Written answers

Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Departmental Funding

10:00 pm

Photo of Dominic HanniganDominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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Question 591: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there are any grant schemes under his Department that allocate funding for local health initiatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26738/12]

Photo of Phil HoganPhil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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This is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Health, in the first instance. While my Department does not fund mainstream health initiatives it is, however, responsible for a range of programmes which support communities, including the Local and Community Development Programme which tackles poverty and social exclusion in disadvantaged communities; the RAPID Programme (Revitalising Areas through Planning Investment and Development) which tackles the spatial concentration of poverty and social exclusion in designated areas; and the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 which implements measures to improve the quality of life in rural areas and facilitates the diversification of the rural economy. These Programmes do not specifically deal with health issues, but they have a role in addressing community well-being.

Although healthcare activities are not eligible for funding under the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2007-2013, the RDP has elements that support the achievement of a healthy lifestyle, for example community gyms. Such funding is provided in a broader quality of life context and is not targeted at specific aspects of healthcare. In addition, it is widely recognised that a lack of adequate facilities, directly or indirectly related to health, is a major contributor to disadvantage in RAPID areas. Under the RAPID Programme, my Department has, in the past, co-funded a number of health projects in RAPID areas with the Department of Health and the HSE. Projects funded under the scheme covered a wide range of community health facilities, including premises for youth facilities, play areas for special needs playgroups, improvements to womens' refuges and services and facilities for older people to enhance and provide facilities that would enable older people to live independent lives. The RAPID budget for my Department for 2012 is fully committed to existing projects and our priority is to ensure that there is sufficient funding available to meet existing legal contractual commitments.

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