430. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has modelled or investigated the impact of planning regulations on the availability of shops in small rural villages. [50871/26]

The Retail Planning Guidelines were issued as Ministerial Guidelines under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 in 2012.

The Guidelines recognise that the retail sector is a key component of the economies cities, towns and villages throughout the country and the country as a whole. The Guidelines aims to ensure that the planning system continues to play its role in supporting competitiveness and choice in the sector, while also promoting the vitality and viability city, town and village centres. The Guidelines also recognise that retail development in smaller towns and villages serve their surrounding rural areas by providing a range of essential facilities and services.

The Guidelines support a plan-led approach to the provision of new retail development. Under the Guidelines, retail strategies are to be prepared at regional and local levels, which project future retail needs and requirements aligned to the settlement hierarchy established by the National Planning Framework, Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies and City and County Development Plans. The aim of the retail strategies is to inform and develop proposed retail design policies and objectives and the retail planning guidelines advise that planning authorities may wish to address specific issues that affect the appearance or functioning of a town or city and its retail areas.

The local authority development plan is the principal planning policy tool to achieve requirements of Guidelines at a local level. The Guidelines state that role of small towns and villages in the provision of retail services to their local urban and rural populations should be defined in development plans. The guidelines encourage local authorities to protect an appropriate level of retail provision in the rural area and recognises the need for small shops outside of settlements to serve dispersed populations. Appendix 2 of the Guidelines also contain a framework for assessing the vitality and viability of town centres via a ‘health check’ which will inform the retail strategy and development plan.

All current development plans across the country were adopted under the Planning and Development Act 2000. Part 3, Chapter 5 (Development Plans) of the Planning and Development Act 2024 commenced on 31 December 2025. Sections 44 to 51 of the Act of 2024 require planning authorities to include various strategies and objectives in preparing development plans made under the 2024 Act, including in relation to the sustainable development of their functional area. Section 45 of the Act requires local authorities to the promote sustainable economic development, including retail provision.

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.