Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 10 Mar 1992

Vol. 417 No. 1

Written Answers. - Voluntary Groups Funding.

Dick Spring

Ceist:

263 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will give details of the funding, if any, which is available to voluntary groups under any of the following, or any other headings, and if he will also outline the means of application: (a) development of community centres, (b) youth activities, (c) creches, (d) women in education, (e) education in rural areas, (f) anti-poverty, (g) women's groups, (h) rural enterprise, (i) day care centres, (j) care of the elderly, (k) laundry, (l) meals on wheels, (m) tidy towns, (n) setting up community co-ops, (o) alternative energy, (p) mother and child, (q) development in traditional craft, (r) sport and (s) health.

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mr. Walsh)

No funds earmarked specifically for the individual headings listed are available to voluntary groups from my Department. However grants are paid directly to the following voluntary organisations for general purposes.

Organisations	Amount 1992	Activity Aided
	£
Irish Countrywomens Association	12,000	Educational and social activities among rural womenfolk as well as country markets.
Macra na Feirme	20,000	Promotion of educational, cultural and social activities among young rural people.
Muintir na Tire	15,000	Improvement and development of Local Communities.

In addition, my Department administer, through the co-operation of voluntary groups, the EC scheme for distribution of intervention beef to certain categories of persons on low incomes.

There are also of course programmes administered by my Department and funded partly by the Exchequer and partly by the EC in which local commercial interests and voluntary non-commercial organisations can participate. These include, for instance, the EC Leader programme for rural development and the small and Community Enterprise Fund under the Operational Programme for Rural Development. The types of enterprises which it will be possible to support under these programmes include rural tourism, small firms, crafts, marketing of local agricultural produce, training and establishment of groups.