of community facilities and the regeneration of our rural towns and villages and which help address the challenges of vacancy and dereliction.

For example, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) was introduced in 2016 and is designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland through projects such as bringing vacant and derelict buildings and lands back into use as community multi-purpose spaces. Since the launch of the scheme over €210 million has been allocated to over 1,900 projects nationally. Of this more that €9.4 million has been allocated to 87 projects in County Cork.

In 2022, in recognition of the urgent need to transform and regenerate town centres a Building Acquisition Measure was introduced under the TVRS to allow local authorities purchase vacant and derelict buildings for redevelopment into multi-purpose spaces. Following the success of the measure in 2022 it was made available again in 2023. In 2025 the Measure was reviewed and broadened to permit additional types of acquisitions, becoming the Building or Land Acquisition Measure (BLAM). Since its inception in 2022, €855,000 has been allocated to Cork County Council for the purchase of 4 properties under the Building and/or Land Acquisition Measure.

TVRS is administered by local authorities on behalf of my department and the TVRS priorities are reviewed at the end of each scheme call, with feedback informing updates to the next iteration of the scheme to ensure funding is targeted effectively to support vibrant communities and responds to evolving needs. I intend to launch further iterations of the various rural development schemes implemented by my department over the coming months, and I would advise community groups to liaise with their local authority to explore funding options and ensure they are kept informed of the next call for proposals.