Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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230. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the role of Pobal in the allocation of funding for his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3386/19]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Please see response to parliamentary question No. 44, ref. 3006/19. 

Pobal is an agency of my Department which works on behalf of Government to manage and implement a number of publicly-funded programmes designed to improve outcomes for local communities, particularly those encountering social and economic disadvantage.

Pobal operates on the basis of a framework agreement with my Department and programme-specific service level agreements with individual divisions,  with an agreed programme of work with each division for any work they are requested to undertake. Those programmes include the LEADER Programme; the Social Inclusion and the Community Activation Programme (SICAP), the Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO), the Seniors Alert Scheme (SAS), the Community Services Programme (CSP) and the Dormant Accounts Fund (DAF).

Each programme that Pobal manages and supports differs, as does Pobal’s level and type of involvement in each.  Pobal’s role depends on the requirements of the division with responsibility for the programme and does not involve the allocation of funding on behalf of my Department in all cases. For example, in some cases Pobal will work across the programme lifecycle (as with SICAP), whilst in others the role is more limited to specific tasks.  Pobal may assist with providing capital grants in some cases.

Supports to the LEADER 2014-2020 Programme are for ICT and Pobal also undertake certain Article 48 checks under the programme. Pobal has no function in the allocation of funding to individual LEADER project promoters. The responsibility for allocating funding under the LEADER Programme rests with the relevant Local Action Groups.

Pobal manages the Community Services Programme on behalf of my Department. It makes recommendations on the allocation of funding .  My Department has overall responsibility for decision making under this and all other programmes Pobal has a role in.