Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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2024.To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the reason that community recognition fund grants have yet to be awarded for 2024.[34160/24]

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 in providing support to cities, towns and villages nationwide who have welcomed people from Ukraine and other countries. To further support communities, a further €50 million in funding was announced earlier this year under the Community Recognition Fund.

Proposals under this year's fund can be submitted across three rounds of applications. The closing dates for receipt of applications under the first round has now passed. The next round closes on September 30th and the final round on January 31st, 2025.

On August 2nd I was delighted to announce €16.5 million to deliver 185 community projects across the country under application round one. A list of the approved projects can be found on my Department's website.

I look forward to seeing the positive impact that this funding will have on the ground in communities all across Ireland and I hope to announce further projects as the second and third application rounds progress.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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2025.To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development whether there will be a further round of offers for the Community Recognition Fund; if so, if entrants will have to apply again; and if she will make a statement on the matter.[34201/24]

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. Funding of €50 million was approved for some 900 projects. I was delighted to announce a further €50 million in funding under the Community Recognition Fund earlier this year.

Applications under the current round of funding can be submitted by local authorities across three rounds, so as to allow flexibility and adequate engagement and collaboration on larger projects. The phased closing dates for receipt of applications are May 31st, September 30th and January 31st, 2025.

Each local authority was required to create a dedicated space on their website outlining the various ways communities can access Community Recognition Funding and details of any workshop/consultation events. A link for each local authority can be found on my Department's website: www.gov.ie/en/service/e626a-community-recognition-fund-2023/

Last month, I was delighted to announce funding of €16.5 million to deliver 185 projects around the country under round 1. Applications are now open for round 2 and I would encourage community groups to contact their local authority about any projects they have in mind.

Any community group or organisation who has submitted an application that was not selected for funding under round one, should engage with their local authority to discuss the application further.

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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2026.To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the reason a grant application (details supplied) was unsuccessful; and if she will make a statement on the matter.[34211/24]

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 in providing support to cities, towns and villages nationwide who have welcomed people from Ukraine and other countries. I was delighted to announce a further €50 million in funding under the Community Recognition Fund on March 15th last.

Applications under the current round of funding can be submitted by local authorities across three phases, so as to allow flexibility and adequate engagement and collaboration on larger projects. The phased closing dates for receipt of applications are May 31st, September 30th and January 31st, 2025.

Under this new round of funding, Wexford local authority have been awarded funding of €1,703,377 which brings the total funding provided to Wexford County Council under the Community Recognition Fund to over €3.2 million.

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.

I understand that Wexford County Council received an application from the group referred to by Deputy but this was not shortlisted for submission to my Department under application window one. It may be the case the project mentioned will be submitted by the local authority under the remaining application windows.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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2027.To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development to provide the full list of applicants and successful applicants who submitted applications under the community recognition fund 2024 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter.[34256/24]

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

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

Applications under the current round of funding can be submitted by local authorities across three phases, so as to allow flexibility and adequate engagement and collaboration on larger projects. The phased closing dates for receipt of applications are May 31st, September 30th and January 31st, 2025.

Under this new round of funding, Laois local authority have been awarded funding of €1,012,996 which brings the total funding provided to Laois County Council under the Community Recognition Fund to over €2 million.

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.

In August 2024, I was delighted to announce funding of €16.5 million to deliver 185 projects around the country under window 1. All projects from Laois County Council that were submitted to my Department have been approved under window 1 which can be viewed in the table below. A list of all 185 successful projects can be found on my Departments website: www.gov.ie/en/service/e626a-community-recognition-fund-2023/

I look forward to seeing the positive impact that this funding will have on the ground in communities all across Ireland.

Community Recognition Fund 2024 Approvals - Laois