Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 November 2018
6. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the details of the RAPID or community enhancement programme he has put in place since becoming Minister; if he has reviewed the operation of the programme to ensure the target groups are benefiting from the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45957/18]
View answer8. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if, since the establishment of the community enhancement programme, there have been specific supports or programmes to provide targeted assistance for the 51 most disadvantaged areas formerly known as RAPID areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46001/18]
View answerThe Minister knows that I have been concerned about whether funding under the new community enhancement programme which has replaced the RAPID programme is really going to the most deprived areas or being spent willy-nilly. What analysis has he made to ensure the most deprived communities will actually have parity in accessing the money under the programme?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 8 together.
I launched the new community enhancement programme in May. The programme builds on and replaces the communities facilities scheme and the RAPID programme. Its development followed a review of the two schemes and consultation with the 33 local community development committees, LCDCs, across the country. Details of the review are available on my Department's website.
The programme provides capital grants for community groups. Funding is allocated to each local authority area, taking account of deprivation levels. It is not ringfenced by the Department for specific locations. Instead, the LCDC ensures funding is allocated to those groups and areas that need it most in order to address disadvantage.
I originally allocated €4.5 million for the programme in 2018. Based on the hugely positive feedback from communities througout the country, I have recently allocated an additional €8 million.
The programme only launched this year and therefore has not yet been formally reviewed. The LCDCs monitor the programme closely and use their local knowledge to ensure that funding is benefitting communities, urban and rural, in the fairest way possible. It is intended that the programme will be subject to audit by the Local Government Audit Service. I am delighted with the success of this programme and I can see the benefits it brings to communities.
The Minister knows exactly what I am afraid of. There will be one for everybody in the audience because the LCDCs are not made up of the people from the most deprived communities. What mechanism will force the LCDCs to make the money available to the most deprived communities? Previously, it was ring-fenced for them and the representatives of housing estates had to give their blessing to anything that was even adjacent to them. How will the Minister ensure this, rather than allowing money to be put into the areas that are not the hardest hit?
The Deputy has a point but this is the first year of the scheme and I have to give it an opportunity to work. Deputy Eugene Murphy is also in the House and we are all local Deputies. We are trying to bring power down to local level and to give local people the opportunity to make decisions. In the new community enhancement programme we have amalgamated the RAPID programme and communities facilities scheme so that decisions can be made at local level. In the LCDCs there are public elected representatives and members of different organisations and I hope they will identify the areas of most need. I appreciate what the Deputy is saying and I do not disagree with him. The public auditor will audit where the money goes and I want the money to go to the areas that need it most. I am giving it a chance but I will not be afraid to make a change.
When the value for money report on RAPID was done I was told I could not roll it out as it had been rolled out before. I tried this new scheme and I am giving it a chance but if I find the money is not targeted at where it should be targeted, I will have to look at it again.
I am stunned that the Minister says he could not, if he wanted to, roll out the RAPID scheme in the way it used to be done. The Government could certainly have made a decision to do that so it is an extraordinary statement.
I do not think a fly goes up a wall in Mayo without the Minister knowing about it. Can he tell me where the money was allocated under the RAPID or community enhancement scheme in Mayo?
The value for money report on the RAPID scheme is on the website if the Deputy wants to look at it. The report stated that if we were to run a new scheme it was not to be run in the same way. In my county, the funding last year went into areas that needed it-----
Can the Minister send me the details?
I will send the details to the Deputy. I will be able to send him the details relating to every county because I am asking the local authorities to send me a list of allocations. I will send these to every Deputy because, as was the case with the local improvement scheme, LIS, it represents a safety valve. The local authorities can announce funding but they have to send the details of all allocations to my Department. I will put the information on the website and I will send it to the Deputy and other Members. I believe this provides a safety valve for the scheme as all Deputies will know where the money is being spent. If they feel it is not going to where it should go, I will have to look at the scheme again and see what I can do to change it. It has only been in operation for one year so I need to give it some time but I am confident the LCDCs can deliver on it. I hope they will because it is important that the money goes to where it should go. I do not want there to be, as the Deputy said, one for everybody in the audience.
