Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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640. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the details of the social impact assessments carried out by her Department and public bodies and agencies under her remit since 1 January 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37299/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Details of social impact assessments carried out by my Department and agencies under its remit are set out below:

- The Western Development Commission has not undertaken any social impact assessments to date, however, the WDC is in the process of commencing an analysis of the Socio-Economic Impact of the Western Investment Fund - 20 years of Innovative Regional Investment.

- The Charities Regulator commissioned and published a report in 2018 on the Social and Economic Impact of charities in Ireland carried out by Indecon. The report is available at the following link: Social and economic impact report 2018 An accompanying infographic is available at the following link: Social and economic impact of charities in Ireland infographic

The COVID pandemic has had significant economic and social impacts on communities throughout the country. As a response to the crisis my Department introduced specific supports, interventions and funding packages, having assessed the emerging needs of urban and rural communities impacted by COVID-19.

A range of COVID-19 related supports were introduced to support in 2020 the response and recovery from the pandemic including; COVID-19 Stability Fund; Broadened Community Enhancement Programme; Town & Village Renewal – Accelerated Measure; Philanthropy Fund ‘Innovate Together’; Broadened CLÁR Programme; Comic Relief match funding; Libraries Development- Small Scale Capital Works Programme ; Community Services Programme (CSP) Support Fund; Social Enterprise Funding; Volunteer Support Programme and the COVID-19 Emergency Fund. Information on all funding available, through my Department, can be found on gov.ie

I will continue to collaborate with my Government colleagues and will monitor the issues which impact our urban and rural communities in order to respond to emerging needs.