Written answer
Disadvantaged Status
Darndale/Priorswood was excluded from SÍOL’s 2026 rollout because ten other eligible small areas had higher deprivation scores; selection also aimed to create connected areas of at least 5,000 people, with no additional weighting. The programme will be reviewed annually, with further areas potentially added.
487. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the reasons for the exclusion of Darndale/Priorswood from the SÍOL programme despite its recognised levels of deprivation; the specific criteria and weighting used to select eligible areas; whether the decision to exclude Darndale/Priorswood will be reviewed; and whether additional areas will be considered for inclusion in 2027. [75070/26]
Comment on this
The new SÍOL programme was launched on 8 July 2026, in line with the Programme for Government commitment to deliver funding for projects and initiatives in urban areas with the highest concentration of disadvantage. SÍOL means ‘Seed’ in English and SÍOL stands for Scéim Infheistíochta ag Obair Le Chéile, which translates to ‘Working Together Investment Scheme’. Capital funding of €31.5 million has been secured up to 2030 in the National Development Plan to support the new programme. Funding of €5m has been allocated to the programme for 2026 and Budget 2027 allocated an additional €1m for next year's programme.
The programme targets small areas of disadvantage in our towns and cities, providing funding for infrastructure to improve the areas and the lives of the communities. Priority is being given to those Small Areas with the highest population of extreme disadvantage, and the scheme is designed to provide similar supports to these areas that is given to rural areas through schemes such as CLÁR.
The new programme is focussed initially on 15 areas that have been designated as SÍOL areas. The programme takes into consideration the areas in Ireland already covered by the CLÁR programme, to ensure geographical complementarity.
Several datasets were analysed by my department to develop a robust methodology for selecting the areas to be designated as SÍOL areas. The methodology was informed by data from the 2022 Census which was published by the CSO, the Pobal HP Deprivation Index and the ESRI's Urban and Rural Life in Ireland 2019 & 2025 reports. Different approaches were used to identify the town and city areas that would be included in the SÍOL programme.
For the first year of the new SÍOL programme, four areas in Dublin City were designated as SÍOL areas. The city areas that were designated for inclusion in the SÍOL programme were identified by first ranking the Small Areas with the lowest scores on the Pobal HP Deprivation Index.
Darndale is located in the Priorswood B and C electoral divisions and the lowest scoring Small Area in those electoral divisions has a score of -36.2 on the Pobal HP Deprivation Index. There are 10 Small Areas in the areas managed by Dublin City Council and South Dublin County Council that score lower on the Pobal HP Deprivation Index than this, with scores ranging from -44.1 to -36.8. Therefore, Darndale/Priorswood was not selected to be included in the SÍOL programme in 2026.
In order to maximise the impact of funding, multiple connected Electoral Divisions were combined, as required, to form a continuous area that has a population of at least 5,000 people. There was no other specific criteria or weighting applied in the selection process.
The SÍOL programme will be kept under regular review by my department with a view to potentially adding additional areas on an annual basis.