Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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44. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applications to the community safety innovation fund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35718/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The development of the Community Safety Innovation Fund is a key commitment under Justice Plan 2022 which will have a significant impact on the development of community safety projects throughout the country. Budget 2022 provided for the establishment of the new Community Safety Innovation Fund, which enables local communities to seek funding for innovative projects which will improve community safety in their areas.

Community Safety is about people being safe, and feeling safe, within their communities and this goes beyond traditional, high visibility policing.

My Department has received 120 applications from a diverse range of organisations seeking to access funding for innovative projects to improve community safety. The process of initial eligibility assessment and scoring of the applicationsis ongoing and will continue through the summer. I expect that grants will be made to the successful applicants in the autumn.

The fund is designed to ensure that the best and most innovative 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. Additionally, it will allow best practice initiatives on community safety to be shared as new proposals get developed.

The fund reflects the success of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and other agencies by using money seized from the proceeds of crime to support investment in community safety projects. The fund, which is expected to grow in the coming years, will have an initial outlay of €2m. The new Community Safety Innovation Fund closed for applications for its first year of operation on June 8 2022.