Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I understand the Deputy's concern, as local radio services are extremely important in isolated rural areas in particular. That aspect of the matter is not lost on me. As the Deputy outlined, the group in question is currently in receipt of funding through the local and community development programme, LCDP, and has been advised that it will be funded under LCDP for the remainder of 2014.

The social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, is one of the key priorities of Government and its overall indicative budget for 2015 has been maintained close to 2014 levels. The programme's target groups are children and families from disadvantaged areas, lone parents, new communities, including refugees and asylum seekers, people living in disadvantaged communities, people with disabilities, the Roma community, the unemployed, including those not on the live register, Travellers, and young unemployed people from disadvantaged areas.

In accordance with the public spending code, legal advice, good practice internationally and in order to ensure the optimum delivery of services to clients, the programme is subject to a public procurement process, which is currently under way. Stage one, which is expression of interest, has been completed by the radio station. Stage two - invitation to tender - commenced on 20 October, and will involve the successful applicants from stage one being invited to apply to one or more local community development committees, in local authority areas, to deliver the programme. Contracts for SICAP will be determined following the outcome of the procurement process.

The public procurement process is a competitive process that is open to local development companies, other not-for-profit community groups, commercial firms and national organisations that can provide the services to be tendered for to deliver the new programme. In stage one, joint applications were encouraged and organisations of varying sizes, for example, smaller organisations working in consortia with larger organisations, were invited to submit joint applications. I understand that some small groups, such as Connemara Community Radio, faced a number of challenges in competing in the stage one process. The results of stage one were released on 24 September and I can confirm that while Connemara Community Radio did submit an expression of interest, as the Deputy outlined, its application was unsuccessful.

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, is now considering the implications of this outcome for Connemara Community Radio. I understand discussions have opened between the Department of Social Protection and the relevant parties regarding the group making an application to a more appropriate funding stream such as the community services programme. The Deputy is probably already aware of the information.

The proposals outlined in the document, Putting People First - Action Programme for Effective Local Government, seek to position local government "as the primary vehicle of governance and public service at local level - leading economic, social and community development, delivering efficient and good value services, and representing citizens and local communities effectively and accountably". As part of the programme of reform of local government, local community development committees, LCDCs, are being established in all local authority areas. The committees, comprising public and private socio-economic interests, will have responsibility for local and community development programmes on an area basis, including the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP. They will develop, co-ordinate and implement a more coherent and integrated approach to local and community development than heretofore, with the aim of reducing duplication and overlap and optimising the use of available resources for the benefit of citizens and communities.

The public procurement process is a competitive process that is open to local development companies, other not-for-profit community groups, commercial firms and national organisations that can provide the services to be tendered for, to deliver the new programme. Successful applicants to stage one had to demonstrate that they would meet the criteria for the delivery of services in the lots applied for. I am confident that supports for the most disadvantaged in society will continue under SICAP.

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