Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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255. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the extent to which he has been in a position to offer financial support to the various eligible bodies and organisations throughout County Kildare which fall under the remit of his Department with particular reference to addressing isolation issues in both urban and rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46432/18]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Addressing the issue of isolation in rural and urban areas requires a combination of policy initiatives and actions to improve both economic development and to address gaps in meeting the social needs in these areas.

Many of these initiatives form part of the Government's published Action Plan for Rural Development and Framework Policy for Local and Community Development which include a range of measures which will contribute significantly to addressing isolation and social inclusion in communities, and as Minister for Rural and Community Development I will continue to advocate for a cross government approach to ensuring the rural and community voice is heard in relation to matters of policy.

My Department is committed to the successful delivery of the following programmes which provided financial and other supports to organisations in County Kildare in 2018 and I look forward to further supporting rural and urban communities in the county moving forward.

These include:

- The new five-year Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme, or SICAP, which commenced at the start of 2018, is our country’s primary social inclusion intervention. This is a €190m national programme that is delivered locally, to help those in the greatest need. The funding allocation to County Kildare for 2018 was €1,061,036. 

- The Community Enhancement Programme, which I launched earlier in 2018, has provided funding of €468,671 to projects in Kildare, including more than €26,000 to Men's Sheds groups, which provide a safe space where men can gather and participate in their communities, develop social networks and potentially gain new skills and access information.

- The LEADER Local Action Group in Kildare has been allocated €3,946,200 to invest in the economic and social development of County Kildare over the period of the programme to 2020. In 2018, €650,426 was approved for 18 LEADER projects in Kildare. The LAG received funding of €203,780 in 2018 for individual projects and the administration costs of the LAG itself.

- The Town and Village Renewal Scheme is another initiative under the Government’s Action Plan for Rural Development and is part of a package of national and local support measures to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland. I recently announced details of 224 projects that were approved for €21.3 million of funding under the 2018 Town and Village Renewal Scheme, including eight projects totalling €520,000 for Kildare.

- €35,000 provided to Kildare County Council towards the funding of a local broadband officer, increasing to €42,000 in 2019.

- The Seniors Alert Scheme, which facilitates valuable community-based support for vulnerable older people. A total of 1,139 installations have been approved for elderly persons in Kildare since September 2015.

In addition, many of the actions in the Action Plan for Rural Development, which are delivered by Departments across government, will help those who feel isolated or vulnerable, including:

- Investment of €46 million in Garda fleet to ensure that Gardaí are mobile, visible and responsive to prevent and tackle crime.

- Maintaining the network of senior helplines in operation throughout the country, which offer a listening service for older people to help address issues such as loneliness and isolation in rural areas.

- Continued support and prioritisation of community crime prevention through schemes such as Neighbourhood Watch and Text Alert.

- Continued improvements in the Rural Transport Programme, including the provision of new routes.