Burke encourages communities and Westmeath County Council to work on applications for Urban Regeneration and Development Fund

Some €4 billion will be made available to cities and towns across Ireland through the Project Ireland 2040 Funds, Peter Burke, TD, has said. 

As part of Project Ireland 2040, the government is setting up four new funds to deliver better cities, better rural towns and communities, fund new technology and look at how we can combat climate change and effectively respond to the huge challenge it poses.

The breakdown is: €2bn for urban regeneration, €1bn for the Rural Development Fund, €500m climate action fund and €500m disruptive technologies fund.

Deputy Burke said: “This funding is great news for Mullingar and for the wider county. 

“The €2 billion Urban Regeneration and Development Fund will encourage greater stakeholder contributions than we’ve had in the past.

“It is a huge investment into rural Ireland, and is part of a longer term plan which delivers the resources to make our new planning framework come alive. 

“Our hope is that this new funding model will move beyond politics and hopefully see more community driven initiatives.

“This fund will act as a driver of development and it is essential that Westmeath County Council and our community groups apply for all the funding available to them.

“The fund will encourage collaborative approaches between departments, agencies, local authorities and other public bodies, and the private sector, where appropriate, to pool their assets and work with communities to transform our rural towns and villages and their outlying areas.

“Previously we’ve allocated to government departments and to local authorities on the basis of what they got in the past – that needs to change.

“Proposals will be expected to be consistent with the National Planning Framework objectives and provide a strategic integrated approach which is consistent with regional and local plans for the area.

“To ensure Ireland benefits we have to completely change how we allocate funding to universities and the private sector on a competitive basis. 

“We’re asking them to apply for funding that the State will look at matching.”