Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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577. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reason the decision was made to cease the funding for the Ballymun social regeneration fund by 2017; if he is aware that the cessation of this funding will affect the future operation of 18 different programmes; and if he will revisit this decision with a view to continuing his Department's funding of these projects. [24791/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department has provided funding for a range of social regeneration projects in Ballymun for a number of years. Social regeneration funding is provided to Dublin City Council (and formerly Ballymun Regeneration Ltd which has been wound-down) and the Council determines funding levels for the various groups who are involved in social regeneration activities. This funding was paid out of my Department’s capital budget for regeneration, which focuses predominantly on physical regeneration but with a small allocation for social regeneration activities for those areas that are actively undergoing physical regeneration. As the physical regeneration in Ballymun reached its conclusion in 2014, my Department advised the Council in 2015 that, while it is committed to continuing to support social initiatives in the short term, funding would cease over time. This would allow the Council and the groups that it funded adequate time to seek alternative, sustainable sources of funding for their work. In this respect, I have made available €1.7 million to Dublin City Council for funding for social regeneration activities in Ballymun during 2016. My Department will work with the City Council on a transition over the coming years from funding provided under the Regeneration programme.