Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2006
616 Mr. English asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the grant programmes available from his Department and from agencies under his responsibility; and the deadlines for each programme. [26304/06]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is set out below.
The Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime has a budget of €1,100,000 for 2006. The Commission is charged with the disbursement of funding for victim support and assistance measures. The Commission received 40 applications for funding following a national advertising campaign and formal application process during April 2006. The closing date for applications was 18 April 2006.
The Equality for Women Measure of the National Development Plan 2000-2006 is designed to promote pilot initiatives aimed at improving the economic, social, cultural and political lives of women. In August 2004, my Department issued a second call for proposals. This second phase specifically targets economically disadvantaged women living in RAPID (Re-vitalising Areas by Planning, Investment and Development) areas.
The closing date for receipt of proposals under the second phase was 15 October, 2004. Following a thorough appraisal of all applications funding of approximately €7m was approved to 58 projects over the period June, 2005 to March 2007. Any future calls under the Measure will be announced in the Press.
Grant funding is available to voluntary organisations, subject to an evaluation process, from my Department's Violence Against Women budget for awareness raising, intervention or preventative measures which fall within the Department's scope of responsibility in this area. No deadlines are set for applications but the availability of funding in any given year is of course subject to the annual budget provided.
In April of this year my Department publicly advertised the second round of a five year funding programme for ‘Enhancing Disability Services Project Funding' (EDS). Applications were invited from voluntary organisations providing services for people with disability. The closing date for the receipt of applications is 15 July, 2006.
The National Disability Authority (NDA) is an independent statutory agency established under the aegis of the Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform and currently runs a Research Promotion Scheme — this is an annual grant scheme and has a closing date of 21 September.
My Department is also administering a small grant scheme this year, relating to the provision of accessible transport to people with disabilities. The closing date for receipt of applications was 9 December, 2005.
Funding is made available by my Department through the Probation Service for a range of facilities and programmes that support the work of the Service in the management of persons who are on court ordered supervision in the community, have been released from custody and where there is capacity for or risk of re-offending. The Probation Service supports sixty six projects nationally which offer programmes to offenders and those at risk of offending.
There is no set deadline for receipt of applications. However, all such applications should be submitted to the Probation Service for consideration.
A "Small Grants" Scheme is in place to provide funding to local voluntary and community groups that befriend and support asylum seekers living in direct provision. The total grant fund under Part A of the Scheme is €140,000 with a maximum grant of €6,000 per project. Roughly eighty applications have been received and assessed, and the issuing of cheques is currently underway. Sample projects funded include anti-racism and cultural awareness sessions, art and music projects & exhibitions, celebrations of national holidays, cultural outings/day trips, sports activities etc. Part B of the Scheme has an allocation of €30,000. The purpose of Part B is to fund activities which do not come under the remit of Part A and is aimed particularly at organisations or groups working with refugees and minority ethnic groups. Activities which may be funded under this Scheme include intercultural events at local or national level, awards initiatives, events linked to World Refugee Day and other such initiatives as well as any initiative which the Reception and Integration Agency considers will contribute to the integration of refugees and those given leave to remain.
The Agency also administers the European Refugee Fund for projects related to reception, integration and voluntary return measures carried out by NGO's. Funding of around €3.0 million has just been allocated to projects for the period 2005-2007.
I launched the Community Based CCTV Scheme last year in response to a demonstrated demand from local communities across Ireland for the provision of CCTV systems. The Scheme offered two Stages or options that were designed to meet the requirements of communities in both of these situations.
Stage 1 offered pre-development supports and possible funding of up to €5,000 for organisations/groups who were not yet ready to develop their proposals fully or utilise funds. The Stage 2 process offered a direct Application Process, to access funds, to those organisations who could demonstrate an ability to develop and deliver a CCTV Programme immediately. Under this stage of the Scheme, communities could apply for grant aid funding of up to €100,000 from my Department to install a CCTV system in their area. In addition, the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs gave a commitment to provide successful applicants from RAPID areas with a further grant to a maximum of €100,000 subject to the total grant aid from both Departments not exceeding €200,000 or 100% of the capital costs of the project, whichever is the lesser.
Over €1 million in grant aid has already been allocated to 37 communities under the Scheme and many of these could see their CCTV systems in operation before the end of the year. I plan to make a further call for proposals under the Scheme in the coming months and it is open to any Community Group to submit an application for funding under the Scheme when it is announced.
Up to €0.5 million has been made available from the Dormant Accounts Fund in 2006 under the Economic and Social Disadvantage Category for projects supporting Prisoners/Ex Prisoners. This measure is intended to provide funding for addiction counselling and employment supports for prisoners and ex prisoners. The monies, which are provided in the Prisons Vote, are split evenly between addiction counselling and employability services for prisoners (€250,000 for addiction counsellors and €250,000 for employability services).
The Scheme is administered by Pobal (formerly Area Development Management) on behalf of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Irish Prison Service. Applications for funding could be made to Pobal up to 30 June 2006.
