Results 21-40 of 2,060 for speaker:Joe O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (9 Apr 2024)

Joe O'Brien: My Department's Community Services Programme (CSP) currently supports over 430 community-based organisations to provide local social, economic and environmental services through a social enterprise model, providing a contribution towards the cost of CSP supported staff in organisations. CSP provides an annual co-funding contribution towards each full-time equivalent (FTE) position...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (9 Apr 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Last year, I was delighted to announce details of successful applicants of the Community Support Fund (CSF) under the Community Enhancement Programme. Funding of €10 million was allocated to assist local community and voluntary groups across the country with a multitude of costs including energy and utility bills, other operating costs, minor upgrade works and small capital purchases....

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Data (9 Apr 2024)

Joe O'Brien: The Charities Regulatory Authority (the ‘Charities Regulator’) was established in October 2014 pursuant to the Charities Act 2009. The Authority is the State organisation responsible for registering and regulating all of Ireland’s charities, with the mandate to promote good governance practice. The Charities Regulator is under the aegis of my department. It is important...

Accommodation for International Protection Applicants: Motion [Private Members] (21 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Thank you, Ceann Comhairle, for your intervention and your comments. Since January, approximately 2,400 beds have been brought into use for those seeking accommodation by the international protection accommodation services. That said, week in, week out, we are opening new accommodation centres in communities across the country. Thankfully, by and large, they go unremarked upon because,...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Men's Sheds (21 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: In November 2023, I was delighted to announce funding of €1 million to support Men’s Sheds throughout the country. The initiative will see grants of up to €3,000 provided to over 400 Men’s Sheds nationwide to assist them with running costs such as electricity or insurance bills. The individual grants will be distributed to the Men’s Sheds via its...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Policies (20 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: The Pobal HP Deprivation Index is Ireland's primary social gradient tool, commissioned by Pobal every five years following the completion of the national census. The most recent deprivation index was published in November 2023, using data 2022 census data. The index provides a deprivation score for each of Ireland's 18,919 Small Areas, ranging from Extremely Disadvantaged to Very...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Transport Costs (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I point out that the Local Link services have accelerated in their expansion and reach, in particular over the past couple of years. Figures from the Department of Transport show that numbers taking Local Link services have shot up by more than 360% between 2020 and 2023. It was a particular commitment in the programme for Government that we would triple the use of Local Link. I was part...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Legislative Process (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Our charity sector is an important and valued part of Irish society, playing an integral role in the provision of services to our communities. With over 11,500 charities on the charities register, the work of the Charities Regulator is also vitally important. The Charities (Amendment) Bill 2023 was published on 22 December 2023, and concluded Second Stage of the legislative process on 25...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Transport Costs (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: As the Deputy will be aware, the Department of Transport is responsible for rural transport policy and programmes and the National Transport Authority has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for the scheduling of these services. Notwithstanding this, I acknowledge the vital importance of transport services for rural...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: We are using a couple of mechanisms to try to push that and expand that approach across government. In his question, the Deputy proposes the convening of a working group. In many respects that working groups already exists. We have a cross-sectoral group tasked with implementing the five-year strategy. It includes officials from quite a few Departments, including the Departments of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: There are a few strands to Deputy Ó Murchú's question.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: In terms of other Departments, particularly in the case of the section 39 organisations the Deputy mentioned, this comes down to service level agreements. I point to a document that was agreed by the Government in the year before last. It is the shared values and principles document. It encourages Departments to engage more with community and voluntary organisations that we are dependent...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Funding (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: The Government's five-year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector, Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities, was published in 2019. This is a whole-of-government strategy led by my Department and it is implemented collaboratively with the sector through the cross-sectoral group on local and community development. This strategy reaffirms the Government's commitment to...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Community Development Projects (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Since the Deputy specifically raised the community recognition fund, I will try to address the particular point he made. This was a €50 million announcement from last year. Each local authority was given an allocation based specifically on the number of new arrivals they had. After that a process ensued in each local authority area whereby the local authority was obliged to engage...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Community Development Projects (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: We have to trust in the local authorities' decision-making processes as well to some extent, but at the same time we look at how they were done and we can learn from this round for future plans. I would point to a couple of things that we have been doing and that are particularly dedicated and pointed at particularly disadvantaged communities, namely the empowering communities programme that...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Community Development Projects (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for the question. The new iteration of the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, 2024-2028 has a renewed focus on building capacity in community representative structures, establishing new community groups and social enterprises, and empowering communities to lead out on identifying their own needs, through a new dedicated core area of work called...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (5 Mar 2024)

Joe O'Brien: Last December, I launched the 2024 Local Enhancement Programme (LEP), with capital funding of €6 million to assist community groups across the country. The Local Enhancement Programme is targeted to the specific challenges facing local community groups and delivers immediate, tangible supports where they are needed most and will provide capital supports essential for the many small...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Community Development Projects (28 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: My Department's Community Services Programme (CSP) supports over 430 community-based organisations, to provide local services through a social enterprise model. CSP provides an annual co-funding contribution towards each full-time equivalent (FTE) position being supported, and, where warranted, towards the cost of employing a manager. An application window for funding additional staff posts...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (27 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: My Department's Community Services Programme (CSP) currently supports over 430 community-based organisations to provide local social, economic and environmental services through a social enterprise model, providing a contribution towards the cost of CSP supported staff in organisations. The programme is administered, on my Department's behalf, by Pobal. The vision of the CSP is to support...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Schemes (27 Feb 2024)

Joe O'Brien: My Department of Rural and Community Development's Community Services Programme (CSP) currently supports over 430 community-based organisations, to provide local services through a social enterprise model. CSP provides an annual co-funding contribution towards each full-time equivalent (FTE) position being supported, and, where warranted, towards the cost of employing a manager. ...