Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 151: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the specific grants and amounts paid by her to community and voluntary groups in Galway city and county to date in 2011; and if she will list the chairperson, secretary and treasurer of each group that was a beneficiary of same. [38345/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Department of Social Protection operates a number of initiatives in co-operation with organisations and companies in the community, voluntary and not-for-profit sectors. The primary focus of these initiatives is the provision of training and work placement opportunities for people who are unemployed.

Outside of the Galway City area, Galway Rural Development Company Limited and Forum Connemara Limited operate the Rural Social Scheme with an allocation of 156 and 14 participants respectively. In addition, both companies deliver Tús, the community work placement initiative, with an allocation of 120 and 20 respectively. Galway City Partnership operates Tús in the Galway City area with an allocation of 80 participants. Funding is provided to the companies to meet participant payroll and other costs of the operations of the companies involved.

FÁS continues to have day-to-day responsibility for the operation of community employment and the jobs initiative and engages community organisations to sponsor training and work placement opportunities. The organisations engaged in community employment in county Galway during 2011 are listed in the table.

The organisations engaged in delivering the Jobs Initiative in county Galway during 2011 are listed in the table.

Under the Activation and Family Support Programme funding can be made available by the Department to assist individuals and families to enhance their employability through education, training and personal development. In the main, these activities are organised and delivered by community and voluntary bodies involved in the provision of training, family support and specific activities. The organisations to which funds were granted under the programme during 2011 are set out in the table.

The Department also funds the community services programme which supports locally based not-for-profit organisations to provide services to their communities. The table summarises the funding committed to in 2011.

In general, the Department of Social Protection and FÁS do not hold the names of the officers of these organisations and contact is maintained with managers, supervisors or other staff members employed. The members of the boards of management may be obtained by contacting the organisations directly or by consulting the Companies Registration Office.