I welcome the Minister, Deputy Calleary, to the House.

Cuirim fáilte mhór roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. Gabhaim buíochas leis mar tá a fhios agam go bhfuil sé an-ghnóthach agus faoi bhrú.

The Minister is very welcome. I thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule to be here. He has a lot going on and I appreciate his time in the Chamber.

The rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, is a capital investment fund that has been hugely successful. It has transformed many towns and villages the length and breadth of the country, including in counties Cavan and Monaghan, which I represent. Fortunately, we have experience of the fund and the success and new life it has breathed into many towns and villages. Indeed, there are many projects ongoing there, the progress of which I am regularly in contact with the Minister and his good staff to discuss. I thank him and his staff for their engagement on those matters.

Today, the particular project I raise is in Kingscourt, County Cavan. As the Minister knows, Kingscourt has a population of approximately 3,000 people. It is a thriving business town and a very friendly place. It has a great mix of local businesses, many of them very well known, including Gyproc, Kingspan Group, O'Reilly Precast and Paramount Doors, to name but a few. There is also a strong retail mix in the town. It has a brand new school, Coláiste Dún an Rí, with more than 700 students. It is home to Cabra Castle Hotel, which is one of the leading wedding venues in the country, as well as Dún a Rí Forest Park and the greenway stretching along the disused railway line to Nobber and Navan.

In 2024, the people of Kingscourt were delighted when a funding allocation of €10.4 million was received for a regeneration project in the town centre. This was to increase the civic space within the town core, making provision for new off-street car parking, a new library and a brand new working hub with meeting spaces. This will transform the physical, economic and social landscape of Kingscourt and, as I said, residents are hugely excited about it. I commend Cavan County Council and, indeed, the local community. People have worked together, along with the officials in the Minister's Department, to progress the project.

I welcome that the project has now received full planning permission to proceed. I recognise that there are a number of procedures and stages to go through. We are progressing those quickly to get to a point where there is some activity on site. I am delighted the Minister is here to give me and the good people of Kingscourt an update as to when this long-awaited project will commence. Without meaning to put pressure on him, they are all looking forward to his answer.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir Gallagher as ucht an t-ábhar seo a ardú inniu. As he is aware, the rural regeneration and development fund is a major capital investment programme. It seeks to support large-scale, ambitious projects that can achieve sustainable economic and social development in rural areas. The focus of the RRDF is on supporting rural towns and villages with a population of fewer than 10,000 people. Since its introduction in 2017, the RRDF has allocated more than €613 million to 273 projects across Ireland, including over €35 million for 13 projects located in County Cavan.

In 2020, following an application by Comhairle Chontae an Chabháin, the council was awarded more than €787,000 in RRDF category 2 funding. This funding facilitated the acquisition of a derelict former Bank of Ireland building on Main Street in Kingscourt. The funding was also used to develop plans for the building's renovation and use as a community and remote working hub. The council subsequently made a category 1 RRDF application for a Kingscourt town centre regeneration scheme. In May 2024, approval was given for RRDF funding of €10.9 million.

The council’s regeneration plans include three main areas of works in Kingscourt. First is the refurbishment of a building on Market Square from its derelict state, which will provide a new public building to serve as a community library and focal point within the town core. Second are public realm enhancement works. This includes a redesigned Market Square and Main Street which aims to bring back its historic function, including the creation of a new civic and events space for the town, situated next to the community library. It will incorporate a main lower-level plaza area with paved patterns, seating, planting, feature walls and seat walls. Third is the refurbishment of the vacant former Bank of Ireland building on Main Street to create a multi-functional remote working hub. This will be for use by local business and will include office space, training facilities and meeting rooms and should act as a catalyst for regenerating neighbouring town centre buildings.

Cavan County Council, as the designated lead body, is responsible for managing, procuring and developing the works. The council is joined by other project partners locally, including Kingscourt Development Association - I join the Senator in acknowledging its work - Cavan local enterprise office, Cavan county local development and Cavan-Monaghan Education and Training Board.

The project is at the detailed design stage and the council advises it has undertaken a project execution plan and a detailed review of all design documentation to ensure compliance with the required standards. In addition, a stakeholder workshop on the community library was held in early January.

A project team was appointed in quarter 4 last year. The council will now progress through the stages of the capital works management framework, including completion of pre-tender cost estimates, the issuing of an invitation to tender for main works and, thereafter, the awarding of contracts. Subject to a satisfactory completion of the pre-tender obligations, the council has confirmed its intention to procure and deliver the project in two main parts under separate contracts running concurrently. The first part relates to the public realm enhancement component of the project. I am advised by the council that this contract is expected to take 12 months to complete. The second part relates to the library creation and remote working hub creation components of the project. I am advised by the council that this contract is expected to take 18 months to complete.

The contractor procurement will be completed through a two-stage restricted procedure for both works contracts. The pre-qualification and suitability tender packs for the first stage of this process are nearing completion. I anticipate that the tender process will commence in the coming weeks. Based on these timeframes, Cavan County Council has provided an indicative date of quarter 1 2028 for completion of the works.

Before I call the Senator, I welcome the guests of Senator P. J. Murphy to the Gallery. I also acknowledge that earlier we had the guests of the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley. They are all very welcome to the House.

I thank the Minister for his very comprehensive response to my Commencement matter. I thank his Department for the speedy way it is progressing this project, which the people of Kingscourt are hugely excited about. I commend everyone involved in this project, including Cavan County Council, the local development committees and everybody involved, along with all the political voices who have been trying to push this project forward, none more so than the local councillor, Clifford Kelly, who has been a champion for all things related to Kingscourt for many a day. I thank the Minister for his response. I hope we will be inviting him down le cúnamh Dé in 2028 for the official opening of this project.

I beg the indulgence of the Acting Chairperson to welcome members of the Moy ICA in County Mayo who have joined us in the Gallery. I hope they are enjoying their day.

I assure the Senator that the RRDF continues to support high-quality and transformational projects across rural areas of Ireland in line with the objectives of Our Rural Future and the town centre first policy. I acknowledge the huge work being done by Cavan County Council in co-operation with local partners. I visited Councillor Kelly in Kingscourt on many occasions and I know how proud he is of the town. This will provide public realm, a new public library and a new remote working hub. The Kingscourt project is an example for other communities of what can be done through the RRDF.

I confirm today that I intend to launch a call for proposals to local authorities and other public bodies for larger-scale category 1 RRDF projects in the very near future.

This follows on from my approval of €20.5 million for 31 category 2 RRDF projects nationwide in October. It is a priority of mine within the Department to ensure that we continue to fund RRDF and projects, such as those in Kingscourt, get to the completion stage.

I also welcome the two guests of Senator Murphy O'Mahony in the Gallery. I hope they enjoy their visit here today. I thank the Minister for his time and I thank the Senator for raising his Commencement matter.