316. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to support high street retailers who are facing a range of challenges (details supplied). [45502/26]

Launched in 2022, the Town Centre First (TCF) Policy Approach for Irish Towns is a joint initiative of my Department and the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. TCF sets out a framework to facilitate and resource the regeneration of Irish towns to ensure they are vibrant, viable places to live, work, invest in, and visit.

A National TCF Office, based in the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), co-ordinates stakeholder engagement at a national level and across local government. Dedicated Town Regeneration Officers are also established in 26 local authorities and are working in concert with the wider local authority teams focused on regeneration and town revitalisation.

Under the Policy, local communities and businesses are enabled to form a local Town Team, supported by their Town Regeneration Officer and relevant Local Authority, to create a bespoke new Town Centre First Plan that sets out a unique vision for their town and contains proposals to guide and direct investment and maximise the particular strengths and assets of their town. Over 60 such TCF plans have been completed across the Country and these are now moving into the implementation phase of the local projects identified in the plans. Local authorities identify and nominate towns that receive supports under the funding measures and the relevant details are available on the website at https://towncentrefirst.ie/.

Importantly, the TCF approach is also underpinned by a broad range of capital funding streams across Government which have been aligned with the policy aims of TCF. These include the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, Built Heritage grants, the THRIVE scheme to revitalise our heritage buildings and the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund. The experience of recent funding calls for proposals has shown that the TCF approach is having an impact, resulting in higher quality applications based on clear local input. The Programme for Government commits to the continued resourcing of the TCF model and to establish a Town Regeneration Team in every local authority.

In line with the agreed Programme for Government, on 5 March 2026 I announced a new Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund to replace the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund. Applying many of the key criteria established by Government in 2018 for the URDF, the fund will continue to deliver more compact and sustainable development through a programme of part-funding regeneration projects in Ireland’s five cities and other large towns. To date, there have been three rounds of funding provided under the former URDF which has resulted in the allocation of €1.9 billion of funding, with projects now active in every local authority area in the Country.

A key focus of TCF is tackling vacancy and dereliction on main streets and elsewhere. This includes utilisation of the many housing-focused funded schemes made available through my Department such as the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, the Repair and Leasing Scheme, the Buy and Renew Scheme and the Ready to Build Scheme, which is funded under the Croi Cónaithe Towns Fund.

My Department is also supporting Local Authorities through the URDF Call 3 programme, which provided a dedicated €150 million revolving fund for local authorities to acquire long term vacant or derelict properties in eligible towns and cities. Acquired properties are then offered by local authorities for private sale at market value to those who in return will commit to bringing the property back into use. Proceeds from the sale of these properties will be used to replenish the fund, allowing a local authority to establish a rolling programme to tackle long-term vacancy and dereliction without a requirement for borrowing and the associated financial risk.

To date, 1,428 properties have been approved and added to local authorities’ programmes. Of these, 81 properties were acquired by local authorities, with a further 63 in the process of being acquired either by agreement or by CPO. As outlined in the recently published Housing Plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, the Call 3 Programme has been extended to better deal with derelict sites or lands and enable a focus on problematic infill derelict sites where acquiring and developing removing from dereliction will support regeneration of adjoining buildings and the overall street environment in towns and villages.