Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

99. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the details of the proposed new community safety innovation fund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51676/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be aware, Budget 2022 provides for the establishment of the new Community Safety Innovation Fund. It is intended that this fund will support investment in projects which will improve community safety. The fund, which is expected to grow in the coming years, will have an initial outlay in 2022 of €2m.

A call for funding proposals will issue seeking applications for community safety projects and similar initiatives from bodies involved in community safety, such as the new Local Community Safety Partnerships – pilots of which are in place in North Inner City Dublin, Waterford and Longford – and the Drogheda Implementation Board, as well as similar entities nationwide.

Applications will be assessed against stated criteria outlined in the call for proposals to ensure funding is allocated to encourage the development of innovative ways in which to improve community safety from those people who understand local community safety needs best. These criteria for allocating funding are currently under consideration and will be announced in due course. 

The approach we are taking will ensure that the best proposals to improve community safety will get the funding they need and will encourage the development of innovative ways in which to improve community safety from those people who understand local community safety needs best. It will also allow best practice on community safety to be shared with other partnerships around the country as new proposals get developed.

I know the Deputy will have been pleased to note that substantial additional funding of €6.7m has been allocated in the budget in support of the Youth Justice Strategy and it will be important to ensure that there is no overlap of funding between these two schemes.