Written answers

Wednesday, 21 April 2021

Department of Rural and Community Development

Community Services Programme

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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2586. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of community services programme projects in place throughout the country; the number of participants and managers respectively being funded on these schemes; her plans to expand the scheme to include new projects and extra participants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20167/21]

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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2587. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if her Department is accepting applications for new projects to date under the Community Services Programme; the details of the way to apply; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20168/21]

Photo of Joe O'BrienJoe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 2586 and 2587 together.

My Department's Community Services Programme (CSP) supports over 420 community organisations to provide local services through a social enterprise model. The CSP provides an annual co-funding contribution of €19,033 for each fulltime equivalent (FTE) position being supported, and, where warranted, provides €32,000 towards the cost of employing a manager. Qualifying organisations must be social enterprises capable of generating income from their activities in order to meet the full salary costs of the supported posts, for example, from income received from the public use of facilities and services.

In the year to date, the Programme has supported 419 CSP services nationally via 415 organisations. Approximately 325 Managers and 1,691.5 FTEs have been supported under CSP.

In 2020, Indecon International Economic Consultants carried out an independent review of the Community Services Programme on behalf of my Department. The final report was published in September 2020 and is available on my Department's website. My Department and Pobal have now commenced work on the restructuring of the Programme. Pending the transition to the new restructured Programme, the Expression Of Interest process is closed.

It is expected that, in future, the Programme will facilitate new entrants via targeted calls to address identified gaps in service delivery.

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