Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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My Department's Community Services Programme (CSP) currently supports over 430 community-based organisations to provide local social, economic and environmental services through a social enterprise model, providing a contribution towards the cost of CSP supported staff in organisations. The programme is administered, on my Department's behalf, by Pobal.

The vision of the CSP is to support community organisations that operate to a social purpose to provide services that meet identified needs and provide employment locally contributing to sustainable, inclusive and empowered communities.

The CSP programme specification, available on the Pobal website, states that eligible organisations must:

• Have a registered office based in the Republic of Ireland.
• Be a community and voluntary sector organisation, i.e. operating on a “not-for-profit” basis for the benefit of the community they serve.
• Be incorporated e.g. be a company limited by guarantee or co-operative which is registered with the Companies Registration Office and the Registrar of Friendly Societies (for co-operatives).
• Have a governing body such as a board or committee and a governing document that has been formally adopted by the organisation.
• Be tax compliant i.e. be registered with Revenue and obtained a tax clearance certificate. Newly formed organisations need to have completed their registration and requirements with Revenue before application for a grant.

By the above definition, organisations are independent with their own governance and accountability, with their own specific registration numbers and have their own tax clearance registration and certification.

In relation to branches or sub-offices of national organisations, these would be required to meet the above criteria and hold their own details. Some organisations, such as those referred to, may have local branches which may not be individually set up as an entities in their own right and as such fall under the national governing body, while other local branches of organisations may have legal and financial independence from a national body. All such organisations would be required to be considered on a case-by-case basis.

In addition, the CSP Interim Programme Manual outlines costs deemed not eligible under the programme as these are considered to be more appropriately supported by other departments and state agencies responsible for specific policy areas. These services include the provision of medical services, care assistants, occupational therapists, community development workers and youth workers.

The Scheme to Support National Organisations in the community and voluntary sector, also administered by my department, provides multi-annual funding towards the core costs of national organisations in Ireland. Affiliated member groups, sub-groups or local branches of national organisations, or regional or local organisations, are not eligible to apply for the Scheme. The current iteration of the Scheme commenced on 1 July 2022 and will run for a three year period, to 30 June 2025.