Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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981. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the extent to which she expects to be in a position to further advance the cause of community development; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18356/22]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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In 2019, my Department published Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities - A five year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector in Ireland 2019-2024. This Strategy is important in seeking to strengthen the community development, local development and community and voluntary sectors generally. The strategy reaffirms the Government’s commitment to supporting the sector, whilst also recognising the reality of finite resources and the need to ensure that available resources are focused on providing effective services.

Co-produced by Government and the Community and Voluntary Sector, the Strategy sets out 11 high-level objectives and associated actions which will empower communities, their representative organisations, and the community and voluntary sector, to inform and shape responses to their needs.

In furtherance of the strategy objectives and the Programme for Government commitment, last year I was pleased to announce the introduction of a €1 million pilot Community Development Programme, promoting an autonomous approach to community work with marginalised communities. It is expected the programme will continue for three years.

During 2022, my Department will continue to deliver a wide range of measures to support community development as a task, a process and a profession, to grow sustainably and to address emerging needs.

This will include, amongst other work, continued implementation of the measures set out in the five year strategy; collaboration with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to equip Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) with the required knowledge and skills for the preparation of their Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP); and funding to directly support community development activities – including the support of pilot community development projects.

In January of this year, I attended the induction day of a Place-Based Leadership Development Programme in Darndale. Funded by my Department, this important Programme is being delivered in Darndale and Drogheda, following recommendations in the Nolan and Geiran reports. The Programme is an investment in local leaders to help them address the challenges experienced in those areas.

The Place-Based Leadership Development programme will strengthen the capacity of those already working hard to improve the quality of community life in Darndale and Drogheda. The programme will encourage and facilitate collaboration that will positively impact the culture of the area. It will build the capacity of new community leaders to empower communities to address the issues they face. This approach will make a lasting impact and bring forward the solutions required.

Place Based Leadership will open up new perspectives and possibilities and provide opportunities for mutual learning that can be built upon and expanded to other communities in Ireland going forward.

My Department has committed to providing financial support to the All Ireland Endorsement Body (AIEB) for the three year period 2020 – 2022 inclusive. AIEB was established in 2010 as an all island body to support and promote quality community work/community development and ensure standards and quality in practice. It seeks to support and promote community development education and training and ensure quality and standards in practice by the:

- Development and delivery of endorsement frameworks for community work qualifications, procedures, and processes for community work education providers.

- Development of standards and support for education and training at all levels.

- Development and maintenance of standards for practitioners, community work organisations, for programmes and policy makers.

- Development and maintenance of appropriate links and exchanges with national and international quality assurance and educational bodies.

I am confident that the funding supports and policies provided by my Department are delivering, and will continue to deliver, tangible benefits for both urban and rural communities, supporting economic development, and enabling the local and community development sectors to continue to provide valuable much needed services and supports to all communities throughout the country.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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983. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the extent to which she and her Department continue to have dialogue with urban or rural-based groups with a view to identifying deprivation or concerns which may need her intervention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18358/22]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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My Department is in ongoing contact with local and community groups through the local structures such as Public Participation Network (PPN). The focus of the PPN is to empower and assist groups to participate in local decision making. This facilitates a two way flow of information between the Local Authority and community groups. We also remain in close contact with bodies that represent the local development and community and voluntary sectors.

My Department has a number of programmes that focus on improving the lives of people experiencing disadvantage, for example the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme or SICAP.

SICAP is our country’s primary social inclusion intervention. It aims to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion and equality. It is delivered in both rural and urban areas by Local Development Companies (LDCs) who work with the most disadvantaged and the hardest to reach in communities.

To ensure that funding is adequately targeted, the HP Pobal Deprivation Index is used which identifies the relative levels of affluence or disadvantage across geographic areas, using data from the national census.