Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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175. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has any grants or provision for funding for community gardens run by community, volunteer or not for profit groups which use horticulture and gardening to provide social and therapeutic benefits to the persons and communities they support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40799/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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My Department provides funding to the community and voluntary sector through a range of community, housing and environmental programmes and initiatives, including the Local and Community Development and LEADER Programmes. The Local and Community Development Programme (LCDP) operates through a nationwide network of Local Development Companies. The LCDP aims to tackle 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 under-served in the most disadvantaged areas in society. It is a locally accessible, front-line intervention, supporting disadvantaged communities.

The main focus of supports to Local Community Groups, under Goal 4 of the LCDP, is to build effective structures at local level, increase participation in decision-making structures and build the capacity of local groups to identify and respond to local needs. The majority of the funding under this goal supports the employment of community development workers, training and community activities. In some cases small amounts may be given directly to local groups to fund specific activities, such as community gardens. To date in 2014, three community garden projects have received grant funding under the LCDP, details of which are set out in the table below.