Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 September 2022
119. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will provide additional funding for the social inclusion and community activation programme in 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45114/22]
View answerThe Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), is our country’s primary social inclusion programme. The current iteration began on 1 January 2018 and will run until the end of 2023. My officials have begun the process of developing a new iteration of SICAP which will begin in 2024. The programme provides funding to tackle poverty and social exclusion at a local level through local engagement and partnerships between disadvantaged individuals, community organisations and public sector agencies.
The funding for SICAP is subject to the annual budgetary estimates process and I was delighted to have secured a 10% increase for SICAP for 2022, the largest increase since the programme was launched.
Earlier this year, an additional €5 million funding was announced to support the Local Development Companies, through SICAP, for the community response to support people arriving from Ukraine.
I recognise the vital work the programme does in helping so many individuals and groups, by improving the life chances of those who are marginalised in society, living in poverty or unemployed, and I will continue to prioritise funding for SICAP within my Department’s overall voted expenditure.
