Written answers

Thursday, 15 December 2022

Department of Rural and Community Development

Community Development Projects

Photo of Paul KehoePaul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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409. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the process by which an organisation can apply for the Pobal community services programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63121/22]

Photo of Paul KehoePaul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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410. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she intends to reopen Pobal community services for new applicants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63125/22]

Photo of Joe O'BrienJoe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 409 and 410 together.

My department's Community Services Programme (CSP) supports over 430 community-based organisations, to provide local services through a social enterprise model. CSP provides an annual co-funding contribution towards each full-time equivalent (FTE) position being supported, and, where warranted, towards the cost of employing a manager.

The CSP contribution is not aligned to the minimum wage and does not meet the full salary cost of supported posts. The contribution must be co-funded by other sources, for example, from income received from the public use of their facilities and services.

My department and Pobal have been working on the restructuring of the CSP since the publication in 2020 of the report on the independent review of the CSP by Indecon International Economic Consultants. The redesigned programme will be introduced from January 2023 with a new funding rate allocation model, to replace the existing flat rate model.

Pending the transition to the new restructured programme, the scheme is closed to new applications through the Expression of Interest process. However, it is anticipated that the programme will open calls to address identified gaps in service delivery in the new year. Any additional entrants will be considered in light of available budgets.

If an organisation wishes to be contacted should a targeted call open in the near future, they can provide relevant contact details to csp@drcd.gov.ie and they will be notified at the appropriate time.

Photo of Seán CanneySeán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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411. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the amount of funding that she has set aside for the community centre support scheme for 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63052/22]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Government is aware of the challenges facing community and voluntary organisations and I was delighted to secure €20 million in funding under Budget 2023 to continue the Community Centres Investment Fund.

This builds on the €15 million which was announced under the fund in 2022. The huge interest in this fund shows how important community centres are for communities throughout Ireland. This Government is committed to providing funding to improve and upgrade these centres which will allow them to continue to provide services for communities to come together.

On October 12th, I announced over €12.5 million in funding for 580 successful Category 1 applicants. On December 8th, I was delighted to announce a further €33 million in funding for 278 successful Category 2 and 3 applicants. Details of the successful applicants are available on my Department’s website.

It is intended that the 2023 fund will be targeted for new build community centres. The details of this scheme are currently being developed by officials within my Department and I hope to announce further details in quarter 1 of 2023.

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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412. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the steps that she is taking to assist private sector employers to support employees working from home and digital co-working hubs in local towns; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58140/22]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Our Rural Future, Ireland’s Rural Development Policy, was published in March 2021. The policy recognises the opportunity for rural rejuvenation that remote working presents and commits to establishing a comprehensive and integrated national network of 400 remote working hubs by 2025.

In furtherance of this commitment, my Department’s focus to date has been on strategically developing the National Hub Network, the Network's shared online booking platform connectedhubs.ie, adding capacity to Ireland's existing remote working infrastructure, and supporting the establishment of new hubs.

There are currently 298 remote and co-working facilities across the country on-boarded to the connectedhubs.ie platform. This number is growing all the time meaning we are well on track to meet our target of 400 remote working hubs nationwide by 2025. The network includes a diverse range of hubs and services, thus facilitating companies of different sizes. The attached table provides a breakdown of the 298 hubs by county (including hubs that have been mapped and identified to join the network).

My department has invested approximately €150 million to support the establishment, improvement and sustainability of hubs, through schemes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. Within this funding, approximately €14 million was allocated to almost 200 projects via the Connected Hubs Call in 2021 and 2022. This allowed for additional remote working capacity to be added to digital hubs (and Broadband Connection Points (BCPs)) throughout the country.

To date my focus has been on establishing the Network, on achieving this initial critical mass and on raising awareness of the Network to relevant stakeholders, including SMEs/business owners and new hub users. Following strong progress on the establishment phase of the project, my focus has now shifted to the next stage of development. To this end, officials at my department and their colleagues across government departments will begin drafting of a National Hubs Strategy.

I am also pleased to say that the connectedhubs.ie team have for some time been developing a corporate service to engage with and support corporate clients interested in using our nationwide Network to accommodate their employees, but also to gain access to the vast pool of talent that Ireland has to offer, whether those talented people live in our cities, towns, villages or rural parishes. I believe that this work represents significant opportunities for employers of all sizes to leverage the National Hub Network directly.

I have always been clear that balanced regional development, sustainable and thriving communities, and indeed the wider national economy will all benefit from workers and employers embracing the remote working revolution. Hubs, whether enterprise or community focused, draw employers and employees to areas of innovation and opportunity, including rural communities.

I am committed to ensuring that the National Hub Network will continue to make a central contribution to the achievement of the Government's vision for rural Ireland, as set out in Our Rural Future.

