DRCD Newsletter
Department of Rural and Community Development
Supporting vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland.
We are delighted to welcome you to the Department of Rural and Community Development’s first Newsletter where we will bring you developments on the department's many policies and schemes.
We aim to issue an update quarterly. If you have general queries for the Department you can contact us at 01 773 6860 or [email protected]
In this issue:
Community Centres Investment Fund – 2022
What it is?
In April 2022 the Minister Humphreys launched a brand new funding programme ‘The Community Centres Investment Fund’. The €15 million capital fund, will support community groups with the upgrade and refurbishment of Community Centres in both rural and urban communities across the country.
Community Centres are at the heart of Irish Communities. They have been providing the community with a place to meet up, play sport, support vulnerable members, a place for entertainment and much more. Many Community Centres are in need of upgrade, refurbishment and modernisation to allow them to continue providing their services to the community.
While Community Centres and facilities are funded under a number of national and local Government funding streams – there was no standalone funding stream. This fund aims to help communities bring life back to their local community centre.
How to apply
The Fund is open to applications until 14th July at 3pm. The application is a two-step process, firstly your community group registers here and secondly you make the application for funding.??Funding is available under 3 Categories for small scale, larger scale and major projects, with grants of between €10,000 and €300,000 available.
What is eligible for funding
The new Community Centres Investment Fund will provide much needed funding for works such as upgrades to kitchen and toilet facilities, energy retrofitting, new windows /doors /heating systems, lighting systems and stage areas, works to address safety concerns and disability access.
Support in making your application
Since the fund was launched we have hosted a number of online information events in order to provide guidance in relation to the application process, the next event will take place on the 11th of July 2022 and you can register to attend here.
For further information see www.gov.ie/communitycentresfund
We expect the fund to be oversubscribed. The assessment process with be of a competitive nature and it is unlikely that funding will be available for all projects.?We expect to announce the successful projects in Q4 2022.
Both the Programme for Government: Our Shard Future and the National Development Plan 2021 - 2030 committed to establishing a capital grants scheme for the maintenance, improvement and upkeep of Community Centres.
On the 27th June the Department launched Phase 1 of a new Voucher Scheme for those registered to use Connected Hubs. The scheme gives remote workers free use of a hot desk at their local digital hub. At least 10,000 hot desk spaces are provided under the Scheme, which is aimed at both existing hub users, as well as those accessing hub facilities for the first time. These vouchers became available to those registered on 27th June and are redeemable until 31st August 2022. Phase 2 of the scheme is due to be launched in September 2022.
Town Centre First Policy
What is it?
“Town Centre First - A Policy Approach for Irish Towns” is a major cross-governmental, multi-agency policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres.?It contains 33 actions which will give our towns the tools and resources they need to become more viable and attractive places in which to live, work, socialise and run a business.
The Town Centre First policy recognises that the needs of each town are different and acknowledges that a “one size fits all” approach will not deliver the outcomes wanted. The policy sets out a framework to facilitate and resource each town to chart their own future through a tailored plan, developed by a collaborative Town Team, and supported by their Local Authority.
The policy is underpinned by significant levels of public investment spread across major Government schemes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF), the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), Croí Conaithe (Towns) Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
The Policy will assist each town, through a Town Team supported by the Local Authority, to design, develop and implement a plan to make their towns more vibrant and attractive places to live and work.
A National Town Centre First Office, supported by a network of Town Regeneration Officers, will drive the delivery of many of the recommendations outlined in the policy and support the co-ordinated roll-out of the policy by Local Authorities and Town Teams.?
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Progress on implementing the policy?
Since the launch of the policy earlier this year, significant progress has been made on the structure of the National Town Centre First Office. The appointment of a National Coordinator will be announced shortly.
Local Authorities are now currently advertising for Town Regeneration Officers, who will be crucial to managing the implementation of the policy at a local level and ensuring the development and implementation of Town Centre First plans
We are delighted that the National Ploughing Championships will be open to the public again this year. The Department of Rural and Community Development will attend and staff will be on hand to provide information and advice to all visitors. We will have further information on where we will be located shortly, follow us here on LinkedIn or on Twitter to keep up to date.
