66. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the supports available for the acquisition of buildings for community use to help the regeneration of rural towns and villages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26170/25]

Sentiment score: 0.22

In villages and towns throughout Ireland, there are vacant or derelict properties that represent a blight on their locality. They are like husks of wasted potential, preventing residents from having local community centres or some form of social or commercial hub. Bringing these vacant and derelict properties back into use would support the revitalisation of rural Ireland. Will the Minister outline the supports available from his Department to assist local communities in acquiring such buildings for community purposes?

Sentiment score: 0.14

I thank the Minister for his response. I want to raise the particular example of Ballynoe in my constituency of Cork East where a former HSE dispensary building, a property owned by the State, has sat empty for several decades at least. Local residents believe it was last in use in the late 1970s or early 1980s but it has remained empty. It now sits boarded up with the gates locked and no access to the site. It is an eyesore for anyone passing it. Over the years the village of Ballynoe has seen its shops close. It has lost its butchers and its local pub and, in recent years, its only post office closed. A similar story has played out, as the Minister knows, in so many of our rural villages. Local residents have come together and set their sights on taking ownership of the derelict former HSE dispensary building. They want the opportunity to turn this property into a community hub, a remote working hub, a library or a space for people with additional needs. They are very open to various possibilities.

Sentiment score: 0.01

I thank the Minister for his encouraging response. I hope the Department will help the local community when it makes the application. On behalf of the community council in Ballynoe I have already been in touch with the HSE, which has indicated to me that it is its intention to sell the building. In line with the HSE property protocol and Department of public expenditure rules, it will be offered to a State stakeholder before being placed on the open market. The Ballynoe residents are asking for the opportunity to lease the building and repurpose it for community use but they will need particular support to restore the building since it has sat in a derelict state for so long. It will be asking for funding from the Department. I am very pleased to hear the Minister's words today. The community is eager to create an intergenerational space. It is open to various options but it really wants to bring back more life into the village of Ballynoe.

Sentiment score: 0.36