The Government has announced €10m in funding for rural Ireland.

The ‘Town and Village Renewal Scheme’ aims to regenerate places with populations of less than 10,000 people.

It is hoped the money will make small towns and villages across the country more sustainable.

Up to 200 towns and villages will benefit from the scheme this year.

Minister for Regional and Rural Development Heather Humphreys says its up to local communities to decide how the money is spent.

She said: “I am launching the Town and Village Renewal Scheme today to begin breathing life back into our rural towns and villages.

“It is critical that towns and villages become areas where economic activity can flourish, where people can live and work, and where people can meet at a social level.”

There are two categories of eligible Towns/Villages:

Category 1: Towns/villages with a population of less than 5,000.

Category 2: Towns with a population of 5,000 – 10,000.

Each county can apply for grants for up to eight separate towns/village projects with at least half of the project proposals and at least 50% of the value of funding sought at county level available for towns and villages with a population of less than 5,000.