Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

A total of 29 applications were received in response to the recent competitive call for proposals from community, voluntary and not-for-profit organisations under my Department’s Digital Skills for Citizens Grant Scheme. Of these, 22 applications were eligible to be evaluated in accordance with section 4 of the scheme’s which outlines the qualification and award criteria to be used in the selection process.  Following the evaluation process carried out by my officials, 15 organisations were offered grant funding.  It was necessary for my Department to vary original proposals with a view to managing commitments within the budgetary allocation of some €2.2m in respect of the scheme’s operation in the period 2016/2017, while ensuring a geographic spread of digital skills training across all Counties in the country.

Successful organisations signed a Grant Agreement with my Department which details the governance, financial and monitoring arrangements relating to the oversight of the delivery of specified training commitments under the scheme.

Grant funding is advanced to grantees in three instalments, each of which is linked to the delivery of training to a specified number of citizens, in line with the terms of their respective Grant Agreement.  Funding is paid to grantees as follows:

- First instalment - 30% of overall grant awarded, subject to a maximum payment of €60,000

- Second and third instalments – the balance of the grant to be paid in two equal portions, subject to the successful delivery of the training obligations relating to the preceding drawdown.

The Grant Agreement also provides for the repayment of funding to the Department in the event of underperformance by any organisation. Details of the total amount of grant funding awarded, together with details of the first instalment and respective training targets, are provided in the following table.