Vol. 513 No. 6
355 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the funding, if any, he will make available to a care organisation (details supplied) in County Cork given that it is not receiving funding from the 1999 national lottery allocation. [3373/00]
The Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs' grant schemes provide support for community and personal development work undertaken by a wide range of local self-help groups. This support is designed to meet the needs of local groups and linked to form an overall framework of support and progression for community and family support groups at different stages of development.
My Department acknowledges that disadvantaged people, in both urban and rural areas, can experience particular problems arising from poverty and marginalisation, and that community groups generally have an important role to play in tackling these problems.
Under the 1999 scheme of grants to voluntary organisations, an application was received from Charleville Community Care and Garden Services Limited seeking funding of £25,000 towards the cost of equipment, required to set up sheltered work training and experience services for unemployed men recovering from mental illnesses, or having borderline social skills. The application was examined at both regional and local level but was found not to come within the scope of my Department's grant schemes. Funding for projects of this nature is primarily the responsibility of the local health board and FÁS.
I am aware however that services provided by Charleville Community Care and Garden Services also include provision for family and bereavement counselling. In December 1999, an application was received from the group, under my Department's scheme of grants for marriage, child and bereavement counselling services, and I approved funding amounting to £1,500 which was paid to the group on the 22 December 1999. If Charleville Community Care and Garden Services wish to make an application under this year's scheme, application forms are currently available from my Department's family affairs unit, Marlborough Street, Dublin 1.
In recent months, officials from my regional office in Limerick have been in contact with Charleville Community Care and Garden Services and on two occasions have advised the group that they may be eligible for assistance towards the cost of pre-employment training under my Department's employment support services scheme. To date no application under this scheme has been received from them.
356 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the action, if any, he will take to ensure continuation of services provided by the Gingerbread Organisation, which is facing a financial crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3374/00]
My Department has for a number of years operated a range of grants schemes and programmes which concentrate on a wide range of support for local self-help groups, community development, welfare rights and information work, and on the provision of seed money to enable community groups to pilot initiatives identified as meeting new emerging community needs.
Funding is also available from the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs towards the cost of staffing and equipping of local resource centres which provide a focal point for community development activities in disadvantaged areas and for work with specific disadvantaged groups under the community development support programmes; the community development programme, the family and community services resource centre programme and the programme of core-funding for locally based community and family support groups.
Applications from groups seeking inclusion in these Programmes are assessed by an independent Technical Group established to advise me on the selection of new areas and groups for funding.
Gingerbread Ireland has made an application to this Department, seeking core funding. This application was assessed by the technical group at their meeting on 8 December 1999. The recommendation from the technical group was that the application did not meet the criteria for inclusion, but that representatives from the Department should meet with the organisation to explain the situation and to discuss what possibilities might exist for funding work by Gingerbread, that would come within the remit of the Department's community development support programmes.
This meeting took place on 12 January 2000 and the matter is now being referred back to the technical group for further consideration at the next technical group meeting on 22 February 2000. The group will be notified of the outcome of their application as soon as possible.
Gingerbread Ireland has received grants of £7,700 from my Department in 1999 under the Department's once-off grants scheme.
