I propose to take Questions Nos. 500 to 504, inclusive, together.
Last November, I was delighted to announce funding of €800,000 to support Men’s Sheds throughout the country.The initiative will see grants of up to €2,000 provided to over 400 registered Men’s Sheds nationwide, to assist them with running costs such as electricity or insurance bills.
The individual grants will be distributed to the over 400 Men’s Sheds via its representative body, the Irish Men’s Sheds Association (IMSA). Sheds should contact the IMSA for further details and with queries around eligibility.
Separately, The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) has provided supports to over 200 Men’s Sheds since 2018, with small grants totalling over €98,000 awarded to 116 Men’s Sheds. This support is still is available from SICAP.
My Department also funded the Irish Men’s Sheds Association under the COVID-19 Stability Funding in 2020. They distributed €70,424 equally among their member sheds to support the organisations to continue to deliver services despite the challenges brought by COVID-19.
The Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO) provides multi-annual funding towards core costs of national, community and voluntary organisations. The current iteration commenced on 1 July 2022 and will cease on 30 June 2025. The Irish Men’s Sheds Association has been allocated total funding of €243,158 over the three year period of the scheme.
And finally, Men's Sheds can also apply for funding to the Community Support Fund (CSF) that was announced last November under the Community Enhancement Programme (CEP). Since 2018, over 1,200 Men’s Sheds have received funding of over €2 million under the CEP.
The €10m Community Support Fund was set up to help small community groups with their energy/running costs but will also provide funding for small capital works projects. Costs incurred in the period 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023 are eligible under the fund.
The CSF is being administered by Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) on behalf of my Department and interested Men’s Sheds should contact their local LCDC directly for further information.