Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 436: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he will provide figures for the current and capital spending under the RAPID programme for each of the past five years and the estimate for 2005; if he will provide a breakdown for the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30456/05]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department, supported by Area Development Management, ADM, Limited, co-ordinates the implementation of the RAPID programme. It is therefore a matter for each Department to report on progress on its implementation of RAPID and details of funding for the proposals that fall within its remit.

My Department was established in 2002 and therefore I am providing relevant figures for the period 2002 to 2005. RAPID areas are supported under my Department's community development programme, funding for local drugs task forces and the young people's facilities services fund the RAPID leverage fund and administrative supports for RAPID.

There are also more than 110 community development programme projects in RAPID areas. Details of the funding under this programme are in the following table.

My Department also has responsibility for the work of the 14 local drugs task forces and ten regional drugs task forces. The local drugs task forces were established in the areas experiencing the worst levels of drug misuse, particularly heroin, and many of them have RAPID areas within them. More than €95 million has been allocated to the task forces to implement their two rounds of local action plans. A further €13.6 million has been allocated to capital projects under the local drugs task force premises initiative, which is designed to meet the accommodation needs of community-based drugs projects. Details of funding under this programme are set out in the following table.

In addition, approximately €85 million has been allocated to support the work of the young people's facilities and services fund in local drugs task force areas and four other urban centres. The main aim of the fund is to attract at risk young people in disadvantaged areas into recreational facilities and activities and divert them away from the dangers of substance misuse. RAPID communities located in these areas would benefit from this funding. In total, €2.07 million was spent in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, including within RAPID areas.

Money is also spent under the local development social inclusion programme in RAPID areas. As the border of local development social inclusion programme partnerships are not co-terminous with those of RAPID areas, it is not possible to quantify the exact spend in RAPID areas. Details of funding under this programme are set out in the following table.

In 2004, I launched the RAPID leverage fund and €4.5 million was ring-fenced to progress small-scale localised actions in RAPID areas through co-funding with the relevant Department or agency. Details of the 2004 co-funded schemes are as follows: local authority housing estate enhancement scheme 2004: funding totalling €2 million allocated by my Department and the local authorities — each strand one area was allocated €66,000; RAPID playgrounds scheme 2004: funding totalling €3 million allocated by my Department and the Department of Health and Children — each strand one area was allocated €72,000; top-up funding under the sports capital programme 2004: my Department allocated top-up funding of €2.2 million to successful projects under the sports capital programme in RAPID areas and four clubs in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown RAPID area were allocated additional top-up funding under the programme totalling €86,000 from my Department; co-funding of projects between my Department and Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform 2004: funding totalling €351,000 for small-scale projects, IT equipment and minibuses.

In 2005, €7.5 million funding is available to my Department for RAPID leverage and the following schemes for RAPID areas have been rolled out: local authority housing estate enhancement scheme 2005-06: total funding €4.5 million, with €100,000 allocated to each RAPID area. This scheme is co-funded with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government through the local authorities. Under the RAPID health sector co-fund a total of €4.6 million has been allocated to support small-scale health and community projects, co-funded by the Department of Health and Children through the Health Service Executive.

The traffic measures co-fund received total funding of €2.025 million, €45,000 was allocated to each RAPID area, co-funded with the local authorities. The playgrounds grants scheme 2005 received total funding of €3 million, €66,000 has been allocated to each RAPID area to develop or refurbish playgrounds in RAPID areas, co-funded with the Department of Health and Children through the Health Service Executive. Additional funding was provided for RAPID community-based CCTV. This scheme was launched by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Successful applicants from RAPID areas will receive additional funding towards the capital cost of the scheme from my Department.

Under the 2005 sports capital programme top-ups my Department allocated top-up funding of €2.3 million to 72 successful projects under the sports capital programme in RAPID areas. One club in Dún Laoghaire was allocated top-up funding of €75,000 from my Department.

Special provision was also made for RAPID areas under the dormant accounts plan. RAPID, CLÁR and local drugs task force areas have benefited from just over €38.4 million in funding allocations over 2004 and 2005, with €2.7 million allocated within RAPID areas in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.

Since the establishment of the RAPID programme, my Department has provided approximately €6.3 million by way of support to the local areas in the preparation and implementation of their plans and administration costs associated with the support team in ADM. A total of €71,673 has been paid to the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown RAPID area to date.