Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, has today (Friday, March 4) announced over €850,000 in funding to support 19 rural regeneration projects across the country.

The investment, under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, aims to breathe new life into rural communities, support remote working, tackle vacancy and dereliction enhance town centre living.

This strand makes funding of up to €50,000 available to local authorities to assist them to contribute to a pipeline of significant, well-developed projects which will subsequently progress to construction stage with the help of more investment in the future.

The funding follows on from the announcement last week of almost €18.5 million under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, which supported 99 projects across the country.

Among the projects being funded include:

Announcing the funding in Enniscrone Co. Sligo, Minister Humphreys said:

“The Town and Village Renewal Scheme is all about breathing new life into rural communities.

“It’s about creating public plazas, green spaces and community parks in the centres of our towns and villages – building on the objectives set out in our Town Centre First strategy," she added.

“But importantly, it’s also about taking old iconic buildings – the likes of old garda stations, train stations, old factories, cinemas and convents – and giving them a new lease of life.”

There minister said that there has been a strong response to the new Project Development Measure.

“It will provide a mechanism for scoping out future projects in order to ensure projects are advanced to a shovel-ready stage.

“This announcement is testament to my commitment to breathe new life into our towns and villages. It will assist in facilitating choices around remote working and tackle dereliction and urban decay."

She said today's announcement also builds on the funding of almost €18.5 million announced last week to 99 towns and villages across Ireland.