Funding set to help councils convert disused buildings into community facilities

MEP Mairead McGuinness minister Heather Humphreys at the launch of the Rural Town and Village Renewal Scheme in Clones, Co Monaghan, in 2016. Over €149m has been allocated to more than 1,600 projects around the country under the scheme.

Councils across Ireland will be given €13m to turn eyesore buildings in the centre of towns into community facilities.

Social Protection and Community and Rural Affairs Minister Heather Humphreys will today launch a fund which will allow each local authority to apply for funding of up to €500,000, which they can use to purchase up to three properties to redevelop into multi-purpose community facilities.

The funding, under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, is designed to make towns and villages more attractive places, and follows a similar fund announced last year which saw courthouses, Garda stations, and FCA halls all purchased and repurposed for community use.

Last year's funding was used to purchase former bank buildings across the country and even an old parochial house in Feohanagh, Co Limerick.

Ms Humphreys said that the scheme will have a "hugely positive impact".

"This initiative is already having a hugely positive impact right across rural Ireland," she said. 

"With the support of my department, councils have been given the resources they need to purchase buildings that have been lying idle for years.

“From old Garda stations, bank buildings, and former courthouses — these properties are now being given a new lease of life and repurposed for 21st-century use.

Given the success to date, I’m delighted today to announce further funding of €13m. 

"Today, I’m inviting all eligible local authorities to submit up to three properties for purchase, and we will provide them with funding of up to €500,000 to do so.

“The properties that will be purchased will be taken into public ownership and, most importantly, will be turned into spaces where the local community can gather and hold events.

"It’s a huge opportunity for us all to work together in tackling the scourge of dereliction and transforming old, run-down buildings into facilities that will benefit communities for generations to come.”

Since the launch of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, over €149m has been allocated to more than 1,600 projects around the country.

Additionally, Ms Humphreys will today announce the details of when the main capital investment schemes will be opening in 2023.