Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2024
91. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the amount of the €50 million community recognition fund, announced in May 2023, that has been spent to date; the projects on which it was spent; the counties in which the money was spent; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3979/24]
View answerThe Community Recognition Fund recognises the huge efforts made by communities in welcoming and supporting people coming to Ireland. Funding of €50 million for some 900 projects is supporting towns and villages nationwide that have welcomed people from Ukraine and other countries.
The Fund aims to support the development of facilities that will be used in the future by all members of the community. It is important to note that this is separate from other public funding streams which aim to address public service needs arising from the significant number of new arrivals into Ireland.
Through this initiative, communities are being assisted to develop projects such as large-scale multi-purpose sports facilities, walkways, cycle paths, playgrounds, equipment for sports clubs and community festivals. Vehicles have also been funded to address transport needs in communities.
381 projects have submitted a partial or final drawdown claim, of which some 200 of these projects are now complete. To-date, €10.2 million in project costs has been drawn down from the fund.
A key priority for me now is to ensure that the range of projects approved across the country are delivered in a timely manner and I look forward to seeing projects coming to fruition across the country in the coming months.
The attached table outlines the projects where funds have been drawn down to date.
