Nash petitions government to include Drogheda and Dundalk in Living Cities Initiative

Deputy Ged Nash TD, who is the Party's finance spokesperson said: "The Finance Bill is currently winding its way through the Dáil and when the Bill goes to Committee Stage, where it can be amended, I will once again, propose amendments to include Drogheda and also Dundalk, in the Living Cities Initiative.

"This is something I have done every year since I was appointed Labour's Finance spokesperson, after my election to the Dáil."

"Minister Jack Chambers can't be the second FF Finance Minister in this FG-FF government to deny our town this tax break to redevelop vacant buildings.

"Property owners in the town tell me this can make all the difference between them renovating a property and putting it back into use, or not.

"We can't take parties who deny this modest but important tax relief to Drogheda, seriously when it comes to dereliction and vacancy if they won't extend this scheme to Drogheda and also to Dundalk."

Deputy Nash said the continuing exclusion of Drogheda from the government's Living Cities initiative is "inexcusable and unforgivable" and that the scheme has the potential to dramatically improve the town centre.

He said: "Year after year, as the Finance Bill is debated in the Dáil, I raise this issue and year after year, the government says no. Each year I propose that the Finance Bill be amended to include Drogheda and successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Finance Ministers have rejected my amendments."

Explaining the potential benefits of the scheme, he said: "The Living Cities initiative is aimed at targeted regeneration of pre-1915 properties in city centres and while Drogheda has not yet achieved our long-held ambition of being declared a city, it boggles the mind that Kilkenny is deemed eligible for the scheme when larger towns like Drogheda are not."

Deputy Nash says Drogheda is much larger than Kilkenny and in much greater need of regeneration and a scheme like this would help provide an "important piece of the jigsaw to transform the centre of our town and tackle dereliction and vacancy".