Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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265. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the amount of the €50 million community recognition fund that has been spent to date; and what it has been spent on. [8993/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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On the 24th January 2023 I launched the Community Recognition Fund which aims to support the development of community infrastructure and facilities in recognition of the contribution being made by communities across the country in welcoming and hosting significant numbers of arrivals from Ukraine and other countries.

The funding is specifically targeted at projects that are located in communities, towns and villages that are hosting the beneficiaries of Temporary Protection and/or International Protection Applicants. The Fund aims to support the development of facilities that will be used in the future by all members of the community. It is separate in its objectives and scope to any other public funding streams which aim to support the development of public service needs arising from the significant number of arrivals from Ukraine.

The Fund is being administered at a local level by local authorities who are developing funding proposals, which are to be submitted to my Department by mid March 2023. Each funding proposal is developed based on direct engagement with impacted communities and in consultation with the municipal districts, Local Community Development Committees and the local Community Response Fora. The proposals must also demonstrate that the funding is targeted at and specifically invested in those communities, villages and towns where the highest level of new arrivals are located and where there is a clear need for investment identified.

As the Fund only opened last month and the proposals have yet to be submitted to my Department for approval, no funding has been spent to date.