Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 155: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the case of an organisation (details supplied) regarding funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8141/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Deputy will recall that he raised this matter earlier this month. The position regarding the support that is available to this company from the community services programme is being examined with a number of other requests. The Deputy will appreciate that decisions can only be made within the funds allocated to the programme and the merits of the case put forward by the company.

The community services programme is not designed to cover the full operating costs of supported service providers or to compensate service providers where they experience higher wage costs because of sectoral agreements. Where such conditions exist, the programme's requirement is that such costs are met by the service provider by developing non-public forms of income such as charging fees, trading or fund-raising. In the event that sufficient funding cannot be generated, the company may have to explore other alternatives or diversify their operations.