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.

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, which must be co-funded by the organisations concerned from other sources, for example, from income generated from the use of facilities and services provided. The programme does not provide funding to cover overhead costs such as the provision of audited accounts. These costs, along with the salary co-funding element, must be funded from the revenue generated by CSP supported organisations.

Each CSP supported organisation is contractually obliged to provide annual signed audited financial statements to Pobal, who administer the programme on behalf of my Department. This is one of the requirements included in the CSP Operational Manual and CSP Funding Agreements. It is in line with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circular 13/2014 'Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer Funds' which includes the requirement that grantees should submit audited accounts to the grantor after the end of each financial year.

As a grantor, Pobal, on behalf of my department, as part of effective monitoring and reporting under the circular, are required to collate annual audited financial statements from grantees, as appropriate. Pobal requires the submission of signed and authorised statements per grant agreements within 6 months of the annual financial reporting period, which has been set out with the Companies Registration Office (CRO). For the majority of companies registered with CRO, this is generally in line with the calendar year.

In order to support organisations further in a number of areas including financial sustainability, Pobal will be providing CSP supported organisations with a coaching and mentoring programme, funded under the ESF+ social innovation measure to assist organisations to improve their overall performance.

My Department is also aware that Pobal rolled out a Business and Financial Sustainability Training Programme during Q1 2024 with further sessions anticipated to take place later in the year. The overall aim of the training is to provide organisations with the skills and knowledge necessary to help them devise their business plans and cash-flows that are practical and actionable and will assist them to remain financially viable in the short to medium term.