John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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889. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the latest information on the re-direction of proceeds of crime into community endeavours and projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48423/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Community Safety Fund is an important part of my overall objective to build stronger and safer communities. It takes the money seized from criminals and puts it directly back into community safety initiatives.

Investing this money back into the community is a tangible way of showing that there can be a direct link between the activities of law enforcement and building stronger, safer communities. The CSF encourages and supports the development of ways in which to improve community safety from those people who best understand the needs in their locality.

The Community Safety Fund is managed by the newly established National Office for Community Safety within my Department.

The 2025 Fund has an increased budget of €4 million, which is double the original amount of €2 million when the fund first opened for applications in 2022.

Applications for the 2025 fund were open for six weeks and closed on Friday 16 May. The applications are now being assessed with a view to allocating the funding to successful projects in the near future.