The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD, has announced which projects will proceed under the new Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund, with up to €409 million available to councils that meet the delivery targets set out in their applications.

Covering almost 120 schemes in every local authority area, the programme will back urban renewal including the reuse of vacant and under-used sites, upgrades to public spaces, and new community and civic facilities. The fund supports policies such as Town Centre First and will concentrate investment in the most disadvantaged parts of towns and cities.

Announcing the funding, Minister Browne said: "I want the centres of our towns and cities to be places people want to hang out in, meet up, do the shopping and live in.

"We have to improve these areas in our towns because not only should they look well, but they should be usable and accessible. They should be places where everyone from teenagers to older people feel safe in and want to use, be proud of and enjoy.

"I am committing a major injection of funding for towns around the country and I want to see transformative regeneration. I know it's badly needed particularly in some areas.

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"People are frustrated with decline in some of our towns and I want to see councils put this funding to good use and quickly.

"I am funding what I see as a really decent pipeline of good projects that have an eye to the future.

"I am particularly pleased to include over 30 projects that will be designed for, or built in, areas of disadvantage, providing local authorities with the money to drive on with much needed regeneration and renewal in key areas where local communities cannot and should not be left behind.

"I wish to commend local authorities for their submissions which reflect their ambition and commitment to the programme. I would also like to thank the community groups and social enterprises who have collaborated with them in creating projects that will have a lasting effect on their locality."

The Department will now contact local authorities with the next steps required to deliver the approved projects.

Projects under the fund fall into two streams: Category 1A supports longer-term schemes to be delivered later in the National Development Plan, while Category 1B focuses on projects that can be on site by September 2027, with up to €9 million available in shared funding. A full list of Round 1 approvals has been published.

Launched on 5 March, the Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund replaces the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) while building on its criteria and outcomes. The URDF ran three calls, allocating €1.9 billion to projects active in every local authority area, with Call 3 specifically targeting long-term vacancy and dereliction in support of Housing for All and Town Centre First.

Following a review of Census data in line with the Programme for Government, eligibility now includes towns with populations of 9,000, adding Portarlington to the list. The fund also applies to some towns with fewer than 10,000 residents where they generate 2,500 or more jobs. Most local authorities could submit a maximum of two applications per category; those with five or more eligible towns or city areas were permitted three per category.