The Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) currently being established in all local authority areas will develop, co-ordinate and implement a more coherent and integrated approach to local and community development than heretofore, with the aim of reducing duplication and overlap and optimising the use of available resources for the benefit of citizens and communities.
My Department's Local and Community Development Programme is the largest social inclusion intervention of its kind in the State. The current Programme having officially ended at the end of 2013 is being implemented by the Local Development Companies (LDCs) on a transitional basis for 2014 pending the roll out of a new Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) in January 2015. SICAP is one of my key priorities and in accordance with the Public Spending Code, best practice internationally, legal advice and in order to ensure the optimum delivery of the services to clients, the Programme will be subject to a public procurement process, which is currently underway. My Department has already been involved in a high level of engagement with the Irish Local Development Network (ILDN) and other key stakeholders in relation to the new Programme. A number of consultation events were held, and an on-line survey on the SICAP Framework was conducted to give all interested parties an opportunity to input to the new Programme framework.
I am satisfied that the procurement process underway is in line with best practice and that the procurement documentation on e-Tenders contains all the relevant information on the process. I look forward to the outcome of the process and the roll out of SICAP in January 2015.
