More than €11 million has been allocated to regeneration works in cities, towns and villages throughout the State, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government announced yesterday.
Mr Cullen said that the success of the programme was highly visible throughout the towns and villages of Ireland.
"The urban and village renewal programme has established itself as an integral part of every local authority's work plan.
"Imaginative use of both hard and soft landscaping has given a more people-friendly focus to many former market squares and core areas of towns and village throughout the country," he said.
He praised the efforts of the local authorities responsible for the successful planning and delivery of the programme at local level.
Of the €11 million allocation, €4.75 million is allocated to the five main cities of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
Major projects include the regeneration of Patrick Street in Cork, the Dorset Street and Rathmines corridors in Dublin and Eyre Square in Galway.
A sum of €6.2 million has been allocated to county councils to fund urban and village improvement measures nationally during 2004.
A further €150,000 has been budgeted for the Dublin Docklands Development Authority to fund specific works at Grand Canal Docks.
The allocations, under the national development plan, are co-financed by the EU.