Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. Facilities like community centres form the core of many communities around the country and help to bring people of all backgrounds and ages together for many different types of activity and event. During normal times, they regularly have a positive impact on our communities, as all Senators would agree.

The possibility of a community centre capital programme similar to the sports capital programme that is run by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media has been mooted recently. The programme for Government includes a commitment to "the introduction of an annual small capital grants programme ... for the maintenance, improvement, and upkeep of community centres". I am committed to supporting the upkeep and development of community facilities and my Department has commenced the process of scoping the need for such an additional fund in the context of the funding that is already available for many of these centres.

The development and maintenance of community facilities, whether they are in State or community ownership, is currently funded from a range of sources across various Departments and Government agencies. For example, funding for community centres can be provided through the LEADER transitional programme. This programme, covering 2021 to 2022, will come into effect next week on 1 April for new project applications and will be delivered through local action groups around the country. The rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, is also available within my Department and provides investment for ambitious projects in towns and villages with a population of less than 10,000 and their outlying areas. To date, the fund has provided €166 million to 139 projects across a range of projects nationwide, including community facilities. The urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, covering areas with larger populations, is available within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and further details are available from that Department. The town and village renewal scheme can also provide funding, and improvements to community centres have been funded through this scheme. Separately, the community enhancement programme provides capital grants, usually for minor works. Funding of €7 million was available through two rounds of this programme in 2020, with €5 million of this coming from the July stimulus package. All of this was targeted towards enhancing community facilities, including community centres and it is intended to run it again later in 2021.

I am conscious that we need to continue providing adequate support to important community facilities such as community centres, especially as we cope with the impacts of Covid-19, to ensure that new community centres can be developed where needed and that existing ones can be refurbished or upgraded where required.