Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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258. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide the detailed expenditure for the purchase of the Ukrainian community cars through the network of local development companies; the number of cars purchased for this purpose; the number of drivers that have been employed for this purpose; if all the vehicles and drivers have been used for this purpose; if any vehicles have remained unused; if any drivers have been paid for work that was never executed; the amount allocated for the scheme; and the amount of this allocation that was used for this purpose. [18300/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Community Car Initiative (CCI) was put in place as a temporary measure to support the Offer a Home scheme, which sought the use of unoccupied homes to accommodate Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection from Ukraine (BoTPs). An underlying principle of the Offer a Home scheme was to minimise the number of properties offered that would be declined due to their location and possible lack of transport links. The aim of the CCI was to provide a limited transport service to those properties without regular transport links and to enable BoTPs to have access to a limited transport service. The CCI was not intended to replace existing transport links or to be used as a dedicated transport source comparable, for example, with a private car. Its purpose was to connect with essential services and existing transport links.

The CCI operated through the network of Local Development Companies (LDC’s) and was funded by my Department, as part of its contribution to the whole of government humanitarian support provided to BoTPs. The scheme operated for approximately 1 year (2023) and a total of 23 LDCs across 16 local authorities participated. LDCs had the option to either purchase or lease community cars, depending on the better value option locally. 8 cars in total were purchased under the scheme, with the remainder leased. My Department does not hold information on the employment arrangements of the drivers.

Funding for the lease agreements that were in place ended in December 2023. LDCs that purchased cars were permitted to retain them for use as part of their general community remit and were required to give my Department an undertaking in that regard.

The total CCI expenditure by my Department for the operation of the CCI was €1.6m. The CCI was wound down at the end of 2023 following a review and as part of a wider move for BoTPs to become more independent within communities.