John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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2091. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the funding that has been provided to social enterprises by the Dormant Accounts Fund since 2019. [15803/21]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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2092. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the social enterprises which have received funding from the Dormant Accounts Fund since 2019. [15804/21]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 2091 and 2092 together.

I can confirm that since 2019, €2million of Dormant Accounts Funding has been used for a Small Capital Grants Scheme for social enterprise. 230 social enterprises have benefitted from this scheme, each receiving a grant of between €2,000 and €15,000.

In 2020, €45million in Dormant Accounts Funding was allocated to the Covid-19 Stability Fund for Community and Voluntary organisations. Scheme criteria aligned with Dormant Accounts Fund objectives, supporting critical front line organisations to continue delivering vital services to the most vulnerable in our communities. To date, funding of €42million has been allocated to 600 organisations. Applicants were required to indicate their organisational structure, with 87 successful applicants indicating they are a social enterprise. Total funding drawn down by these social enterprises under the Stability Fund amounts to €5,859,144.

During 2020, my Department’s Community Services Programme supported 425 organisations, to provide local services through a social enterprise model, providing employment to 323 managers and 1,708 full-time equivalent positions.  As a result of the COVID-19 crisis my Department developed an additional exchequer funded 2020 Support Fund to assist Community Services Programme (CSP) supported organisations to continue to retain their CSP supported employees. The funding was providing an additional once off payment, to assist with staffing costs, to cover a 12 week period from 26th March 2020 ensuring that they can pay their full time CSP supported employees a maximum of €350 net per week, with a proportionate amount for part time CSP supported employees.

I will set out, under separate cover, the list and details for each social enterprise that received funding and the amount each received under each scheme.