Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I believe that the emergence of Men’s Sheds and Women's Sheds has been a very positive development for communities across Ireland and I am fully committed to supporting Men's Sheds and Women's Sheds in the valuable work they do.

My Department provides funding to Men's Sheds and Women’s (Sister) Sheds under various funding supports, including:

• The Local Enhancement Programme (LEP);
• The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) 2024 - 2028 ; and
• The LEADER programme.

Men’s and Women's Sheds can apply individually for all of these schemes.

In addition to these schemes, my Department has channelled funding through the Irish Men’s Sheds Association (IMSA) to distribute directly to Men’s Sheds. I was pleased to announce a financial package with the IMSA for this year which will enable them to distribute up to €1m in supports to Men's Sheds across the country. It should be noted that my Department also provides funding to the IMSA through the Scheme to Support National Organisations.

While I understand the desire for multi-annual funding, it would not be possible for my department to provide multi-annual funding to individual men's and women's sheds on an ongoing basis for a variety of reasons, including budgetary rules and accountability requirements. My Department is working within the resources it has to provide the best supports possible at this time.

As Women’s Sheds do not currently operate under a national organisation, my department is unable to provide funding similar to that provided to Men’s Sheds via the IMSA. My Department and the Department of Health are currently working with the Women's Sheds of Ireland to support their effort to form a national body thereby facilitating access to similar multi annual funding.