Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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237. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he is aware that the budget for community groups in Dublin’s inner city has fallen in 2015 by 38% for the period April to December 2014; the steps he will take to address this anomaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12381/15]

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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My Department's Local and Community Development Programme (LCDP) is the largest social inclusion intervention of its kind in the State and is being implemented on a transitional basis until the end of March 2015, pending the roll out of the new Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) on 1 April 2015.

In accordance with the Public Spending Code, legal advice, good practice internationally and in order to ensure the optimum delivery of services to clients, SICAP is subject to a public procurement process, which is in its final stages. Tenderers have now been informed of the outcome of their tender and Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) are in the process of establishing contracts with the successful tenderers.

Following contract signature, Pobal will publish a Contract Award Notice in the Official Journal of the EU (/) and on the eTenders website () announcing the results of the procurement process. Such notice is likely to be published in early April 2015.

Within the constraints of the prevailing budgetary situation, I have been particularly conscious of the need to prioritise funding for the Local and Community Development Programme, until March 2015, and for its successor, the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme, from April 2015. My aim is to ensure that resources are allocated in the fairest way possible and to make the maximum contribution to tackling disadvantage, job creation and economic recovery.

My Department's intention is, over time, to use the available knowledge of population levels and disadvantage to ensure that available resources are targeted at areas of greatest need. As a tool to assist with this, a Resource Allocation Model, or RAM, has been developed which allows relative disadvantage to be measured across all census areas. In order to achieve the objective of moving towards allocating resources according to this model, my Department has in recent years worked to ensure that funding is protected for those areas which the RAM shows have greatest needs. This principle was used in deciding on funding allocations for SICAP and I am satisfied that the funding allocated to Dublin Inner City under SICAP is a fair allocation of resources for the area concerned.

The funding reduction referred to has to be seen in the context of a number of specific factors which applied to the Dublin Inner City funding arrangements under the current Programme. In particular, the Community Development Programme funding model was not based on population and deprivation levels, as is proposed for SICAP; instead providing funding for two staff, on average, and overheads in each project. In addition, the fact that there was no Local Development Company in the Inner City inevitably gave rise to a higher number of separate structures and associated costs relative to other areas, creating scope for efficiency savings to be made in the new arrangements under SICAP.

My Department has continued to ensure that LCDP services, for the communities in the Dublin Central area, have been maintained in a coordinated manner through LCDP interim funding arrangements until 31 March 2015.

In terms of the transition thereafter, funding of some €0.6 million, separate to and outside of SICAP, is being provided to certain Dublin Central groups (former Community Development Projects), pending agreement with Dublin City Council and the Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) on an optimum delivery mechanism for the services in the area. This funding is entirely separate to the €0.63 million which is being provided to the Dublin Central area under SICAP. The groups in question are:

-An Siol

- Cabra

- Lourdes Youth and Community

- Nascadh

- North Wall Women's Centre

- Robert Emmet

- South Inner City Community Development Association

- Community After Schools Project.