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Community Services Programme

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 October 2020

Wednesday, 14 October 2020

Questions (307)

Éamon Ó Cuív

Question:

307. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development her plans to provide supplementary funding to projects funded under the community services programme in 2020 due to the fall in their income owing to Covid-19; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30528/20]

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Written answers

My Department currently supports more than 400 community organisations under the Community Services Programme (CSP) to provide local services through a social enterprise model. CSP funding is provided as a fixed annual contribution to the cost of an agreed number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions and a manager, where warranted. The CSP co-funding contribution towards employing each FTE is €19,033 per annum and €32,000 per annum for managers.

In addition, the Department put in place a €1m CSP Support Fund for 2020 which provided additional funding to many of these organisations, ensuring that they could pay their full-time CSP supported employees a maximum of €350 net per week, with a proportionate amount for part-time CSP supported employees.

Pobal, who manage the programme on behalf of the Department, are currently reviewing the financial position of all CSP supported organisations, as the ability to generate income, for many organisations, has been greatly hampered by the Covid-19 crisis. It is anticipated that the review will be completed in shortly and will inform decisions regarding any additional supports that might be required. Any additional supports to be provided will be considered in light of available resources.

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