Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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514. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she has received a valid application from a band (details supplied) under the community recognition fund 2024, for the development and repair of its band hall and community facilities; when applicants will receive their application reference number; when it is envisaged that decisions will be issued on same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23763/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Community Recognition Fund was first introduced in 2023 to recognise the huge efforts made by communities in welcoming and supporting people coming to Ireland.

Through the 2023 allocation, funding of €50 million was approved for some 900 projects providing support to cities, towns and villages nationwide who have welcomed people from Ukraine and other countries. To further support communities, on March 15th last I announced a further €50 million in funding under the Community Recognition Fund.

The additional funding is specifically targeted at projects that are located in cities, towns and villages that are hosting the Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection and/or International Protection Applicants.

Under this new round of funding, Tipperary County Council have been awarded funding of €1,465,434 which brings the total funding provided to county Tipperary under the Community Recognition Fund to over €2.4million.

Local authorities are required to engage and collaborate with communities to identify the most appropriate projects for support. It is a matter for each local authority to identify the most appropriate locations for funding based on their analysis of the level of arrivals in each location, and in the context of previous funding supports and local needs.

Once the local authority has identified potential projects, it can submit funding proposals to my Department across three phases. The phased closing dates for receipt of applications are May 31st, September 30th and January 31st, 2025. My Department has not yet received proposals for funding from Tipperary County Council. Therefore I have not yet received any proposals in respect of the band hall referred to by the deputy. It will be a matter for Tipperary County Council to decide on the projects to submit for consideration.

I look forward to receiving applications under the first phase by May 31st. These will then be considered by my Department and I will announce the successful projects shortly thereafter.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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515. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if funding is being made available to both men’s sheds and women’s sheds through the community enhancement programme, which can then be used to pay for rent, insurance of premises and so on; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23814/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides a range of supports which are available to Men's and Women’s Sheds.

Since 2018, under the Community Enhancement Programme (CEP), over 1,300 Men’s Shed projects have received funding of over €2.2 million, and almost 120 Women’s Shed projects received almost €145,000 in funding.

I was delighted to launch the Local Enhancement Programme (LEP) in December 2023. This replaced my Department’s Community Enhancement Programme, with capital funding of €6 million to assist thousands of community groups across the country. Both Men's and Women’s Sheds were also eligible to apply for funding under the LEP. The overall €6 million LEP also includes a special ring-fenced capital fund of €1 million to provide support for Women’s Groups (i.e., Sheds, Groups, Clubs, Networks etc...), and builds on the €100,000 ring-fenced for Women’s Sheds under the 2022 Community Support Fund. The 2022 Community Support Fund included a current allocation which could have been used for rent, insurance and so on. Both Men's and Women's Shed's were eligible to apply under the CSF.

The Local Enhancement Programme is administered on behalf of my Department locally by Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) across the country, with support from their Local Authority.

The Local Enhancement Programme is now closed to applicants and details of successful projects under the main LEP fund are now available on my Departments website. Details of the successful projects under the ring-fenced Women's Groups funding will be announced shortly.

Separately, the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) also provides supports to Men's and Women’s Sheds, for example in facilitating training courses and holding focus groups. To date, 283 Men’s sheds received €223,027 and 67 Women’s sheds received €14,846 in Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) supports. This support is still is available through SICAP.

The Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO) provides multi-annual funding towards core costs of national, community and voluntary organisations. The current iteration commenced on 1 July 2022 and will cease on 30 June 2025. The Irish Men’s Sheds Association (IMSA) has been allocated total funding of €243,158 over the three-year period of the scheme.

In November 2023, I was delighted to announce funding of €1 million to support Men’s Sheds throughout the country. The initiative will see grants of up to €3,000 provided to over 400 Men’s Sheds nationwide to assist them with running costs such as electricity or insurance bills. The individual grants will be distributed to the Men’s Sheds via IMSA. Sheds should contact the IMSA for further details.

I would encourage all Men's and Women's Sheds to regularly engage with their Local Community Development Committee (LCDC), Local Development Company (LDC) and Public Participation Network (PPN) in order to ensure they are informed of a range of funding opportunities as they arise.