Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

To be fair, the Deputy has raised this issue with me on previous occasions. My Department’s local and community development programme, LCDP, is the largest social inclusion intervention of its kind in the State. The current programme officially ended at the end of 2013, having operated for four years, with funding of €281 million over that period. As the Deputy noted, it is being implemented on a transitional basis for 2014, with a budget of €47 million pending the roll-out of the new social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, in April 2015. I believe it was the appropriate and necessary decision to make that intervention. My Department currently provides LCDP funding to Comhar na nOileán Teoranta - the local development company for the islands - for the delivery of LCDP to off-shore islands. In terms of the successor programme, SICAP, the intention is that island areas would be eligible for inclusion within the tendering process which is currently underway and is due to be completed in February 2015. The SICAP funding allocations are informed by a specific resource allocation model, otherwise known as RAM, which focuses on the relative disadvantage of individual areas.

Discussions have taken place and are ongoing between my Department and the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht, which has lead responsibility for the islands, in response to issues raised regarding the continuation of funding for the development offices on a number of non-Gaeltacht Islands. This reflected the fact that the issues involved are broader than just those relating to SICAP, which I acknowledge.

I can assure the Deputy that both Departments fully understand the importance of the community development infrastructure on these islands. I and my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, who I discussed this with as late as this morning, will be ensuring that both our Departments continue to collaborate to agree a workable solution into the future. In the meantime, LCDP funding for the groups concerned will continue until the end of March, as the Deputy is aware.

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