Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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The Department's Community Services Programme (CSP) currently supports over 430 community-based organisations, to provide local services through a social enterprise model. CSP provides an annual co-funding contribution towards each full-time equivalent (FTE) position being supported, and, where warranted, towards the cost of employing a manager.

The CSP currently supports thirteen radio stations throughout the country, as set out in Appendix I, with funding of €1.33m for 2024, supporting thirteen manager positions and thirty five FTE positions. Multi-annual contracts are in place up to 31 December 2027.

Indecon's Report on the Review of the CSP Programme published in 2020, recommended a review of the responsibility for funding specific services across Government Departments, including Community Radio Stations, to ensure that they are supported by the most relevant Departments and state agencies responsible for specific policy areas.

My Department will engage with those organisations in specified sectors to identify more appropriate funding sources and this has been provided for in their grant agreement contracts.

Service types that may be considered to be more appropriately supported by other departments and state agencies, that are already supported under the CSP Programme, will continue to be supported by the Programme, by exception, however, these were not considered a priority under the 2023 Open Call.

Appendix I – List of CSP supported Radio Stations