€1 Million awarded to Portlaw under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund

Waterford Fine Gael Minister of State John Cummins has welcomed this morning, an announcement of €1 million in funding for Portlaw under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund was established by former Minister and current presidential candidate Heather Humphreys with the objective to support the coordinated delivery of integrated projects between government departments, State agencies, local authorities, other public bodies, and rural communitiesnationwide.

Portlaw Town Regeneration phase 1 has been granted €1 million in funding which will bring to a stage of detailed design and shovel readiness a number of interconnected projects which are focussed on town regeneration. This includes the acquisition and redevelopment of an existing derelict building.

Speaking to the announcement, Waterford Minister John Cummins said: “I’d like to congratulate and thank all of the stakeholders who have worked so hard to get us to this point, including Waterford City and County Council and the Portlaw Community Enhancement Committee.

“The funding announced today will build on the work which has been completed under the Town Centre First initiative which is led by my Department in conjunction with the Department of Rural and Community Development. We don’t have to look too far to see an example of the impact this fund can have. Cappoquin previously benefited from Category 1 and 2 funding under the RRDF which has been a great boostin developing a series of regeneration projects in the town and I look forward to seeing similar progress in Portlaw.”

Minister Cummins continued: “Regenerating our city, towns and villages is a big priority of mine, it is something I have been working extensively on since taking up my role within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The announcement of a derelict sites tax in Budget 2026 which will be collected by Revenue is a serious statement ofmy zero tolerance for dereliction and while significant progress has been made on vacancy and dereliction in Waterford, there is still room for improvement.

“This is a really positive news story for Portlaw and Waterford as we continue to invest record capital funding in rural communities under ‘Our Rural Future’.