Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 November 2021
693. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when she envisages the Community Services Programme reopening for new applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55935/21]
View answerMy Department's Community Services Programme (CSP) supports over 420 community organisations to provide local services through a social enterprise model. The CSP provides an annual co-funding contribution of €19,033 for each fulltime equivalent (FTE) position being supported, and, where warranted, provides €32,000 towards the cost of employing a manager.
Qualifying organisations must be social enterprises capable of generating income from their activities in order to meet the full salary costs of the supported posts, for example, from income received from the public use of facilities and services.
In 2020, an independent review of the CSP was undertaken by Indecon International Economic Consultants, on behalf of my Department. The final report was published on 30 September 2020 and was accompanied by a high level action plan outlining the timeline for the phased implementation for the restructuring of the programme. My Department and Pobal, who administer the programme on behalf of my Department, are currently working on the restructuring of the Programme in conjunction with the CSP Consultative Group.
Pending the transition to the new restructured programme, the scheme is closed to new applications through the Expression of Interest process. However, there are a number of organisations with plans currently under consideration and if approved, they will be supported under the programme from January to April 2022 onwards. In addition, it is anticipated that the Programme will open calls to address identified gaps in service delivery in early 2022.
