Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government in view of the potential change to the RAPID scheme, if it is envisaged that additional funding will be provided to local authorities who have RAPID areas under their jurisdictions to assist with these extra commitments or if local authorities will be required to source funds from existing resources for this purpose; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5404/13]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the funding provided for RAPID coordinators in 2013; the steps he has taken to ensure that local authorities provide funding for RAPID coordinators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5580/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 167 and 204 together.

RAPID (Revitalising Areas by Planning, Investment and Development) areas are urban areas designated as disadvantaged by reference to a range of socio-economic criteria including the levels of early school leaving; the proportion of one parent households; the unemployment rate; the proportion of social housing; and the age dependency rate. The RAPID programme aims to ensure that priority attention is given to tackling the spatial concentration of poverty and social exclusion in RAPID areas nationally. The programme has made substantial progress in identifying the needs of disadvantaged communities and in bringing forward appropriate local projects in response to those needs.

My Department has provided an indicative allocation of more than €2 million for RAPID in 2013, which will mainly be used to meet the Department’s existing contractual commitments on RAPID projects throughout the country , mainly Sports Capital top-ups and CCTV systems, jointly funding by the Departments of Transports, Tourism and Sport and Justice and Equality respectively . My Department is not in a position separately to meet the salary costs , for 2013 , of RAPID coordinators, who are local authority employees, but is providing significant general purpose funding to local authorities under the Local Government Fund to assist in meeting day-to-day operational costs.