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

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I will give an initial response and then follow up with further information in my second reply.

The community recognition fund is managed by the Department of Rural and Community Development and delivered locally by each of the local authorities around the country. The €50 million fund was introduced this time last year and I was delighted, together with the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, to be able to announce the details of the successful projects last May. The scheme recognises the contribution being made by communities that have welcomed significant numbers of new arrivals from Ukraine and other countries. It is important to note that this funding is separate from other public funding streams that aim to support the development of public services arising from the significant number of new arrivals into Ireland. The community recognition fund is specifically designed to support the development of community facilities that will be used in the future by all members of the community.

Through this initiative, communities are being assisted to develop a wide range of projects in terms of both their scale and their scope. They include large-scale multipurpose sports facilities, walkways, cycle paths and playgrounds, with smaller amounts given for equipment for sports clubs and funding for community festivals. The fund has been allocated across all local authorities based on the number of new arrivals located there. The projects were selected following an extensive community consultation process undertaken by local authorities, which submitted individual lists of projects for approval. The focus was very much on funding projects in the towns and villages most impacted. More than 880 projects were approved for funding through the €50 million allocation and they are due to be completed by the end of this year.

Details of the allocation provided to each local authority and the projects approved for funding are available on my Department's website. The allocations varied across local authorities depending on the numbers of new arrivals located there, including both people from Ukraine and international protection applicants. The largest allocation was just over €4.4 million for County Kerry. The next highest was €3.1 million for County Donegal. The smallest allocation was €653,000 for County Longford.

The fund was established to be as user-friendly as possible, with significant flexibility provided as regards the types of projects that can be supported. In addition, funding of up to 100% of the project costs was available, with no matching funding required from local communities.The Department is also committed to providing every assistance to groups to facilitate project delivery, including with regard to managing funding drawdown in a way that facilitates community groups managing their cash flow.

The Department is in ongoing contact with local authorities in relation to progressing the delivery of projects under the fund. Local authorities are submitting funding draw-down requests to the Department in respect of these projects as they are completed.

Of the over 880 projects approved for funding, 185 have been completed and €11.5 million has been drawn down from the fund. A total of 333 projects have submitted a partial or final draw-down claim.

I agree with the Senator on the importance of health and education. Health, in particular, comes up when we are engaging with communities around the need for increased GP services. I wrote to the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, on this matter recently. In his response, the Minister explained that the Department implemented a number of measures last year in consultation with the Irish College of General Practitioners which allowed the ICGP to increase the number of places in the training colleges and create a programme to upskill people coming from abroad to work as GPs in Ireland. This programme successfully brought 100 people into the system last year. This year, it is planned to add another 250 people through the programme. There is, therefore, responsiveness in this regard.

I will address some of the Senator's other points in my closing statement.