Galway East TD and Minister for Rural Affairs Seán Canney is calling for applications for funding under the €1 billion Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.
The funding will focus on supporting economic recovery in Rural Ireland in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and delivering sustainable regeneration for rural communities.
Minister Canney said: “The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund is an opportunity for significant funding for major projects.
“It supports the implementation of regeneration projects under Category 1 and the development of detailed plans under Category 2 to get projects shovel-ready.
“This is the third round for Category 1 funding and it comes in addition to a €30 million package of integrated supports already announced by my department, the Department of Rural and Community Development.
“Previous funding has included more than €3.5 million for the BIA Innovator Campus in Athenry and more than €1.6 million for the regeneration of Loughrea Town Hall and areas around the town centre.

“An allocation of €175,000 was made under Category 2 funding for the development of a masterplan for Tuam town centre. It is expected that a call for Category 2 applications will be issued in the near future.
“Funding such as this is transformative for our communities. There is €1 billion available for Rural Ireland over ten years with €315 million allocated for 2019-22 on a phased basis.
“We need to seize the opportunity to bring forward plans and ideas for our towns and villages.”
The Fund is seeking to support large-scale, ambitious projects with a minimum funding request of €500,000.

Applications must be led by State-funded bodies, for example Galway County Council, Galway Rural Development, State agencies and commercial State bodies, but collaboration between parties, including with communities, is strongly encouraged.
The closing date for the receipt of proposals is 12 noon on Tuesday December 1 2020.
Full details of the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund are available on the Department of Rural and Community Development website at
https://drcd.gov.ie/about/rural/rural-regeneration-development-fund/

Notes for editors:
Rural Development Investment Programme
The Department of Rural and Community Development’s Rural Development Investment
Programme includes a number of integrated funding interventions:
· Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF)
· Town and Village Renewal Scheme
· CLÁR
· Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme
· Local Improvement Scheme
· LEADER
· Walks Scheme

The Department’s total funding allocation for 2020 for the Rural Development Investment Programme is €149.7 million.
The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund
The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund was established to deliver on the National Strategic Objective in the National Development Plan 2018-2027 of Strengthened Rural Economies and Communities and will be rolled out over a 10-year period. The Fund is administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development.
The Fund provides investment to support suitable projects in towns and villages with a population of less than 10,000, and outlying areas, which will deliver on the National Strategic Objective of Strengthened Rural Economies and Communities and achieve
sustainable economic and social development in these areas. Initial funding of €315 million has been allocated to the fund on a phased basis over the period 2019 to 2022.
Calls for applications to the Fund are sought under two categories. Category 1 relates to projects with all necessary planning and other consents in place and which are ready to proceed, while Category 2 projects are those which required further development to
become ready for Category 1 status. The call the Minister is announcing today relates to Category 1.
The first call for applications to the Fund closed in September 2018. Arising from the first call, 38 successful Category 1 projects and 46 Category 2 projects were announced, with funding of €86m provided from the Fund to support projects worth €117m.
The second call for Category 1 applications for the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund closed in August 2019. Arising from the second call, 26 projects were approved for funding of €62 million to support projects costing €95 million.
To date, the Fund has now provided €148 million for 110 projects across Ireland, worth a total of €212 million.
The second call for Category 2 applications closed in 28 th February 2020. The applications received under this call are currently being assessed under the guidance of the Project Advisory Board, made up of representatives from key Government Departments and independent experts. It is expected that an announcement of successful applications from this call will be made shortly.
The Department has produced a guidance document, which can be accessed on our website, for those seeking more information on this third call for Category 1 call applications
from the Fund. In addition, the Department is also planning information and discussion opportunities for stakeholders relating to this call for applications.

For more information, contact Minister Canney on 086-2513639
June 19 2020