Written answers

Tuesday, 25 May 2021

Department of Rural and Community Development

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Photo of Neale RichmondNeale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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37. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of the supports she has created for community organisations to recover from the Covid-19 restrictions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27845/21]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Government is aware of the challenges facing community and voluntary organisations and is committed to working closely with the sector in managing through these, recognising that it will require a whole of Government approach. To that end, Government and my Department have introduced a number of supports to assist sectors in dealing with the impact of COVID-19 and social restrictions necessary in the interests of public health.

In 2020, my Department supported close to 600 organisations to continue to deliver vital services to the most vulnerable in our communities, through the COVID-19 Stability Fund for community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises.

I am pleased to confirm that an allocation of €10m has been provided to the Stability Fund for 2021 as part of the revised Resilience and Recovery plan announced on 23rd February last by the Taoiseach.

The COVID-19 Stability Fund 2021 was launched on 6th May last, and is targeted at organisations which deliver critical services to vulnerable people within their community but which now face closure or a loss of service due to the impact of the pandemic.

The 2021 Stability Fund has limited funding available and while organisations that received funding under the 2020 Stability Fund will be eligible to apply, priority will be given to organisations that have not previously received State support since the onset of the pandemic.

Pobal will again act as implementing partners, facilitating the online application portal and providing information and support to intending applicants from now until the application deadline.

The application window will run from 20th May 2021 to 3pm on 27th May 2021. Further information is available on Pobal’s website here: www.pobal.ie/programmes/covid-19-cv-stability-fund-2021/

Separately, my Department launched the 2021 Community Enhancement Programme (CEP) on 9th May last. The CEP provides small grants to community groups and the 2021 programme will again give consideration to supporting groups in dealing with the specific challenges brought by COVID-19. This programme may be more relevant to smaller community groups and it is recommended that such groups monitor the Department’s website or stay in touch with the Local Community Development Committee (LCDC), who will be administering the programme in their area, for further details. The contact details for LCDCs can be found on my Department's website at the link below www.gov.ie/en/publication/38066e-local-community-development-committees-list/

The 2021 CLÁR programme is providing support for Schools/Community Safety Measures which allows for COVID-19 safety related interventions, Outdoor Community Recreation Facilities to meet the increased need for outdoor facilities and Community Gardens and Allotments to support projects which increase the health and wellbeing of communities living in CLÁR areas.

My Department currently supports 420 community organisations under the Community Services Programme (CSP) to provide local services through a social enterprise model. In response to the difficulties faced by organisations due to COVID-19, my Department developed a €7.95m CSP Support Fund which assists CSP supported organisations to continue to retain their CSP supported employees on their payroll and also provides assistance for the employers PRSI contribution, during this crisis period up to June 2021, in line with the extension of other Government wage support schemes. This additional funding also assists those organisations most in need to meet their ongoing operational costs such as insurance, light and heat and audit fees.

In addition, the LEADER Transitional Programme recognises the challenges facing rural Ireland in relation to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has included directions to the Local Action Groups (LAGs) as to considerations for support going forward to community based projects that seek to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

My Department also launched the Connected Hubs Call for digital hubs and Broadband Connection Points on 29 April last, which provides grants to upgrade existing remote working facilities. Measures to mitigate against Covid-19 are allowable under the scheme criteria. The closing date for the Call is 17 June next, and further details are available here:

www.gov.ie/en/publication/64df6-connected-hubs-fund/

In general, I would encourage all organisations to continue to engage with their Local Authority and Local Development Company, and to check on the Gov.ie website for latest information.

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