Fine Gael TD Emer Currie has said that towns and villages across Dublin 15 are stuck in a halfway house in terms of funding.
Speaking in the Dáil on Thursday (March 26), the Dublin West TD said that as far as funding streams are concerned, Dublin 15 villages are considered too big for the likes of town and village renewal schemes, or are considered too small for urban regeneration and development funds.
Dublin 15 contains towns and villages such as Ashtown, Blanchardstown, Castleknock, Clonsilla, Mulhuddart and Ongar, and Fingal County Council itself notes that the wider Dublin 15 area will have a population of over 140,000 by the end of the decade.
Per Currie, however, growing towns and villages in the Dublin 15 area may present problems in terms of how much funding is allocated to them.
Dara Calleary, Fianna Fáil TD and Minister for Social Protection, agreed that there is some ambiguity in terms of what qualifies as a town and what qualifies as a funding when it comes time for funding to be allocated.
Calleary noted that in the context of the town and village renewal scheme, which was first introduced in 2016, applications for towns with populations of up to 15,000 people are accepted in “certain circumstances” and the criteria for rural towns and villages were up to 10,000 people.
He said, “I am anxious to ensure that the design of schemes such as the town and village renewal scheme ensures that we are using available funding in the most efficient and effective manner.”
“With this in mind, the terms and conditions of each scheme are reviewed each year. In advance of the launch of the next iteration of the town and village renewal scheme, I will examine the approach to eligible towns, including smaller villages in the Dublin West region, as referenced by the Deputy.”
The Fianna Fáil Minister noted that more than €210 million has been allocated to over 1,900 projects since the scheme launched a decade ago, with towns and communities across Dublin 15 benefiting.
He said that in the context of the “town centre first policy,” funding is also available to local authorities to support larger and more urban settlements.
“This includes the Thrive scheme and the towns and cities regeneration investment fund, which was recently announced by my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This fund, which is currently open for applications from those towns with populations of over 9,000, builds on the success of the previous URDF,” he explained.
He said that the government has been in a position to fund more rural parts of Dublin, in Fingal County Council jurisdiction, specifically, through the town and village scheme, along with the outside recreation investment scheme.
He added “I would be happy to engage with the Deputy, with South Dublin County Council and with our colleagues in Fingal County Council around how we are able to do that and the kinds of projects that we fund, which goes back to our previous discussion on enhancing town centre.”
Currie explained that “our Dublin 15 villages are falling between two stools. I am talking about villages like Castleknock, along with Clonsilla, Blanchardstown, Mulhuddart and Corduff; these are distinct communities.”
She stated, “they are not just traffic through ways, and they are not just part of urban sprawl. They want to support their businesses, they want to protect their heritage, and they want to promote their village centres. What we are really lacking is that place-making ability for these villages that do have their individual sense of identity. When we support businesses and bring footfall into villages it contributes to that sense of community.
Callerary noted “while the primary focus of the rural development scheme is going to remain on rural areas, we have funded projects in Fingal and in South Dublin under the outdoor recreation scheme. Under the town and village scheme in Fingal, we were able to fund the development of new walking and cycling facilities and associated streetscape enhancement measures.”
He pointed to projects within the Fingal County Council jurisdiction that have benefited from funding, Balrothery, Donabate, Rush and Ballyboughal being approved over €218,000 for village centre seating, enhanced public lighting and the creation of a wayfinding strategy to include a new Fingal camino route.
“Where local authorities in Dublin engage with us and with the ethos of the schemes, we are more than happy to engage with them. Given that Castleknock is in the Fingal area, there is huge potential, particularly in the more rural parts of Dublin West, of which there are some,” he said.
Currie said that at present, the Northside villages that Calleary mentioned are entitled to apply under the town and village renewal scheme, but villages in Dublin 15 currently are not.
She pointed to the work being done by the Castleknock business forum, which conducted a survey related to traffic issues, but does not have adequate funding to tackle the issue at a local level.
“They are diagnosing the problems but do not have the funding to come up with the solutions and to activate those,” she noted.
“In Corduff, we have just launched a standard 2 report about place-making, and 146 residents and organisations took part. Again, the problems are being identified, but we need the funding stream to activate the solutions. Fingal County Council is totally on board with what I am bringing to the Minister’s attention. It realises there is a problem. It will facilitate our villages in Dublin 15 like Blanchardstown and Castleknock with a town centre first health check, but it brings us back to the same issue.”
Currie said, “if we do not have the specific funding streams like the town and village renewal scheme, then we are not being given the same opportunities to activate those solutions to bring people into the village, promote village life and give them that identity and the place-making they truly deserve.
Callerary stated, “the more the Deputy can engage under town centre first principles, the stronger the case, and we will work with her.”
He noted that the Minister of State at the Department of Protection, Dublin Mid-West TD Emer Higgins, is also a TD in a city constituency, much like Currie, and said that Higgins was “strong on the issue.”
He pledged to work collectively on the issue with Currie, alongside Fingal County Council and fellow government TDs on the issue going forward.
“If it can be done under the town centre first principles, something we align funding to in a lot of rural areas, the more it can be done with community ownership.”
He said “I welcome the initiatives undertaken in Castleknock and the other areas. If there is community ownership rather than it coming top down from the local authority or from this House, then all the better. We will engage with the Deputy. We are currently reviewing the town and village renewal scheme for 2026. It will more likely be a 2027 initiative, but we will engage with the Deputy on it.”
“I point her and the groups she is working with to some of the good work being done in rural parts of Fingal to get examples of protecting traditional villages amidst the growth of the city.”