Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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12. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if her Department has considered setting up rural information pods and lectures in the community to facilitate adult learning within the rural environment in relation to issues such as job seeking, heritage, the environment and sustainability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24439/20]

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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Will the Department consider setting up rural information pods and lectures in the community to facilitate adult learning within the rural environment on issues such as job seeking, heritage, the environment, sustainability and onward education?

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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To reiterate, my Department's mission is to promote rural and community development and support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland. We deliver this funding and supports to local communities and groups through implementing policies designed to enhance economic and social opportunities for individuals which improve the quality of life in all our communities.

Overall responsibility for adult education rests with my colleague, the Minister for further and higher education, research, innovation and science, and information on heritage matters may be best sought from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. However, my Department has been proactive in ensuring that individuals and community groups can access accessible information and advice on all supports available to them. In addition to the information and videos on supports which are currently available on gov.ie, in 2019, my Department hosted a series of nationwide events in rural locations to highlight to communities the opportunities available to them in terms of funding and supports from Government and State agencies. This was complemented by my Department's "Helping Hands" country-wide workshops for organisations and community groups which provided hands-on guidance on how to make and submit applications to access funding supports from my Department.

In the present Covid-19 environment, continuing to share information with communities on the supports available to assist them is more important than ever. In this regard, my Department will continue to host online engagements with stakeholders on the short-term and longer-term impacts of Covid-19 on rural areas and any consequential actions which need to be taken to assist the economic and social recovery of these areas. These engagements will input into the development of a new rural policy for Ireland for 2020-25, to be published shortly.

With respect to job seeking, training opportunities and facilitating adult learning, my Department also directly provides a range of supports. The social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, stands out as one of the key ones. Some 23,261 people completed a lifelong learning course under SICAP in the period 2018-19. My Department funds local development companies to work with disadvantaged individuals and groups through SICAP, offering a range of integrated supports.

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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In my constituency, the Dunhill Multi-Education Centre and Dunhill Community Alert invite people in to speak on issues. Recently, John Lonergan very kindly came and spoke about the issues of the Prison Service and so on. These people have to travel at their own expense. There is no funding. We are not looking for funding for that but realistically, I am talking about community centres being able to provide onward learning initiatives, particularly to the rural adult population who find it difficult to access services in the urban centres. They may not want to go on extensive courses but they need short-term opportunities wherever they might arise. Anything the Department can do to facilitate and promote that would be most welcome.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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SICAP is very much in that space. It provides: lifelong learning and training; CV and interview preparation; personal development courses; self-employment training; business planning and budgeting supports; and helps people get onto a work placement programme such as community employment or the Tús programme. Public libraries are also under our remit. They provide access to extensive online services and have been hosting extensive online workshops and seminars which the public can view via their local library’s social media sites.

Men's sheds and women's sheds are key hubs in many communities that share information and experiences. My Department has supported these groups through various funding programmes.

My Department and the agencies under my remit have been proactive in communicating with stakeholders and community groups to provide information on the many programmes and supports being delivered, such as LEADER, for example. Its programmes include opportunities for sustainable development under its rural environment theme. Information on this and other programmes is available from the local action groups which deliver LEADER in the community.

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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I commend the men's sheds organisation, part of which was started in Waterford. A new men's shed is being started in Dunmore East for the winter. There is a particular problem down there as there have been many suicides over recent years. These are very notable community organisations and I would appreciate any help the Department can give them in the future. Perhaps I can liaise with the Minister about that at some point.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I would be happy to liaise with the Deputy on that issue. They are excellent projects which bring people out of their comfort zones who would never have thought of doing something in their communities. They are brilliant.

I will give a little more information on libraries because while they are used well, more people could use them. In response to the crisis, systems were put in place to allow people to join libraries online without having to physically visit one. This resulted in an upsurge in membership, with over 30,000 new members joining the library in March 2020, compared with 17,000 the year before. The Department subsequently provided €400,000 in funding to purchase an additional 10,000 ebooks and audio books to meet the rising demand for online services. Members now have access to an online catalogue containing 35,000 ebooks as well as a range of other resources. Libraries also moved other resources online, including book clubs and workshops for an array of areas including first aid, parenting, coding, and autism awareness. They also held story times via Facebook Live and Twitter and ran writing and drawing competitions. Libraries Ireland and various library authorities are using social media to encourage people to use the online services.