Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is absolutely right that there are many fantastic communities out there. I have been to Lisdoonvarna, which is a great example of where a community came together and assisted many Ukrainian refugees who came there. I was down there recently and it is a wonderful success story. They were able to tap into the community recognition fund, develop their pitches and sporting facilities and do different things, the same as in the Deputy's constituency. There is loads of good work going on under the radar. Unfortunately, sometimes all we hear are the stories of where it does not go right. There are a lot more cases of many wonderful communities across the country that are helping, particularly through local development companies. They are doing good work on the ground. They are working with, educating and helping people who come to this country, and so many of those people are integrating. They are contributing hugely to our society. We all well know that our hospitals would not operate if we did not have immigrants coming here. As regards our processing plants, we would not have food on the table if we did not have migrants coming here. The industrial wheels of this country depend on people coming here to work, and it is important we recognise that.

We also have the various programmes. Nationally, more than €225 million has been secured for community development programmes in my Department in 2024. The social inclusion and community activation programme and the community services programme will have combined core funding of €100 million. The allocation for community development also provides funding of €21 million for the community centre fund. To further support communities, I announced €50 million in additional funding under the community recognition fund on 15 March last. The additional funding is targeted specifically at projects located in cities, towns and villages that are hosting the beneficiaries of temporary protection and-or international protection. Last Friday, I was delighted to announce a further €20 million in funding to support community groups to upgrade and refurbish community facilities. These community centres are so important in bringing together people from all communities and in breaking down those barriers and, sometimes, the fears some people have. We need to have the conversations, we need to come together and we need to understand one another better in some places.

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