Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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95. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the level of engagement he has had with the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht relating to funding for community development workers on, non-Gaeltacht, off-shore islands; if he has identified sources of funding to ensure the continuation of the work performed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40954/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I refer to the reply to Priority Question No. 83 on today’s Order Paper. My Department’s Local and Community Development Programme (LCDP) is the largest social inclusion intervention of its kind in the State. The current Programme officially ended at the end of 2013 having operated for four years with funding of €281 million over that period. It is being implemented on a transitional basis for 2014 with a budget of €47 million pending the roll out of the new Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) in April 2015.

My Department currently provides LCDP funding to Comhar na nOilean Teoranta (the Local Development Company for the Islands) for the delivery of LCDP to off-shore islands. In terms of the successor programme (SICAP), the intention is that island areas would be eligible for inclusion within the tendering process which is currently underway and is due to be completed in February 2015. The SICAP programme funding allocations are informed by a specific Resource Allocation Model, or RAM, which focuses on relative disadvantage of individual areas.

Discussions have taken place recently between my Department and the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht, which has lead responsibility for the islands, in response to issues raised regarding the continuation of funding for the Development Offices on a number of non-Gaeltacht Islands. This reflected the fact that the issues involved are broader than just those relating to SICAP.

I can assure the Deputy that both Departments fully understand the importance of the community development infrastructure on these islands and I and my colleague, Minister Humphreys, will be ensuring that both our Departments continue to collaborate to agree a workable solution in the matter. In the meantime, LCDP funding for the groups concerned will continue until the end of March 2015.