Vol. 498 No. 4
350 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the breakdown of grants to organisations under the heading, grant schemes - locally based community and family support groups, for 1998 and projected for 1999 and, in particular, the money given to designated women's groups for each of these years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27386/98]
Voluntary and community groups play an important part in improving the quality of the lives of people by helping them to develop the capacity to change their situation for the better. However, disadvantaged communities require support to enable them realise this potential to play a real part and have a real say in their own development. My Department has for a number of years supported local self-help and community development initiatives through a range of programmes which prior to 1998 included the following once-off grant schemes: scheme of grants to locally-based women's groups; scheme of grants to locally-based men's groups; scheme of grants to locally-based lone parent groups; scheme of grants to voluntary organisations and community development education and training grant schemes.
There was enhanced emphasis in the grants schemes in 1998 on supporting families and parenting and with this in mind the schemes of grants for women's, men's and lone parents' groups were integrated in 1998 in a new scheme of grants for locally-based community and family support groups.
This scheme continues the existing supports for women's, men's and lone parents' groups, while also giving the Department the flexibility to respond to the needs of local community development groups that comprise both men and women, family support groups that focus on helping individuals and communities in the family context and special interest groups such as travellers' groups, self-help groups of people with disabilities and others that target sectoral disadvantage. The other once-off grants schemes, the scheme of grants to voluntary organisations and the community development education and training grants scheme, also continue to operate in 1998.
In 1998, under the scheme of grants to locally-based community and family support groups, the facility to commit for periods of two or three years for particularly worthwhile on-going projects was also introduced. In addition to the main scheme, three-year core funding in the range of £8,000 to £20,000 is also available for more established and developed groups with a specific antipoverty focus who work with a wider group of disadvantaged people and have potential to make a substantial impact in their local communities with enhanced funding. To date, 32 groups have been approved for inclusion in this programme with core-funding of £375,664 being made available to them to date in 1998.
