Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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133. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the approximate number of community groups that are eligible for the Enhanced Community Group Fund to help with energy costs. [53844/22]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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The Government is aware of the challenges facing community and voluntary organisations and the charities sector in meeting the high cost of energy currently and is committed to supporting the sector in meeting these costs.

Not-for-profit and voluntary organisations in the Community and Voluntary sector are woven into the fabric of community life across Ireland, but they are vulnerable to the impact of increased energy costs.

The recent budget made €10m available to put in place a support scheme for community and voluntary organisations and the charities sector.

The framework for delivering this assistance is currently being developed by my Department to ensure access to support in a timely manner. As the details of the scheme are still being finalised taking account of other support schemes being developed across Government, it is not possible at this time to provide an estimate of the number of community groups that may be eligible. Full scheme details, including application timeframes and eligibility criteria will be announced shortly.

My Department will continue to work with relevant stakeholders, including the community and voluntary sector, charities, local authorities and local development companies, to support community organisations across the country as they deal with the ongoing and emerging challenges. We would encourage all groups to engage with Gov.ie, their Local Authority and Local Development Company so that they are aware of funding opportunities as they become available.