Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 October 2023
208. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the amount of the €50 million community recognition fund that has been spent; and to detail what the money has been spent on. [46792/23]
View answerOn 18th May, accompanied by the Taoiseach and other Government colleagues, I announced details of €50 million in funding for over 880 projects under the Community Recognition Fund.
At its core, this Fund recognises the efforts of communities who have gone above and beyond during what has been a very challenging period for our country. It will support towns and villages nationwide that have shown such generosity in welcoming people from Ukraine and other countries.
The Fund has been allocated across all local authorities based on the number of new arrivals located there. It follows an extensive consultation process by local authorities who submitted their individual list of projects for approval.
Through this initiative, communities have been assisted to develop projects ranging from large-scale multi-purpose sports facilities to walkways, cycle paths, playgrounds, equipment for sports clubs and community festivals. Full details of the projects and the successful applications are available on my Department’s website.
gov.ie - Community Recognition Fund 2023-List of Successful Applicants (www.gov.ie)
These projects are to be delivered over the course of 2023 and 2024. Local authorities are currently submitting drawdown requests to my Department in respect of these projects and my officials are assessing these for payment. Over €2.9 million has been paid out to local authorities to date and I expect this amount to increase substantially before year end.
