Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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95. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if any review or audit has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness, redundancy, and administrative costs of State funding for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) under the aegis of his Department; if such a review has not yet been conducted, to request a detailed timeline and plan for implementing a comprehensive review of NGO funding under the aegis of his Department. [25737/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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There are no non-governmental organisations which operate under the aegis of my Department. Rather my Department operates a wide range of funding schemes to which community and voluntary groups, charities, social enterprises and other such organisations can make applications.

All grants issued by my Department have specific terms and conditions associated with the grant funding. While the terms and conditions can vary across schemes, mainly taking account of the level of funding the scheme provides, they are based on the requirements of DPENDR circular 13/2014 which provides guidance for the management and accountability of grants.

The terms and conditions attached to our relevant schemes also outline the agreed deliverables and outcomes from funding, which ensures that the funding provided is linked to outputs .

Monitoring and oversight arrangements of Department funding across relevant schemes includes regular financial, performance and progress reporting by grant recipients to ensure adherence to both the conditions of the grant agreement and to the purpose of the funding scheme. Furthermore, all grant funds may be subject to inspection and/or audit.

Reviews of relevant schemes are carried out on a periodic basis. These reviews focus on ensuring delivery of the objectives of the scheme, effectiveness of controls, assessing impact and value for money, and recommending possible changes to future iterations of the scheme.

My Department has published numerous reviews of DRCD schemes that provide funding and support to community organisations, including the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), the Community Services Programme (CSP), the Community Enhancement Programme (CEP), LCDC Supports, Pobal and the Seniors Alert Scheme. These review reports may all be found at:

www.gov.ie/en/department-of-rural-and-community-development/publications/community-development-research-and-analysis/