Written Answers Nos. 370-384
370. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of applications on hand in respect of the community enhancement programme; the extent to which she expects to be in a position to respond positively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61046/21]
View answerIn November a new €9m Community Activities Fund, was launched by my Department under the Community Enhancement Programme and this fund continues into 2022 to support community groups impacted by COVID-19.
This fund will support local community groups, particularly in disadvantaged areas, with their running/operating costs such as utility or insurance bills, as well as with improvements to their facilities. Groups will also be able to use the funding to carry out necessary repairs and maintenance as well as refurbishment work or purchase equipment.
The fund is administered in the same way as the Community Enhancement Programme, with grant applications assessed in each local authority area by the Local Community Development Committee to ensure there is flexibility to allow funding to be targeted where it is needed. Details on how to apply for the Community Activities Fund will be advertised in each area by the relevant Local Authority. As the funds are currently being launched across the country, there is no information as yet in relation to applications on hand.
371. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the extent to which her Department continues to monitor urban and rural community activity with a view to addressing issues arising from Covid-19, Brexit or other reasons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61047/21]
View answer374. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the extent to which she expects to be able to assist those suffering from social isolation in urban or rural settings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61050/21]
View answer383. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the degree to which she expects her Department to be in a position to offer specific help to urban and rural communities which may have been particularly affected by Covid-19-related issues; if she expects to be in a position to examine circumstances applicable in urban and rural settings by which existing or new schemes may be of particular assistance notwithstanding the work to date in this area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61114/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 371, 374 and 383 together.
In delivering on its mission, my Department provides a wide range of strategic interventions, funding programmes and policies to support communities, including helping to address the issue of isolation for rural dwellers, older people and people with disabilities. Addressing the issue of individual isolation in communities has become more important than ever before, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of my Department's policies and funding programmes aim to address isolation issues in communities, and also deliver benefits by responding to the challenges facing vulnerable individuals due to COVID-19.
My Department continues to provide funding to tackle isolation and support those in our communities in most need of assistance through schemes such as the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), the Community Services Programme, the CLÁR Programme, the Community Enhancement Programme, and the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.
The Seniors Alert Scheme was established to encourage support for vulnerable older people in our communities. It provides funding for a personal monitored alarm, connected to a contact centre to enable older persons of 65 or older and of limited means, to continue to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind.
Amongst the measures which will further support people with disabilities living in rural areas is the rollout of high speed broadband. This will enable improved access to digital services and increased employment opportunities for people with disabilities, including through remote working.
My Department is responsible for a number of national policies containing measures to improve the lives of people throughout the country including Our Rural Future, which places an emphasis on building resilience and enhancing participation and inclusion in rural communities including older people and those with disabilities.
My Department continues to monitor issues impacting on communities in order to respond to emerging needs.
373. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development her proposals for the funding of projects nationwide through the LEADER programme in the forthcoming year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61049/21]
View answerThe LEADER Programme is one of the key interventions of Our Rural Future, the Government’s Policy for rural development launched earlier this year.
Earlier this year I announced details of a €70 million Transitional LEADER Programme which came into effect in April and will cover the period 2021 and 2022. €65 million of this budget has been allocated to the LEADER Local Action Groups (LAGs) who deliver the programme and approve projects at local level. This allocation covers both core project expenditure and the administration and animation costs of the LAGs.
A further €3 million of the funding has been allocated to support co-operation projects and innovation between LAGs, while the remaining €2 million has been allocated to provide preparatory support for the next LEADER programme.
€20 million of this transitional LEADER Programme is funded by the European Union Recovery Instrument, which will enable local communities and enterprises an opportunity to respond in a community-led local development manner to COVID-19.
I am confident that this level of funding will be sufficient to continue to support and further develop our rural communities and businesses until the end of 2022.
377. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of community development initiatives funded by her Department in County Kildare in the past 12 months; her expectations in this regard in the forthcoming year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61053/21]
View answer380. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the extent to which she expects to be in a position to offer grant assistance to appropriately qualified groups throughout County Kildare in 2019 with particular reference to the community and voluntary sectors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61056/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 377 and 380 together.
