Written Answers Nos. 80-103
81. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the details of her engagement with the National Broadband Plan in the past two months; and if she has confidence in the plan. [38495/21]
View answerThe National Broadband Plan (NBP) will bring reliable high-speed broadband to approximately 540,000 premises across the State, primarily in rural and isolated areas. These premises include homes, farms, community and health facilities, schools, and businesses.
The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has contracted National Broadband Ireland to deliver the NBP in areas where connectivity is not commercially viable and, as such, responsibility for the NBP is a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.
Notwithstanding this, officials in my Department continue to work closely with their counterparts in the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications to deliver the Broadband Connection Point (BCP) initiative.
In that capacity my officials regularly meet with officials from the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications in order to ensure the orderly deployment of BCPs throughout rural Ireland.
BCPs are among the first deliverables under the NBP contract and are a vital service for communities within the NBP State intervention area. As of 6 July, 203 BCPs are live, with more to come on stream over the coming weeks. A full list can be found on the NBI's website: www.nbi.ie.
The National Broadband Plan will have a profound impact on the future of our country and will provide new opportunities for rural areas in particular. These include improved career opportunities for those living in rural areas, facilitating smart farming, allowing employers to access the pool of talent that resides outside our large towns and cities, and the provision of services such as eHealth and eLearning. The importance of the rollout of the National Broadband Plan is clearly recognised in the Government's new Rural Development Policy - Our Rural Future.
88. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will provide clarity in relation to local improvement schemes particularly in areas that were formally within the boundary limits of Cork County Council which now find themselves within the boundaries of Cork City Council which are no longer entitled to funding. [38620/21]
View answerThe Local Improvement Scheme, or LIS, is a programme for improvement works on small private or non-public roads in rural areas which are not under the normal maintenance of the Local Authorities. The scheme is funded by my Department and is administered through the Local Authorities. I launched the 2021 LIS on 14th May. I have also recently announced the allocation of an additional €10.5m for the scheme in 2021, bringing the total allocation to €21m.
Local Authorities in Dublin and the City Councils in Cork and Galway have not been eligible for funding under LIS. This is due to the nature of the scheme, which provides funding for improvement works on small private or non-public roads in rural areas and is typically linked to access to agricultural land. I have no plans at present to broaden access to the scheme to the City Councils.
However, I acknowledge that there were areas of Cork that were previously eligible under the Scheme but are not now eligible as a result of the recent boundary change. If both Local Authorities in the county were agreeable to including these areas affected by the boundary change as part of the scheme for Cork County, it is open to them to submit a joint proposal to my Department for consideration. I have indicated this previously.
Any such proposal would need to be made in the context of the existing allocation provided to the county, and without any additional funding requirement from my Department. Roads selected for inclusion in the scheme would, of course, have to meet the criteria for the scheme.
90. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the position regarding the activity of community group projects across the country; and her views on whether funding is distributed evenly across the country. [38666/21]
View answerA range of my Department’s programmes provide funding to community group projects across the entire country. Each programme has a different focus and rationale which informs the allocation of funding. I will mention just a few examples here.
The Community Enhancement Programme provides grants to enhance facilities in disadvantaged areas and is administered by Local Community Development Committees in each Local Authority area. The funding is allocated to each Local Authority area using a methodology that takes population and deprivation levels into account.
The Community Services Programme (CSP) promotes social enterprise as an approach to alleviating disadvantage and addressing local social, economic and environmental needs which are not being met through public or private funding or other resources. It creates sustainable jobs for those most distant from the labour market, in particular for those who are long term unemployed and from specific target groups. 420 community organisations are currently supported nationwide under this programme.
The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) provides supports to community groups, both in the form of grants and also providing non-monetary supports such as training courses and assistance with completing grant applications for funding. A total of 4,292 Local Community Groups (LCGs) have been supported by SICAP to date.
I am satisfied that community groups nationwide are benefiting positively from funding provided by my Department and I encourage them to continue to apply. Eligible groups can apply for all schemes subject to timeframes set out for each programme at gov.ie.
94. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of applications for the Connected Hubs Fund currently with her Department. [38488/21]
View answerThe increased shift to remote working as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has given us the opportunity for a greater regional distribution of jobs and to support a better quality of life for many people who previously spent many hours in long commutes. This is a key focus of the Government's new rural development policy Our Rural Future.
Remote working, supported by appropriate infrastructure and facilities, has the potential to encourage more people to live in rural areas while working in good quality jobs, no matter where their employer is based. Aside from the obvious benefits to remote workers themselves, those that can work from a hub spend locally and will help revitalise our rural towns and their wider hinterlands.
On April 29th I launched the €5m Connected Hubs Call. This funding will benefit multiple projects and will support a wide range of relevant works nationwide, including the expansion of existing hubs, installation of privacy booths, access control and security systems, the conversion of existing open plan space to modular offices, and the provision of enhanced audio visual, networking and conferencing facilities. Grants will also fund measures to assist hubs to deal with COVID related challenges.
This investment will support the ongoing development of the recently launched National Hub Network – connectedhubs.ie, which already has 113 hubs using the platform and 380 hubs mapped. The supports delivered through this network will help build on the fantastic asset Ireland already has in its connected working ecosystem.
By the deadline of June 17th, my Department had received 152 applications in total. This represents a very high level of interest in my Department's call for proposals, and I expect to be in a position to announce details of successful applicants shortly.
95. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the types of enterprises that may apply for the newly announced Covid-19 supports funding (details supplied) under the Our Rural Future - Rural Development Policy 2021-2025. [38323/21]
View answerThe €945,000 COVID-19 Social Enterprise Regeneration Programme is a Dormant Accounts Funded Programme exclusively for social enterprises that will assist them to re-purpose or diversify their trading income while adapting to the COVID-19 operating environment.
