Details of social impact assessments carried out by my Department and agencies under its remit are set out below:
- The Western Development Commission has not undertaken any social impact assessments to date, however, the WDC is in the process of commencing an analysis of the Socio-Economic Impact of the Western Investment Fund - 20 years of Innovative Regional Investment.
- The Charities Regulator commissioned and published a report in 2018 on the Social and Economic Impact of charities in Ireland carried out by Indecon. The report is available at the following link: Social and economic impact report 2018 An accompanying infographic is available at the following link: Social and economic impact of charities in Ireland infographic
The COVID pandemic has had significant economic and social impacts on communities throughout the country. As a response to the crisis my Department introduced specific supports, interventions and funding packages, having assessed the emerging needs of urban and rural communities impacted by COVID-19.
A range of COVID-19 related supports were introduced to support in 2020 the response and recovery from the pandemic including; COVID-19 Stability Fund; Broadened Community Enhancement Programme; Town & Village Renewal – Accelerated Measure; Philanthropy Fund ‘Innovate Together’; Broadened CLÁR Programme; Comic Relief match funding; Libraries Development- Small Scale Capital Works Programme ; Community Services Programme (CSP) Support Fund; Social Enterprise Funding; Volunteer Support Programme and the COVID-19 Emergency Fund. Information on all funding available, through my Department, can be found on gov.ie
I will continue to collaborate with my Government colleagues and will monitor the issues which impact our urban and rural communities in order to respond to emerging needs.