Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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168. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will provide a schedule of NGOs that he and bodies under the aegis of his Department suspended funding and or grant aid to due to their failure to file accounts and/or concerns that arose in respect of their governance in the years 2019 to 2022 and to date in 2023; and the amount of funding per NGO that was suspended. [8660/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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NGOs are active on a broad range of issues, including wildlife conservation, biodiversity and climate change.

Organisations my Department funds include:

- The Irish Environmental Network (IEN), which is an independent umbrella organisation for environmental NGOs with its own corporate governance structures. The distribution and allocation of funding to its members is decided by the IEN

- ECO-UNESCO’s Young Environmentalist Awards (YEA) which recognises and rewards young people who raise environmental awareness and improve the environment - 49,000 young people have taken part in the YEA since it began in 1999

- GAA Green Clubs which support clubs in taking simple and effective sustainability action in their grounds and activities structured around the themes of Energy, Water, Waste, Biodiversity, and Travel and Transport. It is designed to promote sustainability awareness and action in GAA clubs and communities. Phase 1 of the Green Club Programme ran from 2021 to 2023 with the participation of over 30 clubs from across Ireland

- An Taisce Green Schools which is Ireland’s leading environmental management and education programme for schools. It promotes long-term, whole-school action for the environment and is a student-led programme with involvement from the wider community.

My Department has not suspended funding and/or grant aid to any of these organisations in the years 2019 to 2022 or to date in 2023.