TABLE 1 – Connectedhubs.ie - Remote Working Hubs by County (as of the 12th of December 2022)

Live on the connectedhubs.ie platform Mapped to be invited to join the connectedhubs.ie platform Total
Carlow 5 8 13
Cavan 7 7 14
Clare 13 10 23
Cork 30 16 46
Donegal 15 18 33
Dublin 46 35 81
Galway 24 31 54
Kerry 19 9 28
Kildare 8 6 14
Kilkenny 3 7 10
Laois 4 7 11
Leitrim 9 17 26
Limerick 13 13 26
Longford 4 6 10
Louth 8 9 17
Mayo 22 18 40
Meath 6 17 23
Monaghan 6 9 15
Offaly 6 11 17
Roscommon 8 14 22
Sligo 6 8 14
Tipperary 10 21 31
Waterford 8 10 18
Westmeath 3 10 13
Wexford 7 10 17
Wicklow 8 3 11
Total 298 332 630

Photo of Colm BurkeColm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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413. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will outline all the actions that her Department has taken across various sectors to revitalise rural Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56912/22]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department continues to play a critical role in supporting communities across the country in both rural and urban Ireland. My Department’s focus is to promote rural and community development and to support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland. This mission is set out in our Statement of Strategy 2021 to 2023.

Substantial progress has been made by my Department in delivering programmes and policy interventions for communities across rural Ireland. This has ensured that our existing supports and funding is directed to best support communities, particularly in respect of the emerging challenges of Brexit, Climate Action and Covid-19.

My Department delivers a wide range of strategic interventions and funding programmes to support rural communities throughout the country. This funding includes supports for rural areas through schemes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, LEADER Programme, Town and Village Renewal Scheme, Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme, Local Improvement Scheme, CLÁR Programme, Islands Capital Programme, and Connected Hubs initiative. This targeted investment supports rural regeneration, facilitates new working opportunities, and fosters regional enterprise growth.

Our Rural Future, published last year, is the Irish Government’s blueprint for a post-COVID-19 recovery and development of rural Ireland over the period 2020 - 2025. It provides the framework to achieve the vision of transforming the quality of life and opportunity for people living in rural areas. Since publication, implementation of measures continues to be strong.

Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities: A five-year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector in Ireland, published in August 2019, sets out how Government will support the sector in the years to come and aims to provide communities with both the means and opportunity to be involved in decisions that affect them. With actions to be implemented to 2024, the Strategy sets a general direction of travel for government policy in relation to the community development, local development and the community and voluntary sectors for the years ahead.

Ireland’s first National Social Enterprise Policy, published in July 2019, focuses on building awareness of Social Enterprise, growing and strengthening Social Enterprise, and achieving better policy alignment. Implementation of measures contained in the policy is ongoing and the 4th National Social Enterprise Conference took place last month.

Our Public Libraries 2022: Inspiring, Connecting and Empowering Communities is an ambitious strategy to develop the public library service over the period 2018 - 2022. The strategy was developed by my Department, the County and City Management Association and the Local Government Management Agency. Building on technological and service innovations of recent years, it focuses on improving access, use and visibility of the public library and establishing it as the go-to place for a range of sustainable, integrated public services.

The Town Centre First policy was launched in February 2022. It was developed jointly by my Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It contains a range of actions designed to achieve key objectives such as social and economic revival in towns, the provision of housing, as well as addressing challenges like vacancy and derelict buildings.

Other achievements include the National Volunteering Strategy 2021 – 2025 which sets out a long-term vision for volunteering and volunteers with a series of implementation actions underway.

Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, Ireland’s first ever National Outdoor Recreation Strategy was launched last month. It will set the stage to strengthen and support the sustainable development of the outdoor recreation sector in Ireland for years to come bringing huge economic and health benefits to communities across the country.

Work is also continuing on the development of the new Islands Policy as set out in the Programme for Government and a draft Irish National Policy on Philanthropy will be published next year for public consultation.

I am confident that the funding supports and policies provided by my Department 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.

Photo of Mairead FarrellMairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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414. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the funding that is available for community groups for electric buses for rural communities. [62838/22]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The CLÁR Programme provides funding for small-scale projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of de-population over a defined period. Since the programme was relaunched in 2016, it has supported a wide range of measures. CLÁR has made significant investments at community level the length and breadth of the country. Funding of over €57 million has been approved for almost 2,100 projects since its re-launch in 2016.

This year's CLÁR programme was launched in February with a total budget of €7 million. This represents an increase of €1.5 million on the budget for the 2021 CLÁR programme. The measures funded under CLÁR 2022 were:

-Measure 1: Developing Community Facilities and Amenities

-Measure 2: Mobility, Cancer Care and Community First Responders Transport

-Measure 3: ‘Our Islands’

The 2022 CLÁR programme is now closed for all measures. Announcements on successful applications under all three measures have been made and these details can be found on my Department’s website.

Electric buses were eligible for funding under Measures 2 and 3 of the CLÁR 2022 programme.

Measure 2 was open to established organisations and groups that operate on a voluntary basis and provide transport to and from day care, and other medical, therapy or respite services for those with significant mobility issues including requiring specialised wheelchair accessible vehicles or transport to and from designated cancer treatment hospitals or centres under the National Cancer Care Programme, Community First Response Support or Search and Rescue organisations.

Measure 3 was open to established organisations/groups that operate on a voluntary basis on our inhabited off shore Islands.

The Measures to be included in the next CLÁR programme will be reviewed again in advance of the next iteration of the programme.

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