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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 8 Mar 1994

Vol. 440 No. 1

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Rural Resettlement Ireland.

Jim Higgins

Question:

11 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason the grant of £10,000 made available to Rural Resettlement Ireland in 1993 has not been renewed in 1994; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

In 1992, my Department allocated a grant of £10,000 to Rural Resettlement Ireland under the scheme of once-off grants to voluntary organisations. No grant was paid in 1993.

The 1994 scheme was recently advertised in the national papers. Information on the scheme, together with an application form, has been forwarded to Rural Resettlement Ireland. It is open to the organisation to apply for a grant in respect of a suitable once-off project.

Will the Minister acknowledge that this is not simply another organisation engaging in social work of a relatively routine nature? He must be aware that the population of Connacht has fallen by 23 per cent since 1926, that 759 townlands have been totally destroyed and depopulated while, at the same time, the population of Dublin has exploded by 519,000. Is the Minister aware that Rural Resettlement Ireland, within the relatively short time it has been in existence, has provided resettlement for 130 Dublin families, that 80 houses have been freed up to Dublin Corporation, that there are at present 2,300 families on the waiting list and that it would make a lot of sense to give a decent injection of capital to this organisation to enable it to continue its good work?

I agree with Deputy Higgins it is an important organisation doing very valuable work which has a considerable impact. Jim Connolly inspired it, he comes from just round the corner from me in Kilbarrack and his father was involved with me in founding the Kilbarrack and District Community Association a good many years ago. Perhaps, he learned some of his community work in Dublin. This is a once-off scheme and an application form will be forwarded to the Deputy to apply in respect of any project. I have no doubt the Deputy will be speaking to the person involved. The fact that this is a once-off grant does not mean the group cannot get a second grant if other facets of their work are worthy of support.

Everybody will agree that this group is doing important work. Has any formal evaluation of the work been carried out? Does the Department intend to encourage an expansion of that work or similar projects in other parts of the country?

The work mainly relates to the Department of the Environment. The question is about a once-off grant for which the group applied and were granted. No grant was paid last year. Due to the nature of the work we would be happy to support the group provided a suitable project was advanced in the current year. This work has an indirect bearing on the Department of Social Welfare in that it is helping communities develop. The group has not applied for grant assistance under any of the Community development headings and that is one area that should be examined. The group may wish to examine the position again. It may not have fully understood that the once-off grants can be sought for another project. Should the group apply it will receive favourable treatment from the Department.

I was pleased to hear the Minister's positive remarks on the rural resettlement scheme. Rather than look at this scheme in terms of once-off projects would it be possible to establish criteria under which the group would receive some type of grant-in-aid or support on a year by year basis? The Minister is aware that many voluntary agencies have difficulty in financing projects because they have no idea what moneys they will receive from year to year. If an organisation such as the rural resettlement group could be assured of a certain base amount to be established in criteria to be determined by the Minister, it would enhance their work and it would mean that the organisation could expand and continue to provide a very valuable service.

If the group has proposals which would come under the heading of Community development we may be of assistance to it. Strictly speaking, it is a matter for the group to apply. We will certainly communicate with the group with the view to ascertaining its position. It would also be eligible for other support particularly in the context of the Leader programme. We will follow up this case to ascertain what is happening, not only in relation to once-off grants but in relation to its position generally in dealing with groups of disadvantaged.

Will the Minister agree that instead of having this group on a voluntary basis with some State assistance this should become a main Government activity? We are talking about huge population imbalances. For example, there are massive uncontrolled population explosions in one half of the country and decay, depopulation and devastation in the other. What is needed is a proper mainstream Government activity rather than the group being a fringe voluntary activity as at present. Is the Minister aware that on the airwaves, courtesy of Gay Byrne's radio programme, this organisation is literally begging for the money to buy a truck for the purpose of transferring furniture from Dublin to settlements in the various counties? This should be looked at in the context of overall Government social planning.

I do not have the opportunity to listen to Gay Byrne's programme often, even though he is a constituent of mine.

Mr. Jim Connolly told me about the problem.

This group has been fairly assiduous in pursuing different grants, including grants from the Department of the Environment and once-off grants under the EC Leader programme. It has received grants of up to £40,000 from the Department of the Environment towards administration costs and up to now it has concentrated mainly on grants from that Department. The Deputy should tell the group that if Gay Byrne does not have sufficient funds for the lorry it can seek a once-off grant for this purpose. That is one of the items which is eligible for a once-off grant. We will not refuse any funds Gay Byrne, or anybody else, puts into the pot because it helps us to spread our money further. There are several avenues that could be explored. Certainly, the issue raised in the Deputy's question can be followed up.

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