Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 February 2014
405. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding the dormant account fund; the way community organisations can apply for funding through same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6722/14]
View answer406. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans for the future of RAPID and CLÁR schemes; if he intends to make dormant account funds available to them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6725/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 405 and 406 together.
Since its establishment in April 2003 to the end of December 2013, the transfers to the Dormant Accounts Fund have totalled some €725.23 million. Funds reclaimed in that period by account holders amounted to around €272 million, with €252 million disbursed on projects designed to benefit the community over the same period. The current balance of uncommitted funds is €109.7 million. Further data in relation to the Dormant Accounts Fund are available on my Department’s website at www.environ.ie
The Government recently approved a new Dormant Accounts Disbursement Scheme in accordance with the Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Act 2012. The 2012 Act also provides for the preparation of an action plan, to give effect to the disbursement scheme. Organisations will be able to apply for funding once the action plan is approved, which is expected to be later this year, following a consultation process with relevant Government Departments.
In 2013, I allocated €6.385 million for Dormant Accounts Measures, which includes €2.835 million to be used to support labour force activation measures in local authorities. The corresponding provision for 2014 is €5.456 million, which will allow for the continuation of funding to support the labour force activation measures and the implementation of a modest action plan.
With the reduced resources available for my Department’s funding programmes, the CLÁR programme is no longer accepting funding applications. There is provision of €0.1 m for the Programme for 2014 to meet existing commitments expected to arise during the year.
The RAPID programme aims to ensure that priority attention is given to tackling the spatial concentration of poverty and social exclusion in RAPID areas nationally. I provided funding of €1.9 million for RAPID in 2014, which is being used to meet my Department’s existing contractual commitments on RAPID projects throughout the country.
Future support for RAPID areas will, like other community development programmes, be the subject of a focused effort to bring greater co-ordination on an area basis to publicly-funded programmes. This will be overseen by new Local Community Development Committees which are to be established in each local authority area under the Local Government Reform Act 2014.
