Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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489. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the voluntary and community organisations funded by his Department in 2013, or the most recent year for which information is available; and the amount provided in each case and the purpose for which it was provided. [2872/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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My Department supports the Community and Voluntary Sector in its contribution to an active, democratic and pluralist society. There is a particular focus on supporting communities that are vulnerable, disadvantaged or under threat through a suite of schemes. A community organisation may qualify for inclusion under one or more of these schemes, should it meet the terms and conditions of a particular scheme managed by my Department.

Pobal, a not-for-profit organisation , manages a significant proportion of th is funding on behalf of my Department under both the Local Community and Development Programme (LCDP) and Dormant Accounts Measures.

In addition , my Department also provides funding directly to a number of other organisations under the Local and Community Development Programme and the Seniors Alert Scheme and recoups to local authorities costs associated with the provision of accommodation and related services by voluntary housing bodies. Summary details of the main Community and Voluntary Schemes follow.

The LCDP is one of my Department’s main social inclusion programmes, aimed at tacklling poverty and social exclusion in disadvantaged communities. It is a key tool of Government in providing employment supports, training, personal development/capacity building and other supports for the harder to reach in the most disadvantaged areas in society. There are 50 Local Development Companies (LDCs) contracted through Pobal on my Department’s behalf to deliver the LCDP, with 35 of those also delivering the LEADER elements of the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 (RDP) throughout the country.

The funding Scheme to Support National Organisations in the Community and Voluntary sector provides multi-annual funding to national organisations towards core costs associated with the provision of services. Priority is given under the Scheme to supporting national organisations which provide coalface services to disadvantaged target groups. My Department also provides annual funding to members of the Community and Voluntary Pillar, to support costs, not funded from any other sources, directly related to the organisations’ contribution to policy-making in a social partnerships context.

My Department funds a network of twenty one Volunteer Centres, who act as ‘brokers’ between potential volunteers and organisations seeking volunteers. They also work with organisations to develop their volunteer management capacity and carry out Garda vetting for smaller organisations. The Department also provides funding to Volunteer Ireland, the national volunteer development agency and a number of other organisations that promote volunteering. The focus of Volunteer Ireland is to create an enabling environment for volunteering, to develop an ethos of volunteerism across all sectors of society and to be an independent and legitimate voice for volunteering.

The Seniors Alert Scheme is a community-based initiative that promotes independent living for older people in their own homes. The Scheme is administered by more than 900 local community and voluntary groups, full details of which are available at

Funding is provided to Philanthropy Ireland, Fundraising Ireland and ICTR to support the work of the Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising to develop philanthropy and charitable giving in Ireland.

Department of the Environment, Community & Local Government funding to community and voluntary organisations 2013