Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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79. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he has considered the establishment of a community wealth-building fund within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33194/25]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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This question is fairly straightforward and simple, as I would like to think all my questions are. Has the Minister of State given consideration to establishing a community wealth building fund within his Department? He will know it is very long-standing Sinn Féin policy to support the development of community wealth building. We were in here the other night debating a Bill on ethical procurement and a representative of the Government stated that the Government is not hostile to the idea. This question is generally in that vein.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for her question. Community wealth building is, indeed, a long-standing commitment of the Deputy and her party. As she knows well, the concept refers to a range of approaches to local economic development. While the Department under the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and me does not have a dedicated community wealth building fund as such, our wide range of policies and funding programmes provide support for local economic development and community-led local development in line with many of the principles of community wealth building.

The creation of an environment in which social enterprises can thrive is a key element of community wealth building. Our Department leads on the implementation of the Government's social enterprise policy and a new policy, Trading for Impact, was launched last year. In addition, the community services programme currently supports 427 community-based organisations to provide local services through a social enterprise model. The national rural development policy, Our Rural Future, has, over its lifespan, provided significant investment and supports, strengthened local economies and improved the lives of many people in rural communities across Ireland.

The LEADER programme, which supports economic development and job creation in rural areas, is a prime example of community-led local development. In addition, the rural regeneration and development fund and the building acquisition measure of the town and village renewal scheme invest in the regeneration of rural towns and villages, including measures for the acquisition of buildings for community use, which aligns with the concept of community wealth building.

As the Deputy knows, Deputy Conor D. McGuinness, the Minister and I have visited many areas in conjunction with the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP. This initiative supports integrated approaches across communities throughout the country, enhances and leads community development, addresses disadvantage at local level and supports community-led initiatives in urban and rural areas. I thank the Deputy for the question and would be happy to explore the matter further with her.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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I really welcome that. As I said, this is long-standing Sinn Féin policy but it also makes a lot of sense. I appreciate that the Minister of State outlined what has been done, but the difference between what he has said and community wealth building revolves around key performance indicators, KPIs, to use that jargon. A community wealth building fund is shown to have been successful where there are deliverables and it is measurable, meaning we can look at reductions in poverty and inequality in a given local area. The purpose of it is to take the money being spent and use it to drive not just the local economy but also the local community.

The State is a big player as regards spending power at local, national and international level. We must take that and channel it towards deliverables such as reduction in poverty, well-paying jobs for local people and additional local businesses, including those owned by co-operatives. It is not only what the Government is doing but adding an extra layer on top of that and measuring it. If we look at places such as Preston and Ayrshire, we can see genuine transformation happening at local level.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. If we look at the example and model we have here in SICAP, which is our country’s primary social inclusion intervention, it supports communities. I am well aware of Cleveland and Preston. I am not aware of the Ayrshire model and would be happy to discuss that further. I have looked at Cleveland’s model in particular.

To give the House an example, €48.9 million in funding was invested in SICAP this year. I remind Members of the House that the place-based leadership programme under SICAP leads to improved building capacity. To be helpful, and I make this point in a non-confrontational manner, the issue of work co-operatives does not come under our Department but a different remit. Both the Minister and I, along with our Department and under the programme for Government, are committed to improving many aspects of the lives of people through community involvement and community-led initiatives. Last week, I was in Clare, while the Minister was in different parts of the country. I met Deputy McGuinness in Waterford with different people. These are wonderful people lifting each other up and raising the standard of living and the standard of public buildings. I opened a number of buildings last week in Cork, including the eHub, which is different. It is about working locally and nationally to ensure disused buildings are used.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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I do not wish to be argumentative but there is a small difference between what I am saying and what the Minister of State is saying. As much as the community wealth building model is driven by those deliverables, we are looking at measuring improvement in regard to the number of children living in poverty and increasing the percentage of the working-age population in employment, and not only in employment but in employment in decent work. It is about measuring as well as local development and investment and channelling money in a focused way. I encourage the Minister of State to look at Ayrshire and Preston in particular. Preston has been completely transformed by this and the drivers measured the impact on wages, poverty and job satisfaction, etc., for the local community. On this day last week we were here with the Minister of State's colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, and we discussed how the State can be a really important driver. This adds an additional measurement in order that it will be very focused and ensure there is delivery at local level.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy knows, the Department is progressing a number of initiatives and policies that provide both urban and rural regeneration through an integrated strategic way of delivering supports, programme schemes and co-ordinating measures to address social disadvantage and imbalance in our communities or, in some cases, a lack of opportunity. I gave the example of the national policy on social enterprise, the strategy to support the community and voluntary sector in Ireland. We are working to develop new policies, synergies and partnerships, such as through Our Rural Future, and there is significant investment. Some people are still not where they should be and I fully accept that, but we are working to identify and respond in a variety of ways. Our Department is very much committed to a people-first approach in any funding we spend to deliver for people at a local level.