Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 March 2024
68. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the support available through her Department for the establishment of community associations in areas identified on the Pobal Deprivation Index. [10454/24]
View answerIn 2019, my Department launched Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities, the Strategy to support the community and voluntary sector in Ireland. The Strategy seeks to create a vibrant and active civil society, developing opportunities for all communities to contribute, engage and participate in decision-making and policy implementation.
As part of the strategy implementation, in November 2022, my Department held the first Civic Forum, for formal dialogue between the state and the community and voluntary sector. The second Civic Forum was held in November 2023 and was attended by 130 representatives from national and local government as well as a wide representation from across the community and voluntary sectors. The 2024 Forum is scheduled to take place in December.
Another initiative under the Strategy, a two-year project working with local authorities and other local stakeholders to improve the engagement of marginalised communities in local planning and decision making, concluded in December 2023. The project funded under the Dormant Accounts Fund ran a number of pilots as well as developing resources and toolkits, including a resource guide, 'A Guide for Inclusive Community Engagement in Local Planning and Decision Making'. Training was also provided in engagement strategies, inter-cultural awareness, the Public Sector Duty and facilitation skills. The overall project was aimed at ensuring that marginalised and disadvantaged communities have opportunities to engage and participate in local planning and decision-making.
The Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO), funded and overseen by my Department, also plays a significant role in Government’s support to our national community and voluntary organisations.
In addition, my Department provides funding to the members of the Community and Voluntary Pillar to engage in dialogue and policy formation.
My Department also has overall responsibility for the funding, governance oversight and development of Public Participation Networks (PPNs). The focus of the PPN is to empower and assist volunteer-led community representative groups to participate in local authority policymaking and decision-making. Where community representation is required on local authority committees, such as Strategic Policy Committees or Local Community Development Committees etc., it must be sourced through the PPN. This gives local community groups a greater say in local government decisions which affect their own communities.
Membership of a PPN is open to all volunteer-led/not-for-profit groups in a local authority area, and over 18,000 groups nationwide are currently members.
The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), is our country’s primary social inclusion intervention. This is a national programme that is delivered in both rural and urban areas by Local Development Companies (LDCs) to help those in the greatest need.
The new iteration of the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP 2024 - 2028) has a renewed focus on building capacity in community representative structures, establishing new community groups and social enterprises, and empowering communities to lead out on identifying their own needs, through a new dedicated core area of work called Community Animation. The supports are provided by community development workers based on needs identified at a local level. I have secured increases of €8.3 million for the programme over the last 3 years, with annual funding for 2024 now totalling €47.4m.
My Department also oversees implementation of the Empowering Communities Programme. The selection of the 15 programme areas for participation in the programme was informed by data from the Deprivation Index. The programme targets 15 of the most deprived and disenfranchised small areas in Ireland, each with their own unique communities and challenges, and has put in place supports to cultivate an environment for people to own their community’s response to tackling deprivation through locally-led community groups, resident’s associations and so on. Overall funding for the programme totals €2m per annum.