My Department delivers a wide range of policies and measures to support urban and rural communities. Funding strands include the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, LEADER, Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), Community Services Programme, Community Enhancement Programme, CLÁR Programme, Local Improvement Scheme, and funding for public libraries across the country. Funding is available to eligible community groups and organisations throughout the country.
The amount allocated by my Department for urban and rural development and renewal purposes in the past three years to-date is, €133 million in 2017, €251 million in 2018, €315 million in 2019, €313 million in 2020, and €329 million to date in 2021.
Kildare was allocated €2.9 million in 2017, €4.2 million in 2018, €10.9 million in 2019, €7.6 million in 2020 and over €3.8 million to date in 2021. Details of funding allocations under specific schemes provided by my Department are available online at www.gov.ie/en/organisation/department-of-rural-and-community-development/.
My Department is also responsible for a number of national policies containing measures to improve the lives of people throughout the country. These include the National Policy on Social Enterprise, and Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities: 5 Year Strategy to Support the Community and Voluntary Sector 2019-2024.
The national rural development policy Our Rural Future, which I launched in March last, sets out a blueprint for the development of rural Ireland over the next five years. The policy is supported by over 150 commitments across Government, which will address the challenges facing communities and deliver new opportunities for people living in rural areas.
Delivery of the measures contained in the policy will help rural Ireland to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, enable long-term development of rural areas, and create more resilient rural economies and communities for the future. Ongoing dialogue over the course of the five year policy timeframe will ensure that rural communities are at the heart of designing and delivering responses that meet local needs.
My Department will continue to deliver these important funding schemes and policies to support both urban and rural communities, improve quality of life, and enable local and community development sectors to continue to provide valuable much needed services and supports to all communities throughout the country.
378. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the full extent of awards made by her Department under the town and village renewal scheme throughout Ireland; her expectations in respect of this or similar schemes in the next year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61054/21]
View answerThe Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) provides funding to support the revitalisation of our rural towns and villages and make them more attractive places to live, work and visit. The initiative is a key part of Our Rural Future – the Government’s five year strategy to revitalise rural Ireland.
This year, in line with Our Rural Future, a key focus is to renovate derelict and vacant buildings in our town centres to bring them back into use as multipurpose spaces, remote working hubs or as residential accommodation. Since the scheme was launched in 2016, funding of over €93 million has been approved for the delivery of 1,341 projects in towns and villages countrywide.
I have set out in the table beneath a breakdown of this funding.
Applications under the 2021 scheme are currently being assessed and I plan to announce the successful projects in the coming weeks.
Town & Village Renewal Scheme
Approvals to date
|
County/City Council |
Approved (€m) |
No. of projects |
|
Carlow |
3.266 |
49 |
|
Cavan |
3.611 |
59 |
|
Clare |
3.841 |
45 |
|
Cork City |
0.505 |
5 |
|
Cork County |
4.638 |
62 |
|
Donegal |
4.214 |
55 |
|
Dublin Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown |
0.180 |
2 |
|
Dublin Fingal |
1.772 |
30 |
|
Dublin South County Dublin |
0.229 |
3 |
|
Galway |
4.142 |
57 |
|
Kerry |
3.647 |
52 |
|
Kildare |
2.483 |
41 |
|
Kilkenny |
3.333 |
48 |
|
Laois |
3.449 |
55 |
|
Leitrim |
3.463 |
53 |
|
Limerick |
4.048 |
54 |
|
Longford |
2.776 |
48 |
|
Louth |
3.131 |
52 |
|
Mayo |
4.992 |
60 |
|
Meath |
3.448 |
55 |
|
Monaghan |
3.627 |
56 |
|
Offaly |
3.930 |
46 |
|
Roscommon |
3.752 |
51 |
|
Sligo |
4.241 |
56 |
|
Tipperary |
4.016 |
51 |
|
Waterford |
3.067 |
50 |
|
Westmeath |
2.704 |
44 |
|
Wexford |
4.742 |
59 |
|
Wicklow |
2.375 |
43 |
|
Total |
€93.621m |
1,341 |
379. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the full extent of awards made by her Department under the town and village renewal scheme in County Kildare; her expectations in respect of this or similar schemes in the next year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61055/21]
View answerThe Town and Village Renewal Scheme aims to assist with the rejuvenation of rural towns and villages throughout Ireland, making them more attractive places to live, work, and visit. This year, in line with Our Rural Future, a key focus is to renovate derelict and vacant buildings in our town centres to bring them back into use as multipurpose spaces, remote working hubs or as residential accommodation.
