Ms Anna Shakespeare:

On the Deputy's constituency, I will be very happy to speak to him regarding the feedback from his local groups. As the Secretary General mentioned, we apply the scheme rules and guidelines in terms of the grant application process and then undertake the subsequent assessment and appraisal of each grant. Regarding appeals, we work our way through an appeals process should any group be dissatisfied. As the Deputy mentioned, some of the application processes are very competitive.

The Deputy mentioned the community centre investment fund. There was an enormous response to that initiative in 2022. More than 826 grants were made during 2022, ranging in size from €25,000 to €300,000 to support the regeneration of community centres. To reassure the Deputy, we ran several Helping Hands seminars last year. This goes to the point made by the Deputy about supporting local community groups in making their applications. Each area has a development co-ordinator assigned to it. We also have a client services team whereby local community groups can ring a dedicated helpline providing support. I assure the Deputy that we have the systems in place. I very much take the feedback that we could perhaps communicate this better and I am very happy to take-----