Results 1,041-1,060 of 2,335 for speaker:Joe O'Brien

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Voluntary Sector (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has provided grant funding to Benefacts since 2015. My Department has had no funding relationship with Benefacts. I understand the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform undertook a review in 2020 that found that the business case for its continued funding of Benefacts was no longer justified. Accordingly, the decision was made to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Voluntary Sector (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: There was value in what Benefacts did but we have to be cognisant of the taxpayers' money. There was a business case made in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and it did not justify continuing the funding, sadly. The data on the Benefacts database are publicly available from the organisations listed on it. Obviously, there was a value to having data collated in one location...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Voluntary Sector (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: To explain the difference between what we are scoping at the moment, the Deputy will know that community and voluntary organisations often apply multiple times to different State bodies, often within a very short period. It is part of our strategic plan going into the future that we want to make it easier for community and voluntary organisations to apply. We want to make it coherent and...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Funding (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for the question. The CLÁR programme provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of depopulation over a defined period. The level of funding provided for the programme in 2021 was €5.5 million and this was increased to €7 million under...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Funding (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: Depending on the application, it may either sit under one of the schemes I outlined, including CLÁR or the community enhancement programme, but from what the Deputy has outlined, it sounds like such applications might be a better fit with the sports capital grant scheme. That would be a question for the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, ultimately. To give the Deputy some examples...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Funding (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: It strikes me that it probably depends on the ownership of the field, for example, whether it is owned by a particular club or a broader community organisation. I suggest that the Deputy writes to me and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, directly, providing more detail on the specific situation, setting out who owns the field, who uses it and so on. We will see where it might fit best in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for his question. Given my Department's remit in supporting the economic and social development of rural Ireland and community development throughout the country, many of our existing funding schemes support the response to and the recovery from the pandemic. However, a number of specific targeted measures are aimed at directly supporting the Covid-19 response and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy. I should mention to him that the forthcoming community centre fund may also be of relevance. Specifically on the question about schools, I can certainly identify with that because there are plenty of examples I can think of where there are large rooms available that are not always accessible. Ultimately, it is, I presume, a question for the boards of management of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I again thank the Deputy. In respect of any improvements or adjustments that schools might wish to make, that is definitely not within our Department's bailiwick but it may be something we can talk to the Minister for Education about. I will take this question on board because it is a good one. We all are aware of space that is available in communities but which is not always accessible....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Philanthropy Initiatives (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Acting Chair for the flexibility because I very much welcome this question. My Department's statement of strategy contains a commitment to support the growth and development of philanthropy in Ireland and to develop a national policy on philanthropy. My Department works in partnership with Philanthropy Ireland, Charities Institute Ireland and Rethink Ireland to support their...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Philanthropy Initiatives (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy who has made a very good point. In the past there has certainly been a level of overreliance on a small number of very large international philanthropic organisations. As the policy goes forward I will be supportive of getting more Irish-based medium-sized philanthropic giving throughout the country. There is an argument for it being area-based also. There have been...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Philanthropy Initiatives (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy. This specific issue is one we will start tackling this year. We hope to announce in the near future an advisory group to help us develop this policy. It is worth citing the top five things that motivate philanthropic giving as listed in the Indecon report. These are care about the cause, people believing they can make a difference, people believing we all need to help...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The Department introduced a range of supports to help community and voluntary organisations meet the challenges they faced during and after Covid-19. For instance, the Covid-19 stability fund supported 863 organisations in 2020 and 2021, with total funding of approximately €48.8 million. In 2020, €4.2 million was provided under the Covid-19 emergency fund which targeted help...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: This year there was a significant increase in the town and village renewal scheme with €22 million allocated to it. With regard to the Deputy's point on the community activities fund being oversubscribed we do not know this yet. It may be happening at a local level. Over the coming month or two we will get feedback from the local authorities, which will tell us how many applications...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Development Projects (17 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: My understanding is County Cork has the largest allocation of broadband connection points. There has been some exploration of how more might be got, perhaps through a private channel in the short term, before we develop additional support for it. The Deputy and I have been in touch about this. We have done a little bit of digging.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I thank Deputy Kerrane for her questions. On the initial question on community employment scheme vacancies and referrals, it is probably worth reiterating the changes that were made just before Christmas because they have made a very significant impact. The CE baseline year was increased from 2007 to 2014. That baseline will be maintained at seven years behind the current year into the...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I will pick up on Deputy Ó Cathasaigh's point about the rural social scheme and retrofitting. There is certainly potential for the RSS to be involved in community-based retrofitting projects. It needs that community-based link. However, the big potential in retrofitting could be in community employment because it has a training element whereas RSS does not. There were to be four ETB...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: In response to the Deputy's questions and commentary, I wish to explain first that there are 2,959 RSS placements at the moment. We have almost 400 vacancies on the scheme. We will look at the six-year cap as part of the review. The RSS is an optional scheme. It is important to say again that we have more places than we can fill at the moment. I am interested in seeing how we can broaden...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (16 Feb 2022)

Joe O'Brien: It is an opportune time to make these points. There will be further incentives come June with the income disregards in respect of the other agri-environment schemes. We will see what impact that will have. However, incentivisation has to be part of the mix when we are looking at this in the broader review later this year. I would be glad to sit down with the Deputy and to discuss his...