Dáil debates

Tuesday, 5 July 2022

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Departmental Schemes

10:15 pm

Photo of Joe CareyJoe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

10. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applications to the new community safety innovation fund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35702/22]

Photo of Joe CareyJoe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Budget 2022 made a provision for the establishment of the new community safety innovation fund. It was exciting that applications were invited from 11 April to 8 June. I want to establish the number of applications to the new fund.

Photo of Helen McEnteeHelen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The development of the community safety innovation fund is a key commitment under justice plan 2022, which I believe will have a significant impact on the development of community safety projects throughout the country. As the Deputy will be aware, my Department opened applications for the new community safety innovation fund on 11 April. The new fund will use money seized from the proceeds of crime to support investment in innovative community safety projects. This a fitting reflection of the successful work of An Garda Síochána and the Criminal Assets Bureau in identifying and seizing proceeds from criminal activity. This is something which my colleagues in government, Deputy Richmond, and many others have campaigned for and sought. Many members of An Garda Síochána have acknowledged how important it is that proceeds of crime are diverted and put back into communities that are vulnerable and victims of these crimes.

The fund has an initial allocation of €2 million under budget 2022. I expect the fund to grow in future to continue to reflect the success of An Garda Síochána, the Criminal Assets Bureau and other agencies involved in denying criminal elements the benefits of their enterprises. It is important that they know that crime does not pay. Any future allocations to the fund will be subject to the usual budgetary process. An information webinar was held on 30 May to provide as much information as possible to potential applicants to the scheme. We had more than 130 attendees.

The new community safety innovation fund closed for applications for the first year on 8 June 2022. I confirm that my Department has received 120 applications from a diverse range of organisations seeking to access funding for innovative projects to improve community safety. The process of initial eligibility assessment and scoring of the applications is ongoing and will continue through the summer. I expect that grants will be made to the successful applicants in the autumn. I will let colleagues know when that happens.

Photo of Joe CareyJoe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her reply. This is a welcome measure, which diverts the proceeds of crime, which have been seized from criminals, and puts them back into communities. When does the Minister expect that successful applicants will be informed? She referred to the autumn. Will she go into the scoring? There will be a diverse range of community activists, residents' associations and chambers of commerce involved in these applications. Is there a scoring mechanism? What criteria will be used to tackle crime, divert people from crime and prevent reoffending? How will one project score more than another?

Photo of Helen McEnteeHelen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

One of the most important elements that I have tried to convey, which is why we had the consultation process to make it clear to people, is that the projects we want people to put forward should not be able to be funded through existing streams, such as the victims of crime funding from my Department, the HSE, Tusla, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, or any other organisation. There are various different streams, such as funding for staff of sporting organisations on an ongoing basis. We have asked about new, innovative, once-off projects that do not require yearly funding. We have also asked about projects that can be replicated across the country. I was with a community organisation in my own area, which identified that when younger children left the facility the organisation provides and moved on, it had trouble because the children came back at weekends, climbed on the roof and, while they did not cause trouble, they were a danger to themselves and potentially others.

The intention was that they would put forward a project that would involve those children in developing the space themselves so they would be part of it and it would bring them into the fold instead of them being outside of it. It is those types of projects where it is innovative, different and new. It is once-off funding. It creates safety in a way that might not be thought about in the normal sense. This is how we are scoring in making sure all of those types of marks are met. Again, it will be in the autumn. I do not have a specific date, but obviously I will let the Deputy know as soon as I can.

10:25 pm

Photo of Joe CareyJoe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her reply. Obviously, the key people in this are the local communities. The Minister has given a wonderful example of a solution to an issue that has emerged and the involvement of the local community in the solution. Heretofore, that community would not have been able to get the necessary funding to provide that solution. I compliment our local chief superintendent in Clare, Seán Colleran, and his team, on the work they do in combating crime, apprehending criminals, and seizing their assets to bring about this type of solution. I also compliment the Criminal Assets Bureau on its work. We need stronger and safer communities. This is a policy Fine Gael in government is pursuing. I welcome the establishment of this fund and I look forward to projects being funded throughout the country, including in County Clare, to tackle crime and to make sure people do not reoffend. It makes a make a difference and is a ground-up approach.

Photo of Neale RichmondNeale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the opportunity to come in on this. I thank the Minister for her kind words. More importantly, I thank her for driving this through with the Government. This is fundamentally a very important scheme, not just for the work it will do but also as a demonstration that crime does not pay.

Does the Minister agree that perhaps this could be viewed as a pilot scheme? While the substantial amount of funding involved is very welcome, it is still considerably less than the amount of cash being seized by An Garda Síochána in any year of the past decade, not to mention the amount of cash seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau, as referred to by Deputy Carey.

The Minister will be aware that one of the key champions of this scheme in communities, particularly around the Neilstown area of Clondalkin, is Councillor Kenneth Egan. As Councillor Egan has put the case to me, will all of the scheme's 120 valid applications get an element of funding or would it be equivalent to the sports capital grant where there is a ranking system whereby funding would be given not just to the most worthy projects with higher scores but also to those projects that can have the tangible effect that is expected?

Photo of Helen McEnteeHelen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will respond to that last question. Grants range from €20,000 to €150,000. We must look at the types of projects that have been applied for. We are still going through that. How many projects receive a grant and how the funding is divided up would then depend on the types of projects that have been sought. The fewer of the €150,000 type projects there are, the more we can spread it across. This is just the first year and it is my intention it will expand. I brought the Criminal Assets Bureau 2021 report to the Cabinet just recently. The bureau has been very successful in its confiscation measures and in returning funds to individuals who have been defrauded. The bureau has done excellent work and we must make sure we reflect that with this overall fund.

When we consider the community safety partnerships that are being developed, there are three pilots under way at the moment, in Dublin's inner city, in Waterford and in Longford. The long-term intention is these community safety partnerships will be able to use this fund themselves where communities would identify the need for different types of projects separate from the different funding streams I have mentioned. They would be able to apply to this community safety innovation fund and use that as part of the overall plan they set out for their individual community needs.

I acknowledge the work of Councillor Kenneth Egan and our own colleague Deputy Fergus O'Dowd who, along with the Deputies and many others, have campaigned for this. I look forward to this scheme expanding and growing. Most importantly, the people in our communities will benefit from this.