Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 March 2023
322. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if there are grants provided for under her Department that allow for improvement works to be carried out on car parks and footpaths around local parish and community halls and centres, being cognisant of the fact the Community Centre Investment Fund does not appear to cover these works; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10732/23]
View answerThe Community Support Fund, launched last November, is a Fund designed to assist thousands of community groups across the country. Support is available to, for example, Parish Halls, Community Centres, Local Development Associations, Social Clubs, ICA Groups, Senior Citizen Groups, Men’s and Women’s Sheds. The fund will deliver small grants to help groups with running costs and rising energy bills. Groups can also use the funding to carry out small upgrade works and to purchase equipment to support their activities such as laptops and printers, lawnmowers, training equipment, etc.
The funding is administered on behalf of the Department of Rural and Community Development locally by Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) across the country, with support from their Local Authority. Applications for funding can be made to the relevant LCDC.
My Department’s CLÁR Programme provides funding for small-scale projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of de-population over a defined period. Since the programme was relaunched in 2016, it has supported a wide range of measures, including car park upgrades and footpath improvements.
Separately, in recognition of the contribution being made by communities across the country in welcoming and hosting significant numbers of arrivals from Ukraine and other countries, my Department’s Community Recognition Fund, set up in late January, aims to support the development of community infrastructure and facilities in these communities.
As the Fund is designed to support the development of facilities that will be used in the future by all members of the community, I believe proposals such as car park upgrades and footpath improvements would be eligible for consideration.
