Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 February 2024
233. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide a breakdown of all EU funding made available to her Department which has not yet been allocated; and the purpose for which this funding has been made available by the EU. [9813/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) is the European Union (EU)’s main instrument for investing in people and supporting the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. This funding is managed, for all Government Departments in Ireland, by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Integration and Skills (DFHERIS).
As announced by the Minister of Further and Higher Education, Integration and Skills on 21 March 2023, ESF+ funding is a joint investment by the Irish Government and the European Union with €573 million to come from the Irish Government and €508 million from the European Union, for the period 2021 to 2027. Within this National allocation, my Department has been allocated the following funding under the Employment, Inclusion, Skills and (EIST) Programme for the below schemes over the lifetime of the programme:
|
Departmental Scheme |
ESF+ Allocation |
National co-finance |
Total allocation |
|
JobsPlus |
€5,295,318 |
€6,111,047 |
€11,406,365 |
|
Back to Work Enterprise Allowance |
€10,445,264 |
€12,957,484 |
€23,402,748 |
|
Workability |
€15,153,573 |
€21,132,737 |
€36,286,310 |
|
Assistance to the most deprived |
€30,330,001 |
€3,370,001 |
€33,700,002 |
|
|
€61,224,156 |
€43,571,269 |
€104,795,425 |
A claim for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023 is anticipated to be submitted to the EU later this year when the IT platform for submitting ESF+ claims becomes available.
Other than EU ESF+ funding, my Department is currently involved in preparing a claim for funding from the EU REACT fund.
REACT-EU stands for Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe and is an initiative that continues and extends the crisis response and crisis repair measures delivered through the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative and the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative Plus. In respect to my Department, we have been allocated €53.27m under the crisis response element of this fund for refugee supports who fled the war in Ukraine and came to Ireland. I anticipate making a claim for this funding in the first part of this year, with the receipts expected by year-end.
The Department is the lead partner on a pilot project, ‘Lone Parents Digital Activation’ which is co-financed by the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation “EaSI”. In addition to the NGO One Family (in Ireland) there are three partner organisations in Greece and one in Finland. The pilot project commenced in November 2021. It has a duration of 30 months, and it will conclude at the end of April this year. The maximum value of the grant is €1.25 million divided between the three participating Member States. This is being drawn down throughout the lifetime of the project.
