Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy has described the €2 billion Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) as a "transformational opportunity".

The fund forms a key part of Project Ireland 2040 - the Government's National Planning Framework and National Development Plan – to drive regeneration and rejuvenation of strategic and underutilised areas within Ireland's five cities, key regional drivers and other large towns.

With €100m available for expenditure in 2019 and an overall allocation of €550 million allocated to the fund up to the end of 2022, the fund will operate on a competitive, bid-based Exchequer grant basis, with proposals being required to demonstrate that they will be:

• Innovative and transformational urban regeneration projects

• Public-sector led and with the option of community and/or private sector partners

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• Matched by at least 25% direct funding from other public and/or private sources

• A minimum bid of €2m

• A catalyst for development that would not otherwise occur; and

• Likely to leverage significant further public and private sector investment

Earlier today, 09 July, Minister Murphy met with immediate stakeholders and potential lead partners from Local Authorities, Regional Assemblies and Government Departments to discuss the scheme at an Information seminar held in Portlaoise.

He said: "This fund is a transformational opportunity for our Irish cities and towns over the next ten years and is about backing better and more coordinated planning for future generations, by re-imagining and turning around the all-too-frequent sight of empty or run-down or poorly utilised areas in cities and larger town centres."

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan outlined that the fund represented an opportunity to avail of targeted investment for urban areas, particularly those that had experienced rapid growth in previous years.

"I'm delighted that Portlaoise is so well placed to apply for funding under the URDF and that proposals are at an advanced stage to allow the town to avail of this opportunity," he said.

"Towns like Portlaoise have seen huge expansion in terms of new houses and retail centres. But much of it has happened away from the traditional core – the town centre and Main Street – so in these towns, there is a strong need for a major focus on regenerating the main street areas.

"We need to create towns that have a sense of being lived in, worked in, and welcoming for visitors – whether for shopping, recreation or tourism."

(LM)