625. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the supports outside of the CCIF that are available to community groups under the authority of city councils who wish to build new community facilities rather than refurbish existing ones; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54692/26]

I am acutely aware of the importance of community infrastructure across the country.

While my department has a number of supports that are available to support the development of community facilities, many of these are targeted towards rural areas. These include the LEADER programme, the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, CLÁR, and the Outdoor Rural Infrastructure Scheme.

The programmes that are available to community groups under the authority of city councils are:

• as referenced by the Deputy, the Community Centre Investment Fund was introduced to provide high quality, accessible, community spaces that are available to all groups in all communities in both rural and urban areas. Some €112 million has been allocated since 2022 under that programme.

• The SÍOL Programme 2026 was launched on 8 July and will provide funding of €5 million to support eligible projects that develop community facilities and amenities in the 15 areas designated for inclusion in the programme. This includes 4 areas in Dublin city and suburbs, 2 areas in Cork City and one area in each of Limerick City, Galway City and Waterford City.

In addition to the above schemes, it is also of note that under the Town Centre First policy, funding is available to local authorities to support larger and more urban settlements through schemes provided by the Department for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This includes the Thrive scheme and the Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund.

Full details of all funding programmes administered by my department, are available on my department’s website.