Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 May 2022
844. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the application process and qualification criteria for a community services programme scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27643/22]
View answerMy Department's Community Services Programme (CSP) currently supports over 420 community organisations to provide employment opportunities and the delivery of 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 the 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. The Department and Pobal, who administer the programme on behalf of the Department, are currently working on the restructuring of the Programme in conjunction with a CSP Consultative Group, who are representative of stakeholders. As part of this work, the application process and qualification criteria are currently being reviewed.
Pending the transition to the new restructured programme, the scheme is closed to new applications through the Expression of Interest process. However, it is anticipated that the Programme will open calls to address identified gaps in service delivery later in 2022, subject to budgetary provision.
Full details of the current programme, including an Operating Manual and an FAQ section, are available on Pobal's website www.pobal.ie.