TidyTowns
President of Ireland visits Ireland’s Tidiest Town
Heather Humphreys TD, Minister for Rural and Community Development launched the 2022 SuperValu TidyTowns Competition in Ennis Co Clare on 7th of April. In 2021 Ennis won the title of Ireland’s Tidiest Town for the second time, the first time was 2005.
To mark the enormous effort that it takes to win TidyTowns President Michael D. Higgins, with his wife Sabina, visited the town on 28th May where he unveiled a plaque.
Over 300 guests were in attendance to hear President Higgins congratulate the town on their success. The President’s speech is available here. Chairperson of Ennis TidyTowns Cormac McCarthy also spoke and Carmel Kirby from Clare County Council was MC for the event. ?
The sun shone brightly as children from the many sporting groups in Ennis lined the driveway of St. Flannan’s to give the Presidential party a very warm Clare welcome.?Traditional music which Co. Clare is famous for, was played by some junior members of Ennis TidyTowns as the Presidential party made their way in to the packed hall.??RTE Nationwide recorded a special edition of the programme at the event.??
TidyTowns was first launched in 1958 by Bord Fáilte and has been administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development since it formed in 2017.?The competition is one which can drive community involvement and environmental and sustainable initiatives. Since the Department of Rural and Community Development was established in 2017 a total of €6.7 million has been provided in direct funding to TidyTowns groups across the country.
See more about the competition here. ?
Entrants form the national competition are nominated each year to represent us in other competitions on an international level.?
Ireland’s Best Kept Town
The Ireland’s Best Kept Towns is a North South Initiative and is in place since 1995. It is an initiative between the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Northern Ireland Amenity Council. The awards ceremony for 2022 was held in June in Belfast where Inistioge in Kilkenny were awarded the title of Ireland’s Best Kept Village, with Abbeyleix in Laois taking the title of Ireland’s Best Kept Small Town. Lisburn in Antrim were named as Ireland’s Best Kept Large Urban Centre. Enniskillen in Fermanagh came away with the title of Ireland’s Best Kept Large Town and also took the overall prize of Ireland’s Best Kept Town for 2022. The awards were presented by Ms Mary Hurley Secretary General of the Department of Rural and Community Development and Mr Dave Foster from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland. Ms Doreen Muskett MBE, President of the Northern Ireland Amenity Council presented the overall award. See more about the Northern Ireland Amenity Council here
Communities in Bloom
This year, Glaslough, Co Monaghan represented Ireland in the Communities in Bloom competition. Glaslough was named as Ireland’s Tidiest Town in 2019.?A panel of judges from Canada and the USA visited Glaslough recently and viewed the many projects and initiatives developed by the TidyTowns group in collaboration with local voluntary groups, business’s, schools, residents and Monaghan Local Authority. The awards will be announced at a ceremony in Canada later in the year. See more about the international Communities in Bloom competition here
Entente Florale
Entente Florale Europe?is a competition for Towns and Villages. The current members are Belgium, Italy, Malta, Germany, Ireland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Austria. Each country puts forward can put forward one Town and / one Village. Ireland’s entrants this year are Keadue Co Roscommon and Dalkey Co Dublin. The Town and Village are visited by the Jury in July with the prize giving ceremony held in Balatonfüred, Hungary in September.
We wish all of entrants to these competitions the very best of luck.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has invited Ireland to host the 2022 Conference.?The Conference will take place over 3 days, from 28-30 September 2022 in the Slieve Russell Hotel, Co. Cavan. The Department of Rural and Community Development is organising the conference. The OECD Rural Conference is a high-profile international policy and political forum for OECD member states to discuss rural development in a holistic manner, with each conference having a specific thematic focus.?The OECD has organised 12 conferences so far, most recently in Korea in 2019 which focused on Rural Wellbeing.
The Conferences typically attract in the region of 300 delegates with participants being Ministers and other senior policy-makers from OECD member and partner countries, as well as practitioners from national, regional and local levels, international experts and representatives from the private sector and from civil society.
Further details will be available later in the year.