John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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711. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the level of support provided to hubs, such as those that are part of the Connected Hubs initiative since the start of 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60008/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department operates a number of schemes that focus on projects supporting the development of remote working hubs as outlined in Our Rural Future–Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025.

To date, over €83m has been provided by my Department through various funding streams to support the development of digital hubs and remote working facilities across Ireland. The figure since the start of 2020 is some €31m.

The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme both support the establishment of digital hubs. Under this year's schemes, projects that bring vacant properties in town centres back into use as remote working hubs or repurpose community of publicly owned buildings as hubs were eligible for funding.

Earlier this year I also awarded almost €9 million in funding through the Connected Hubs funding stream to more than 100 successful applicants from across the country.

My Department also supports the development of the Connected Hubs Network - www.connectedhubs.ie. The National network offers a suite of booking and hub management applications to its members. The Network will also facilitate the sharing of innovation, experience and best practices across the community. There are currently 170 hubs live on the platform, with this number growing every week.

Support provided by my Department will serve to maximise benefit to member hubs, hub clients, employers, local communities and the wider economy. The development of a national hubs network is a key commitment in Our Rural Futureand I am committed to continuing my Department's support for the strategic development of remote working hubs in recognition of the vital role that they can play in our post-Covid recovery.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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713. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the work she has undertaken to increase the pace of the roll-out of local improvement scheme; if she has had discussions with each local authority on the matter; if so, when these discussions took place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60242/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As part of 'Our Rural Future',the Government is committed to ensuring that the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) is funded into the future. This reflects the important contribution which the scheme makes to connectivity in rural Ireland. The LIS supports the improvement of rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities and represents a vital piece of infrastructure for rural communities.

The scheme has been funded by my Department since 2017 and is administered by Local Authorities. Prior to 2017, the scheme was not funded for a number of years. Since the scheme was reintroduced in 2017, over 3,060 roads have been improved, with 660 of those funded this year. The total number of landowners and households along those roads who have benefited under the scheme since 2017 is now in excess of 13,300 with over 3,000 of those seeing improvements on their non public roads and lanes in 2021.

I launched the 2021 Scheme on 14th May with a budget of €10.5 million. I was very pleased to source additional funding for the Scheme during the year and to allocate a further round of funding on 29th July to bring the total level of funding to €21 million this year. Officials in my Department engaged with each of the Local Authorities to ascertain each authorities capacity to deliver additional projects in view of the increased allocation available.

I was pleased to be in a position to again announce an increase in the funding for LIS from €10.5 million to €11 million as part of Budget 2022 and my officials will be in contact with local authorities in preparation for next year's scheme.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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714. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the grants and funding available under the community section of her Department; if consideration has been given to increasing supports considering community and voluntary organisations cannot currently fundraise; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60561/21]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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The Government are aware of the challenges facing community and voluntary organisations and are 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 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, a €50 million support package for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Charities and Social Enterprises was launched by Government and administered by my Department. This funding was made available from the Dormant Accounts Fund and consisted of the COVID-19 Stability Fundand the Innovate Together Fund.

Through the COVID-19 Stability Fund my Department supported close to 600 organisations to continue to deliver vital services to the most vulnerable in our communities in 2020 and into 2021. A further allocation of €10m was provided to the Stability Fund for 2021 as part of the revised Resilience and Recovery Planannounced on Tuesday 23rd February by the Taoiseach.

The COVID-19 Stability Fund 2021 was similarly targeted at organisations which deliver critical services to vulnerable people within their community but which faced closure or a loss of service due to the impact of the pandemic. 244 organisations were supported under the 2021 Stability Fund. All allocations are published on the Gov.ie website, available here: www.gov.ie/en/publication/3957e-covid-19-stability-fund-successful-applicants/. The Fund is now closed and there are no plans to reopen it.

The Innovate Together Fund was launched in May 2020 and was administered by Rethink Ireland and consisted of a €5 million commitment from my Department's Dormant Accounts Funds and €0.6 from philanthropic donations. The purpose of the fund was to assist organisations working with vulnerable people and communities by fostering innovative and adaptive solutions to both existing and emerging social challenges presented by the current pandemic. 71 projects received cash grants of between €20,000 and €200,000 as well as non-financial business supports including physical and mental health supports, online education, community outreach, sustainability, food security and reskilling the workforce.

My Department currently supports over 420 community organisations under the Community Services Programme (CSP) to provide local services through a social enterprise model. My Department recently announced a further extension of €1m to the CSP Support Fund to cover the period up to December 2021, bringing the total funding allocated to the CSP Support Fund to €8.95m for 2020-2021. This funding was provided to CSP supported organisations who required additional assistance to continue to retain their CSP supported employees on their payroll, provided assistance for the Employers PRSI contribution and supported organisations considered by my Department to be most in need to cover overhead costs such as insurance, light, heat and Audit fees.

The Community Enhancement Programme (CEP)provides funding to community groups and organisations across Ireland, with a focus on areas of disadvantage. Funding is provided to each Local Authority area, and the programme is administered by the Local Community Development Committees (LCDC) on the basis of local need.The 2021 CEP was launched in May with an allocation of €4.5m. The key theme was to support groups as they reopen facilities which were closed due to COVID-19. The €4.5m fund is now closed, however on the 11^thNovember I was pleased to launch a new fund for community and voluntary organisations called the Community Activities Fund.

The new, €9m Community Activities Fund is being provided by the Government to support community and voluntary groups impacted by COVID-19. This once-off funding will be allocated under the Department’s Community Enhancement Programme and in order to ensure there is sufficient flexibility to allow funding to be targeted to where it is needed in each Local Authority area, it will be administered locally by the Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs).

The Community Activities Fund will support groups, particularly in disadvantaged areas, with their running costs such as utility (Electricity, Heating charges) or insurance bills, as well as with improvements to their facilities. Groups will also be able to use the funding to carry out necessary repairs and to purchase equipment such as tables and chairs, tools and signage, laptops and printers, lawnmowers, canopies and training equipment.

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 in order to be aware of funding opportunities as they become available.