Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 September 2017
204. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if he will review the SICAP funding to deal with the shortcomings in the present system regarding the way in which funds are allocated (details supplied). [40044/17]
View answer206. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development his plans to increase the amount of funding available to Fingal to reflect population growth. [40046/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 204 and 206 together.
Within the constraints of the prevailing budgetary situation, I am particularly conscious of the need to prioritise funding for the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), and for its successor, SICAP 2018-2022, from January next.
In 2017, the SICAP programme has a budget of €37.5m, distributed across Ireland’s 51 geographic SICAP Lots. My aim is to ensure that resources are allocated in the fairest way possible and to make the maximum contribution to tackling disadvantage, enabling job creation and economic recovery.
My Department’s intention is, over time, to use the available knowledge of population levels and disadvantage to ensure that resources are targeted at areas of greatest need. As a tool to assist with this, a Resource Allocation Model, or RAM, has been developed which allows relative disadvantage to be measured across all census areas. In order to achieve the objective of moving towards allocating resources according to this model, my Department has in recent years worked to ensure that funding is protected for those areas which the RAM shows have greatest needs. This principle was used in deciding on funding allocations for SICAP and I am satisfied that the funding allocated to Fingal under SICAP is a fair allocation of resources for the area concerned. Details of the model are available at the following link http://trutzhaase.eu/deprivation-index/qas/
