4175. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the preferred timeframe for the issue of approvals under the acquisition measure of the town and village renewal scheme. [64049/26]

The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) was introduced in 2016 and is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. Since the launch of the scheme over €217 million has been allocated to over 2,000 projects.

The Building and Land Acquisition Measure under the TVRS allows local authorities to purchase vacant and derelict buildings for future development as community assets. On the 29th April 2026, a Call for Proposals under the 2026 Building and Land Acquisition Measure was announced. Local authorities were invited to submit up to three applications for vacant or derelict buildings or land, with a maximum of €500,000 in funding available to each local authority across three applications. The closing date for receipt of applications to the Department was the 29th May.

This funding call was heavily subscribed. TVRS applications are assessed on a competitive basis and funding is allocated nationally based on a project's suitability against scheme criteria, a reasonable geographical spread of projects, the quality of the proposed projects, and the available budget. Assessment of these applications is complete, and local authorities were informed of the successful applications on 30 July 2026. For reasons of commercial sensitivity, details of individual projects receiving support under this measure will be released only after the purchase of the properties or lands in question has been completed.

It is my intention to issue a new Call for Proposals under the Town and Village Scheme’s ‘Main Scheme’ and ‘Project Development Measure’ over the coming weeks.