Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 June 2018
533. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications for funding that were received for the Ability Programme by county; the number of applications that were approved for each county; the amount of funding allocated by county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26277/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra534. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications received from County Donegal for funding under the Ability Programme; the reason such applications were not supported; if she will revise her decision and allocate funding to County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26280/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 533 and 534 together.
The ‘Ability’ programme is a new pre-activation programme for young people with disabilities. The 27 projects to be funded will provide supports and assistance to more than 2,600 young people with disabilities aged between 15 to 29 years old. The programme will promote employment prospects and meaningful social roles for young people with disabilities and in particular, young people who are distant from the labour market, using a range of person-centred supports.
The initiative is being co-funded by the Exchequer and the EU (under the European Social Fund, as part of the ESF Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014-2020) which demonstrates the commitment, at both a Governmental and EU level, to supporting and assisting young people with disabilities to achieve their individual employment and other goals.
Pobal have been contracted by DEASP to manage the programme including the application and evaluation process. Details of the application process are available on Pobal’s website (under “Useful Links”) at https://www.pobal.ie/FundingProgrammes/Ability%20Programme/Pages/Ability%20Programme.aspx
As part of the application process, Pobal undertook an extensive information campaign (including information events held in Cavan, Dublin and Limerick) and a facility to address questions that potential applicants might have about the process.
Pobal received 59 applications which were assessed in detail and made recommendations for funding for 27 applications to the total value of €15,615,690 over three years. At the time of the launch of the measure, it was expected that funding for the programme would amount to some €10 million over a three year period. However, given the number and quality of the proposals received, enhanced funding arrangements have been put in place of €16 million to support all 27 projects recommended for funding by Pobal. When account is taken of costs associated with administration and evaluation of the programme, total programme cost over its entire lifetime is expected to be in excess of €16 million.
Summary of statistics related to number of applications, number of successful applications and financial allocation by county are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Ability programme – applications, recommendations and funding by county
|
County |
Number of Applications received |
Applications recommended for funding |
Recommended funding by county |
|
Carlow |
1 |
0 |
N/A |
|
Cavan |
1 |
0 |
N/A |
|
Clare |
1 |
0 |
N/A |
|
Cork |
5 |
3 |
€1,929,042 |
|
Donegal |
1 |
0 |
N/A |
|
Down |
1 |
0 |
N/A |
|
Dublin |
24 |
13 |
€8,007,900 |
|
Galway |
3 |
1 |
€724,583 |
|
Kerry |
2 |
1 |
€531,176 |
|
Kildare |
3 |
1 |
€264,421 |
|
Kilkenny |
2 |
0 |
N/A |
|
Leitrim |
1 |
0 |
N/A |
|
Limerick |
1 |
1 |
€514,776 |
|
Louth |
1 |
0 |
N/A |
|
Mayo |
2 |
0 |
N/A |
|
Offaly |
1 |
1 |
€570,853 |
|
Roscommon |
1 |
1 |
€633,919 |
|
Sligo |
1 |
0 |
N/A |
|
Tipperary |
3 |
3 |
€1,240,655 |
|
Waterford |
1 |
0 |
N/A |
|
Westmeath |
1 |
0 |
N/A |
|
Wexford |
2 |
2 |
€1,198,365 |
|
Total |
59 |
27 |
€15,615,690 |
Recommendations as to which applications should receive funding were based on a detailed and independent assessment process undertaken by Pobal. Pobal awarded scores (out of 100) for all applications, with scores being assigned to each proposal based on a weighted marking system linked with the schemes evaluation criteria as follows:
- Meeting the programme/ measure priorities (40%)
- Need for the proposal (20%)
- Capacity of the organisation (20%)
- Value for money (20%)
The assessment process was based on the materials provided by the applicant as to how they proposed to address the objectives of the scheme in line with the award criteria, as set out above. This process was based entirely on the quality of the application and this applied irrespective of where the application originated. Only projects receiving a score of 60 or above were deemed by Pobal to be of sufficiently high standard to be recommended for funding.
On this basis, Pobal recommended 27 projects as being suitable for funding; this represents some 46% of the proposals received. These recommendations were accepted as they were made by Pobal on the basis of the above objective criteria only, which were communicated to all applicants equally as part of the information campaign and programme materials.
One application was received from Co. Donegal. It was not recommended for funding as it received a score of less than 60.
Decisions as to funding were based entirely on the assessment and on the recommendation coming from the Pobal assessment process. Neither I, Minister Doherty nor the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection had any role to play in deciding on individual recommendations under this completely independent assessment process. Therefore the question of the application being supported by the Minister or otherwise did not arise.
It is important to note that Pobal has put in place an appeals procedure for applicants who feel that decisions taken and procedures followed by Pobal in relation to its administration of funding applications was not applied fairly or consistently. Details of the procedure are on Pobal’s website (under “Useful Links”) at: https://www.pobal.ie/FundingProgrammes/Ability%20Programme/Pages/Ability%20Programme.aspx
It is also important to note that while some of the successful applications came from organisations that are headquartered or based in particular locations, some of the projects will be providing services beyond that county in which they are based, and in some cases providing services across the country.
It is also important to acknowledge that even though support has not been allocated to specific counties under the Ability programme, the DEASP and other agencies provide a range of supports throughout the country. The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection continues through its nationwide network of Intreo offices and through the EmployAbility service (a specialist service that has been designed to support people with disabilities – which is delivered on behalf of the department by 23 companies located around the country) to offer a full range of supports and services to people with disabilities who wish to pursue their employment ambitions.
I hope this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
