Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

My Department's community services programme supports more than 430 community-based organisations to provide local services through a social enterprise model with an annual co-funding contribution towards each full-time equivalent position being supported and, where warranted, towards the cost of employing a manager. In March 2023, funding of €1 million was made available for a call for proposals in respect of specific CSP services, resulting in 14 new applicants being approved entry to the CSP in December 2023, supporting 13 manager positions and 23 full-time equivalent positions, valued at approximately €1 million. There are a number of organisations in the pipeline for support. However, this is subject to available resources. An application window for funding additional staff posts for existing CSP-funded organisations was opened on 1 September 2023 with a closing date of the end of September 2023. Pobal, which manages and administers the programme on behalf of the Department, received 137 applications from CSP-supported organisations under this call for applications. Pobal has undertaken an assessment of all applications received, with its recommendations submitted to the Department. Applications are under review, but due to the volume of applications received, it is expected notifications will issue to organisations in the coming weeks.

The Department is acutely aware of the pressures on the organisations supported under the community services programme in recent years. Supports provided under the CSP are considered in light of available budgets and the Department has had to consider a number of financial pressures over the past year under the CSP funding. These are the €1 million open call and an additional staff funding call launched in 2023, implications of the increase to the minimum wage in 2024 and upcoming costs that will have to be factored in relating to the pension auto-enrolment scheme, which is successfully moving through the Dáil at the moment.

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