Catherine Murphy
Question:738. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if he will introduce an annual men’s shed sustainability grant system. [32602/23]
View answerMen's Sheds
Questions (738, 739)
Catherine Murphy
Question:739. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if he will provide resources and or a grant in order for an organisation (details supplied) to develop a role for a national organiser. [32603/23]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 738 and 739 together.
My Department provides a range of supports which are available to Men's Sheds, depending on the works being completed.
Last November, I was delighted to announce funding of €800,000 to support Men’s Sheds throughout the country with running costs, such as electricity and insurance bills. The individual grants were distributed to the Men’s Sheds via its representative body, the Irish Men’s Sheds Association (IMSA). My Department is currently awaiting a full report of all expenditure details from the IMSA.
Separately, the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) has provided supports to 275 Men’s Sheds since 2018, with small grants totalling over €191,000 awarded to 117 Men’s Sheds. This support is still available through SICAP.
My Department also funded the Irish Men’s Sheds Association under the COVID-19 Stability Funding in 2020. They distributed €70,424 equally among their member sheds to support the organisations to continue to deliver services despite the challenges brought by COVID-19.
The Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO) provides multi-annual funding towards core costs of national, community and voluntary organisations. The current iteration commenced on 1 July 2022 and will operate until 30 June 2025. The Irish Men’s Sheds Association has been allocated total funding of €243,158 over the three year period of the scheme.
And finally, Men's Sheds were eligible to apply for funding under the Community Support Fund (CSF) that was announced last November under the Community Enhancement Programme (CEP). The €10 million CSF was set up to help small community groups with their energy/running costs but also to provide funding for small capital works projects. The CSF is now closed and details of successful Men’s Sheds is available at www.gov.ie/DRCD. Since 2018, over €2 million in funding was allocated to Men’s Sheds under the CEP.
While there is likely to be a new iteration of the CEP in late 2023, the exact scope is yet to be determined. Groups are encouraged to engage with their Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs), Local Development Companies and Public Participation Networks (PPN) to ensure they are aware of funding opportunities as they become available.
Question No. 739 answered with Question No. 738.
Rural Schemes
Questions (740)
Robert Troy
Question:740. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will provide an update on the upcoming LEADER programme; the budget for this programme; and what headings projects will be funded under. [32788/23]
View answerWritten answers
The LEADER Programme is a key intervention of Our Rural Future, the Government’s Policy for rural development launched in 2021, which aims to deliver a range of actions to rural communities over the lifetime of the policy. The programme is based on a community-led approach to rural development and plays an important role in supporting communities and enterprises in progressing job creation, social inclusion and environmental projects at local level.
The process to select Local Actions Groups(LAGs) to deliver the 2023-2027 LEADER programme is under way at present. Applicants groups are due to submit completed their Local Development Strategy (LDS) for consideration by 14th July 2023. The first LAGs will be operational by the end of August. Full details of the selection process is available on my Department’s website.
€250m has been made available for the LEADER programme for the period 2021 to 2027. This is comprised of €70 million for the transitional period 2021 to 2022 and an additional €180 million from 2023 to 2027, thus maintaining the level of funding provided for the 2014-2020 programming period.
The LEADER programme supports a broad range of activities which aim to respond to the diversity of the local needs of our rural areas. The proposed actions will be outlined by the LAGs in their LDS which are currently being developed in consultation with the communities.
The headings or themes under which projects will be supported for the 2023-2027 period are:
• Economic Development and Job Creation
• Rural Infrastructure and Social Inclusion
• Sustainable Development of the Rural Environment and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation.
I look forward to seeing the new LEADER programme fully up and running and continuing to make real impacts in rural communities across Ireland.