John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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286. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the Covid-19 supports put in place to assist the charity sector since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38923/20]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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Through our ongoing engagement with the Community and Voluntary sector including charities, my Department is keenly aware of the challenges faced by the sector whilst meeting increased demands on many of their services. My Department is providing additional vital supports to rural and community organisations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is supporting the following initiatives:

On 16 March 2020, my Department launched the COVID-19 Government Action Plan in partnership with other Departments, State agencies and our extensive network of community and voluntary organisations. These initiatives provide support for volunteering, funding to ALONE for their crisis telephone support line, and an email helpdesk facility to assist smaller community groups with their queries.

On 11 May 2020, a €40 million support package for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Charities and Social Enterprises was launched by Government and is administered by the Department. This funding is being made available through the Dormant Accounts Fund, which is specifically set aside to support initiatives which will benefit the most disadvantaged groups in society.

The package included:

- A €35 million COVID-19 Stability Fund providing a level of support to qualifying organisations who are most in need and have seen their trading and/or fundraising income drop significantly during the crisis. An additional €10M was allocated to this fund as part of the Budget 2021 process and my Department is currently finalising the distribution of this additional funding. To date 590 organisations including many charities have been allocated almost €31M under this fund; and

- A €5 million Government commitment to a Philanthropy Fund, (Innovate Together) which focuses on supporting responses to the COVID-19 crisis that require innovative and adaptive solutions to existing and emerging challenges. To date, 52 organisations have been allocated a funding value of approximately €3.2 million. A second round of applications are currently being assessed and it is anticipated that the successful awardees will be announced in early December

On 9 April 2020, an initial €2.5 million COVID-19 Emergency Fund was introduced to provide immediate and urgently needed funding to community and voluntary groups that are participating in the Government’s “Community Call” initiative which is being led by the Local Authorities.

My Department currently supports over 420 community organisations under the Community Services Programme (CSP) to provide local services through a social enterprise model. As a result of COVID-19 my Department also developed a €1.2m Support Fund to assist all CSP supported organisations to continue to retain their CSP supported employees on their payroll, during this crisis period. The Fund provided additional funding for a number of weeks to many of these organisations. Pobal, who manage the programme on behalf of the Department, have undertaken a detailed review of the financial position of all the CSP supported organisations, as their ability to generate income has been greatly hampered by the Covid-19 crisis in many cases. The outcome of this review will inform decision regarding any additional supports that might be required by these organisations. The Department should be in a position to make an announcement on this matter very shortly and any additional supports to be provided will be considered in light of available resources.

The CLÁR programme provides funding for small scale infrastructure projects in rural areas that have experienced significant levels of de-population. In 2020, the supports provided through CLÁR have been tailored to help rural communities respond to the new COVID-19 environment, including the new Meals on Wheels and Linked Services measure. This measure provides funding to community organisations for the purchase of kitchen or food delivery equipment and vehicle adaptations that may be necessary as a result of new public health advice. Funding of almost €340,000 was announced for 45 successful projects on Friday, November 20th.

The Department worked with Pobal to put in place guidance for community and voluntary groups regarding reopening after the initial lockdown. This guidance is updated regularly by the Department as the situation develops, and is now focussed on operating safely.

In respect of the Department’s other programmes, funding commitments are being maintained, and though delays may be experienced in delivery for a period of time it is expected that all projects and initiatives will continue when safe to do so.