Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 April 2024
494. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Justice the amount of funding allocated to projects in the Dublin 9 and 11 areas out of the community safety initiative/community safety innovation fund; the details of the initiatives funded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19028/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra495. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Justice whether community safety initiative/community safety innovation fund monies can be used to support public realm space/park improvements in areas which have suffered from criminality; if so, if she will point to successful examples of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19029/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 494 and 495 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, my Department established the Community Safety Innovation Fund in 2021. The fund uses the money seized by An Garda Síochána and the Criminal Assets Bureau as the proceeds of crime to fund new, innovative community safety projects. The fund increased from €2 million in 2022 to €3 million last year and I was delighted to see it increase again to €3.75 million in Budget 2024. 22 successful projects received funding in 2022 and a further 30 projects received funding in 2023.
Under the CSIF 2023, applications were invited from existing community safety initiatives as well as groups co-funded with local authorities, NGOs and community organisations working on issues relevant to community safety and youth justice. Applications could also be submitted by individual organisations, or by a consortium involving two or more organisations where the lead partner is a community organisation, not-for-profit, social enterprise or similar with a remit relevant to community safety and/or youth justice.
There have been two successful projects funded in Dublin 9 and Dublin 11 to date. In 2022, the Ballymun Local Drugs Task Force received €120,000 for the ‘Base Bus’ project. It aims to redefine places of anti-social behaviour into more positive social environments by providing early intervention and preventative action in open drug use, street drinking, intimidation and encouraging positive interaction between older community members, young people and families. It involves the purchase and outfitting of a bus for a mobile access project which will enable enhanced outreach, presence and coverage at evenings and weekends as well as increased capability to engage with individuals and trust building activities.
Under CSIF 2022, Dublin City University (DCU)’s ‘Moving Well-Being Well’ (MWBW) project received €103,546. This programme aims to get children moving and involved in physical activity. MWBW focuses on increasing physical literacy in young children in order to give them the tools required to be active for life. The project runs interventions in schools and communities within the Local Community Safety Partnership Pilot areas of Dublin’s North Inner City, Longford and Waterford. The project is a collaboration between DCU’s School of Health and Human Performance, the GAA and the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics.
In relation to public realm improvements, under CSIF 2022, the Dungarvan Community Project by Waterford LCSP was granted €41,403 for the redevelopment of a derelict community garden through a community horticulture project, alongside the reopening of a vacant community house. The project aims to divert young people who are engaging in low level anti-social behaviour in the area into a community activity promoting personal ownership.
In 2023, the Enniscorthy Community Alliance received €150,000 for a project that focuses on public realm improvements. Enniscorthy Community Plants and Places aims to provide opportunities for youth within the town to get involved in community gardening, public realm improvements, sustainability initiatives and place-making to support their learning and development, mental health and develop positive community engagement opportunities.
