620. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the progress made to date in allocating the €1 billion Rural Regeneration and Development Fund commitment under Project Ireland 2040; the total funding allocated, the number of projects supported, and the impact assessments undertaken in relation to the regeneration of rural towns and villages, addressing population decline and strengthening rural economies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54560/26]

The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) is a major capital investment programme, which seeks to support large-scale, ambitious projects that can achieve sustainable economic and social development in rural areas. RRDF provides funding for the development and construction of capital projects in towns and villages in rural areas across Ireland.

Funding is allocated to local authorities and other State-funded bodies, who take the lead role in individual projects. To date, the RRDF has allocated over €610 million for 270 projects across Ireland, including over €11.8 million to nine projects in County Laois. Details of all projects approved for RRDF funding is available on my Department’s website.

A focused policy assessment of the RRDF was undertaken in co-operation with the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) and was published in December 2022. The findings and recommendations arising from this review, which are available on my Department’s website, were then used to develop the RRDF scheme parameters and the provision of wider supports from that point.

More broadly, the selection of individual projects for funding under the RRDF is by way of a competitive application basis and is a placed-based and demand-led Fund. This is reflected in the assessment criteria applied to each Call for Proposals. In consultation with those organisations delivering RRDF projects including our local authorities, these criteria are reviewed prior to each Call. This is to ensure that funding is targeted effectively to ensure RRDF projects will deliver vibrant and liveable town centres and ensure that rural towns, villages and communities can prosper in the years ahead. Examples of previous criteria under which applications have been assessed include the proposed projects’ social and economic impact, regenerative potential, financial sustainability, and policy coherence.

Once approved, ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the RRDF project outputs and outcomes takes place in the context of assessing the impact of the intervention. Each Lead Body is required to submit appropriate data to facilitate this process on an on-going basis and make this data available to my department.

I am committed to ensuring that the RRDF can continue to support high quality and transformational projects across rural Ireland in line with the objectives of Our Rural Future and the Town Centre First policy.