Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide details of all funding programmes in his Department that community, voluntary and sporting organisations may apply to for funding; if he will provide a brief overview of each programme; the opening and closing dates of each programme; the minimum and maximum amounts of funding that may be applied for; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5387/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The information requested by the Deputy is set out below, under a number of broad headings.

Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime

The Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime is an independent body with an allocated annual budget from my Department to provide for services and supports to victims of crime. The Commission prioritises funding for activities that provide direct supports to victims of crime. A substantial amount of the funding it provides is awarded to voluntary sector groups who provide an accompaniment service to victims of crime when attending court.

The Commission advertises its funding scheme each year. It invites applications from registered charities, voluntary/community groups and other bodies. Applicants must be either a registered charity and/or a limited company. The Commission’s funding Scheme for 2013 was advertised on the 5^th October, 2012. The closing date for receipt of applications was the 23^rd November, 2012.

There are no minimum or maximum limits on the amounts an applicant can apply for. However, as every effort is made by the Commission to provide funding to services throughout the country, the full amount sought by a service may not always be granted.

Cosc

Cosc, the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, operates a grant scheme which provides funding to support groups at local, regional and national level for awareness raising campaigns that increase understanding and recognition of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and provide information of the services available to victims. Cosc strives to support the improvement of awareness raising through the implementation of a clear communications strategy and through transparent and fair funding procedures.

As in previous years, it is anticipated that this year’s grant scheme will be initiated in mid-to-late March with a public announcement and call for applications via national press media as well as notification on the Cosc website (www.cosc.ie) and E-zine. The closing date for the receipt of applications is normally 5 weeks later, i.e. mid-to-late April.

There is no minimum or maximum limit on the amount an applicant group may apply for. However, as Cosc makes every effort to provide funding to services in all regions of the country, the full amount sought by a service may not always be granted. Cosc supports collaboration between groups in raising awareness as an effective and cost saving tool of communication in that it gives groups an opportunity to reach a wider target audience to reinforce a common message. All successful grant recipients are subject to audit by Cosc and may also be audited by the Internal Audit Unit of my Department.

Equality for Women Measure (EWM) 2008 - 2013

The Equality for Women Measure (EWM) 2008-2013 is a positive action measure to promote equality of opportunity for women, supported by the European Social Fund, making funding available to community based not for profit organisations to provide developmental training to enhance labour market opportunities for disadvantaged women. The Measure is not currently open to receive applications.

Equality Mainstreaming

The Equality Authority does not operate a specific funding programme for community, voluntary and sporting organisations. The Equality Mainstreaming Unit (EMU) programme, operated by the Equality Authority, is part-funded by the European Social Fund 2007-2013. As part of its work programme, the EMU periodically funds projects to promote equality mainstreaming in the labour market and by further and vocational education providers. In such instances, calls for proposals are issued which set out the terms of the particular initiative, including the opening and closing dates and amount of funding available. Projects for funding are selected on a competitive basis. Depending on the initiative, calls for proposals may be open to applications from community, voluntary and sporting organisations. No calls for proposals are currently issued.

Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration

The Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration within my Department is responsible for the European Refugee Fund and the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals. The first-mentioned of these Funds provides grants for reception measures for refugees and asylum seekers and integration measures for refugees. The European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals assists with integration actions in respect of persons who are not among the target groups of the Refugee Fund. Currently, the contribution of the Funds to supported projects is 50% of the total cost and this may be increased to 75 % for projects addressing specific priorities identified in the strategic guidelines drawn up by the European Commission. These co-financing rates are to increase by 20 percentage points for States, such as Ireland, which are in a rescue package, under a proposal currently before the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The national matching funding has to be sourced by the promoters of the project.

Two calls for applications under these Funds have taken place since their inception, which was 2008 in the case of the Refugee Fund and 2007 in the case of the Integration Fund. Projects selected under the more recent call commenced in the second half of 2010. This call specified a minimum grant of €70,000 and a maximum of €300,000 and projects could range in duration from 18 months to three years. As projects selected are now coming to an end or have already ended, consideration is being given to conducting a further call for applications. The conditions to be specified in such a call would not necessarily be the same as previously, particularly in regard to duration because the proposed EU Asylum and Migration Fund is due to replace the existing Funds from 2014 although the eligibility periods of the new Fund and the existing Funds will overlap for a period.

The Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration has also made grants available to national organisations, including national sporting bodies, for the promotion of migrant integration. This funding is continuing but on a limited scale because their resources are reduced in line with public expenditure generally. There is unfortunately little or no scope at present to take on new projects.