Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 June 2018
542. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason for the refusal to grant an application by a centre (detail supplied) in County Sligo in order for it to make an appeal to Pobal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27584/18]
View answerThe 'Ability' programme is a new pre-activation programme for young people with disabilities. The 27 projects to be funded will provide supports and assistance to more than 2,600 young people with disabilities aged between15 to 29 years old. The programme will promote employment prospects and meaningful social roles for young people with disabilities and in particular, young people who are distant from the labour market, using a range of person-centred supports.
The initiative is being co-funded by the Exchequer and the EU (under the European Social Fund, as part of the ESF Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014-2020) which demonstrates the commitment, at both a Governmental and EU level, to supporting and assisting young people with disabilities to achieve their individual employment and other goals.
Pobal have been contracted by DEASP to manage the programme including the application and evaluation process for the proposals received. Details of the application process are available on Pobal's website (under “Useful Links”) at https://www.pobal.ie/FundingProgrammes/Ability%20Programme/Pages/Ability%20Programme.aspx.
Following an extensive information campaign (including information events held in Cavan, Dublin and Limerick) and an application process, the Ability programme attracted applications from 59 projects.
A detailed and independent assessment process was undertaken by Pobal of the applications. Neither my colleague Minister Regina Doherty T.D., or myself had any role to play in the assessment process.
Pobal awarded scores (out of 100) for all applications, with scores being assigned to each proposal based on a weighted marking system linked with the schemes evaluation criteria as follows:
- Meeting the programme/ measure priorities (40%)
- Need for the proposal (20%)
- Capacity of the organisation (20%)
- Value for money (20%)
Only projects receiving a score of 60 or above were deemed by Pobal to be of sufficiently high standard to be recommended for funding.
On this basis, Pobal recommended 27 projects as being suitable for funding; this represents some 46% of the proposals received.
These recommendations were accepted as they were made by Pobal on the basis of the above objective criteria only, which were communicated to all applicants equally.
At the time of the launch of the measure, it was expected that funding for the programme would amount to some €10 million over a three year period. However, given the number and quality of the proposals received, enhanced funding arrangements have been put in place of €16 million to support all 27 projects recommended for funding by Pobal.
It is important to note, that where an organisation would like additional feedback, Pobal facilitates this as part of their standard processes. In such circumstances, as set out in the letters issued by Pobal, organisations make contact with Pobal and arrangements are made to provide further feedback. I understand that such a request has been made by this organisation and arrangements are being made by Pobal to discuss the matter with the organisation and provide additional feedback.
Pobal has also put in place an appeals procedure for applicants who feel that decisions taken and procedures followed by Pobal in relation to its administration of funding applications were not applied fairly or consistently. Details of the procedure are on Pobal's website (under “Useful Links”) at: https://www.pobal.ie/FundingProgrammes/Ability%20Programme/Pages/Ability%20Programme.aspx.
The assessment process was therefore based on the materials provided by the applicant as to how they proposed to address the objectives of the scheme in line with the award criteria, as set out above. This process was applied irrespective of where the application originated. Therefore, the likelihood that an application based in an individual county would receive funding was based on the number of applications from that county and on an objective assessment by Pobal of the quality of that application.
The Ability programme attracted applications from 59 projects: applications were received from organisations in 22 counties. There were 13 counties in total for which only one application was received. Counties for which an application was received but could not be recommended for funding by Pobal include-Sligo, Donegal, Carlow, Clare, Westmeath and Waterford.
It is also important to note that while some of the successful applications came from organisations that are headquartered or based in particular locations, some of the projects will be providing services beyond that county in which they are based, and in some cases providing services across the country.
In addition to the Ability programme, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection continues through its nationwide network of Intreo offices and through the EmployAbility service (a specialist service that has been designed to support people with disabilities-which is delivered on behalf of the department by 23 companies located around the country) to offer a full range of supports and services to people with disabilities who wish to pursue their employment ambitions.
