Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am not in a position to sanction grants for specific community centres, but the wider point made by the Deputy is valid. One of the reasons we are creating the idea of a community centre fund is that, historically, sports and other organisations had access to funding, but community centres often had difficulty accessing funds outside of local authorities which might provide some funding. It has always proved very difficult for community centres in general to access a direct channel for applying for a capital grant, for example. We would like to develop a fund to facilitate that in a more transparent way. One of the newly appointed Ministers of State will have responsibility for urban affairs and there may be avenues through which support can be provided to the centres identified by the Deputy.

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