Derek Nolan (Galway West, Labour)
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231. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his intentions for RAPID schemes in the context of his realignment proposals under his local government reform agenda; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43273/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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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.

I provided funding of €2 million for RAPID in 2013 , which is being used to meet my Department's existing contractual commitments on RAPID projects throughout the country, mainly Sports Capital top-ups and CCTV systems, jointly funded with the Departments of Transport, Tourism and Sport and Justice and Equality respectively.

Future support for RAPID areas will, like other community development programmes, be the subject of a focused effort to bring greater co-ordination on an area basis to publicly-funded programmes. This will be overseen by new Local Community Development Committees which are to be established in each local authority area as part of the reforms set out in Putting People First - Action Plan for Effective Local Government. In this regard, I intend that the focus will remain on tackling the poverty and social exclusion in RAPID areas and this will be more effectively combined with other programmes and actions delivered on an area basis.