Since the launch of the Scheme in 2016, funding of over €93 million has been approved for more than 1,340 projects across Ireland.
I have set out in the following tables details of €2.48 million funding allocated to projects in County Kildare under the standard scheme and the accelerated measure introduced in 2020 in response to the Covid pandemic.
Applications under the 2021 scheme are currently being assessed and I plan to announce the successful projects in the coming weeks.
Standard Town & Village Renewal Scheme (County Kildare)
|
Scheme Year |
Number of projects supported |
Funding Approved |
|
|
2016 |
6 |
€380,000 |
|
|
2017 |
5 |
€416,403 |
|
|
2018 |
8 |
€520,000 |
|
|
2019 |
4 |
€312,164 |
|
|
2020 |
4 |
€439,833 |
|
|
Total |
27 |
€2,068,400 |
2020 Town & Village Renewal Scheme - Accelerated Measure (County Kildare)
|
|
Number of projects supported |
Funding approved |
|
Accelerated Measure (2020) |
14 |
€414,700 |
381. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development her proposals for the development of a national volunteering strategy and for the drawing up of a national social enterprise policy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61057/21]
View answerSince the launch of the National Volunteering Strategy 2021-2025 in December 2020, there has been significant progress in implementing the 56 actions across the five strategic objectives.
An Implementation Group was established in March 2021, this group includes key Government Departments, State Agencies and other vital stakeholders in the voluntary sector and from the sectors necessary to ensure the Strategy achieves its aims. To ensure that the views and experience of the volunteering community is strongly reflected in the implementation of the actions, five subgroups oversee and recommend on the delivery of each action.
A number of actions within the Strategy have also been implemented or commenced. These include the opening of seven new volunteer centres in May 2021, the launch of the Community Volunteers Programme in September and the commencement of research projects in a number of areas including volunteer management and capacity building. An annual update on the implementation of the Strategy will be published early in 2022 and will be available on my department's website.
Significant progress has also been made in implementing the National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland 2019-2022, under its three main objectives – building awareness, growing and strengthening social enterprise, and achieving policy alignment. As we enter the final year of the current policy the process of reflecting on progress achieved and the priorities for the future has begun. My Department has engaged the OECD to provide an in-depth, independent review of the current policy which should provide a very good starting point to the process of developing a successor policy from 2023.
As we move forward with the development of a new Policy we will do so in partnership with all stakeholders. This partnership approach has served us very well thus far, and I have no doubt it will be critical to building on the momentum we have achieved in developing the sector further.
Next year my Department will also be conducting the first comprehensive Data Collection “census” of social enterprise in Ireland. A Request for Tender is currently on e-tenders until mid-January 2022. This significant exercise will give us a better understanding of the scale of the sector, and will provide a robust evidence basis for the development of our new policy.
382. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development her views on whether public lending right payments to writers for loans of their books through the library system should be made on the loans of ebooks; and if she will amend Statutory Instrument 597 of 2008 accordingly. [61092/21]
View answerThe Copyright and Related Rights (Public Lending Remuneration Scheme) Regulations 2008 (S.I. No 597 of 2008) provide for a Public Lending Remuneration (PLR) Scheme in respect of the public library service. PLR is the mechanism by which authors receive payment for the loans of their books by public libraries. However, under these regulations, only printed books qualify for PLR.
My Department has paid €2.8m in PLR since 2009 and remains committed to the PLR scheme with payments in respect of books loaned in 2020 issuing to authors this week.
I have received correspondence from the Irish Writers Union requesting an amendment to the Regulations to incorporate ebooks into the PLR scheme and this is currently under consideration by my Department in consultation with the Libraries Development Unit in the Local Government Management Agency.
