Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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939. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his plans to financially support community cafes across the country. [37877/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Community cafés are a vital part of many communities. I recognise the enormous benefit and impact that these social enterprises have in both urban and rural locations, offering training and employment opportunities, a place to volunteer and providing, in many cases, an important ‘hub’ where members of a community can meet and enjoy each other’s company. In particular, they have proved to be a lifeline for those most marginalised in our communities, for example, the elderly, those with a disability, and the unemployed.

I also recognise that while there is a need for community cafés, many are not economically sustainable, and are operating in areas with deficient demand. As a result of this, they need additional support.

Trading for Impact the National Social Enterprise Policy 2024-2027 is committed to helping cultivate strong and impactful social enterprises, including community cafés. This policy contains 57 policy measures to be delivered under 5 objectives, many of which provide support to the sector. Supports to community cafés form a part of the supports available more widely to social enterprises.

Policy measure 12 commits over the lifetime of the policy to deliver loan/grant funding schemes for social enterprises through new and existing programmes including the Community Services Programme (CSP), the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), PEACEPLUS, and LEADER. Many social enterprises who receive funding under the Community Services Programme (CSP) have community cafés as part of the services they provide in their locality.

Since 2019 Dormant Accounts funding, targeted at social enterprises, has provided capital supports totalling €511,500 to 36 social enterprises that specifically supported the establishment or development of community cafés around the country.

Our Rural Future, Ireland’s national rural development policy, recognises the importance of functional community spaces that support a range of activities that bring added vibrancy to rural areas. This includes funding across a range of schemes within my department’s Rural Development Investment Programme, for example the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and Community Centre Investment Fund, for capital projects developing community facilities including community cafés.

The Programme for Government (PFG) 2025 – Securing Ireland’s Future commits to ‘work to support the development and retention of community-run shops and cafés’. The PFG also commits to ‘consider an annual Social Enterprise Empowerment and Development (SEED) Fund to unlock the potential of the social enterprise sector’ which includes community cafés. I will be seeking additional funding, through the annual Estimates process, to enable my department to progress Trading for Impact policy actions, and to further support the social enterprise sector and the range of services they provide across our communities.