Social enterprises are businesses that work primarily to improve the lives of people. Their core objective is to achieve a social, societal, or environmental impact, and like other businesses, they pursue their objectives by trading in goods and services on an ongoing basis.
Surpluses generated by social enterprises are re-invested into achieving their core social objectives, and they contribute to a fair and inclusive sustainable recovery.
Throughout the pandemic, many social enterprises significantly stepped up and diversified their activities to adapt to local needs. Many that were required to close, continued to provide much needed support to their service users.
Through the COVID-19 Social Enterprise Regeneration Programme, twelve consortia of Local Development Companies, from every region in Ireland, will deliver training and mentoring programmes to an estimated 550 social enterprises that will build their capacity in areas such as strategic planning, digital innovation and governance.
The regional roll-out of the scheme is part of the commitment under Our Rural Future to deliver a suite of new measures to support the development of Social Enterprises in rural areas and to contribute to job creation locally.
This programme will complement mainstream business supports available to social enterprises, helping them to maximise their economic and social impact.
96. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of applications for this year's tidy towns competition. [38486/21]
View answerl was delighted to be in a position to launch the 2021 Supervalu TidyTowns competition on 21st May last. After the cancellation of the competition last year, I know that the launch of the 2021 competition was greeted with much relief and enthusiasm by the countless number of TidyTowns volunteers around the country.
Special arrangements have been put in place to ensure the return of the competition. The 2021 competition is taking place in the same format as previous years, albeit with a specific emphasis on electronic entry and remote adjudication of each town’s entry. A second round of adjudications may be required in a small number of cases and, subject to ongoing public health advice, it may be possible to conduct these through an onsite inspection of the selected town or village.
The closing date for completed entries for this year's competition was 2nd July last. To date, my Department has received almost 800 entries for this year's competition and these have been recorded on the TidyTowns website. This is still a provisional figure as my officials continue to validate and register the entries received, and undertake final checks to ensure all entries have been recorded. The final list of all entrants will be provided on the TidyTowns website: www.tidytown.ie.
I an very pleased to see the large level of entries this year. The number of entries is testament to the resilience of the TidyTowns volunteers who have continued to undertake works in their towns and villages despite the challenges they faced. The competition will provide an important opportunity to recognise the significant role that these volunteers continue to play in their local communities.
97. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the progress in supporting the development of broadband connection points and the development of digital hubs in south-western areas of County Cork. [38171/21]
View answerThe Broadband Connection Point (BCP) initiative is a key part of the National Broadband Plan and Our Rural Future. It is now in the latter stages of delivery and as of 6 July, 203 BCPs are live and in use, with the remaining sites in the process of being surveyed, installed or tested.
To date, 16 BCPs have been delivered in County Cork with a further 8 sites to be delivered over the coming weeks and months.
On 31 May, I launched the National Hub Network, connectedhubs.ie. Since the launch, 113 hubs have signed on and are now using the platform, with an additional 49 hubs in the process of being onboarded. Furthermore, the number of hubs identified through the Western Development Commission's hub discovery process has increased to 505. These are in the process of being verified before they are mapped online at www.connectedhubs.ie.
This website provides an interactive map of hubs which provides useful information in relation to each of the hubs and the services that are available at each site. At present, there are approximately 20 hubs registered on the platform in County Cork, with more likely to be added in the future.
Since 2016 my Department has invested more than €50 million in the development of remote working facilities through the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. I have also allocated €5 million to fund a Connected Hubs Call this year. This initiative will provide funding to support small scale capital works in existing hubs and Broadband Connection Points. Applications are currently being evaluated by my officials and I expect to shortly be in a position to announce the results of the evaluation process.
98. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development her views on whether her Department’s engagement with the charities it provides funding to aligns with human rights models; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38667/21]
View answerMy Department is strongly committed to promoting equality, preventing discrimination and protecting the human rights of employees, customers, service users and everyone impacted by our policies and strategies, in recognition of the legal obligations conferred on it by section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act, 2014.
The Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO) is a key element of my Department's support for the C&V sector, the development of a strong and vibrant civil society, and improving outcomes for those most disadvantaged. It provides multi-annual funding towards core costs of national, community and voluntary organisations delivering services and supports with a focus on one or more of the following: addressing poverty, social exclusion and promoting equality. The current scheme commenced on 1 July 2019 and runs to 30 June 2022. To date a total of €18.8 million has been allocated to 74 organisations.
The Scheme provides funding for two organisations who directly identify as human rights organisations (Free Legal Advice Centres and the Immigrant Council of Ireland) and four who reference human rights initiatives or goals as a key feature of their work (Community Action Network, Community Workers Ireland, the Irish Penal Reform Trust and Social Justice Ireland). The Scheme also provides funding for a number of other organisations, while not identifying directly as human rights organisations, whose advocacy and activities nevertheless play an important role in helping to strengthen integration and equality of access within our society.
My Department also provides funding to Rethink Ireland, which supports innovative non-profit organisations, charities and social enterprises who work for disadvantaged communities in the areas of Education, Health, Equality, Access to Employment and Green Transition.
The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme aims to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion and equality. During 2020, over 26,000 people and over 2,600 community groups received supports under SICAP. Funding of over €39m is being provided by my Department to 33 Local Community Development Committees in 2021 to support this work.
99. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of applications from each local authority for each funding stream operated by her Department for 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [38487/21]
View answerI have asked my Department officials overseeing different sources of funding for rural Ireland and communities to assemble this data in tabular form as requested by the Deputy. This will take some time given the level of applications received by my Department from all local authorities for the different funds available. I expect that the information requested will be provided to the Deputy within seven working days and it will also be published on the Departments web-site.
