Written answers
Thursday, 16 October 2025
Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Regional Development
Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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88. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the steps his Department is taking to ensure equitable investment in towns such as Ballinasloe that experience multiple forms of disadvantage despite strong community capacity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56024/25]
Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department's range of capital and current programmes seek to address disadvantage in a number of ways, and empower communities in urban and rural areas.
My Department's SICAP programme is our country’s primary social inclusion programme. From January 2024 to date, 28 community organisations and 189 individuals have been supported in the Ballinasloe Local Electoral Area. These supports are typically in the form of building capacity and supporting local community groups, social enterprises and networks, and supporting individuals through lifelong learning and education, employability and labour market supports and soft skills and wellbeing.
The Empowering Communities Programme supports areas, including Ballinasloe, which are experiencing significant disadvantage. This targeted programme aims to enhance community access to key services and empower local communities to develop initiatives to counter area-based deprivation, social exclusion and the resulting consequences.
My Department has also approved significant capital investment in Ballinasloe.
Over €480,000 was allocated towards four projects in Ballinasloe town under Community Centre Investment Fund since 2022.
- €100,000 has also been allocated to projects to upgrade playgrounds in Ballinasloe town under the Community Recognition Fund.
- Also under the Community Recognition Fund, €100,000 has been allocated to develop the Ballinasloe Family and Community Resource Centre.
- Around €366,000 in grant aid to local community groups and businesses has been allocated under the 2014-2022 LEADER programme. This funding has supported the Ballinasloe Christmas Illuminations Project, the creation of Ballinasloe Enterprise Hub, and the refurbishment of Ballinasloe Town Hall Theatre.
- There are 3 hubs within Ballinasloe that are part of the Connected Hubs network, and in 2021 €63,400 was allocated to develop facilities in these hubs in Ballinasloe.
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