Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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405. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide a breakdown, in tabular form of all funding received by Drogheda Implementation Board; the source of the funding and detailing if it is new funding specifically for Drogheda or funding from previously existing government funding streams; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41140/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I announced earlier this year that the Drogheda Implementation Board would be extended for another year until September 2024. The extension of the Board’s term will allow it to maintain the positive momentum already built to improve community safety in Drogheda and to strengthen co-operation between State agencies in the town and surrounding areas.

There is a distinction between funding provided to the Drogheda Implementation Board and wider funding that is earmarked for Drogheda in general. As the Deputy will appreciate, my Department is not in a position to provide a breakdown of funding from sources other than from my Department.

The Drogheda Implementation Board receives core funding administered by my Department via the Department of Rural and Community Development’s Dormant Accounts Fund. This core funding covers the salary costs of the Coordinator of the Drogheda Implementation Board and administrative costs.

In 2023, there was an additional provision of a Small Grants Fund which provided €150,000 in small grants to 21 community projects in the Drogheda and Laytown/Bettystown area. The projects cover a wide variety of thematic areas aligned to recommendations of the Guerin Report and the Drogheda Report Implementation Plan.

I have provided a breakdown below of my Department’s specific funding related to recommendations in the Drogheda Scoping Report and the Drogheda Implementation Board below as well as outlining some key wider achievements reported on to date in the Drogheda area. All funding tabulated below is newly allocated funding focused on the Drogheda and Laytown/Bettystown area.

Since its establishment, the Drogheda Implementation Board has delivered on and overseen a number of positive developments for Drogheda including:

• a new Drugs Treatment Court Liaison Case Worker situated within the Red Door Project, via Dormant Accounts funding
• a new Prison Link worker situated within the Red Door Project for 2 years, funded by the Community Safety Innovation Fund 2022
• a new dedicated Youth Officer post to deliver on the Drogheda Implementation Plan, funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY)
• funding for short-term, targeted counselling interventions for primary school aged children impacted by trauma in three schools on the Southside of Drogheda
• additional funding for an alternative learning programme for young people aged 13-16 who have have dropped out of the school system through the Community Safety Innovation Fund 2022 (New Choice Project, run by Foroige)
• capital investment from SOLAS to the LMETB to develop a tertiary education and community facilities block on the Drogheda Institute of Further Education campus, which will greatly enhance the delivery of third level education programmes in Drogheda
• the establishment of a large-scale Electrical Apprenticeship hub with 360 apprentice places per annum and 20 permanent jobs for the town