Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of questions, one of which relates to the community safety innovation fund. It is a welcome initiative. Sinn Féin has for a long time called for money seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, to go back into the most disadvantaged communities. While it is the first year of it, I welcome the proposed increase. A number of organisations from really disadvantaged areas applied for funding through this fund and were disappointed funding was not awarded. There were six organisations in my area of Dublin West that applied for the community safety innovation fund and not one of them was successful. Some of these organisations work in some of the most disadvantaged parts of my community and work with some of the most marginalised people in our community. What more can be done to make sure this fund, which mostly originates in areas that are really disadvantaged, goes back into those areas so they can have the services to stop young people going into crime in the first place?