James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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20. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the grants and funding streams that are available for community centres from his Department. [22976/26]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department supports community centres and community infrastructure generally through a range of funding streams such as the CLÁR programme, LEADER and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.

On the 10th of March last, I opened the new CLÁR programme for 2026 with an increased budget of €12 million and an increase in the number of areas eligible to apply to the scheme. For the first time ever, CLÁR will be available to a population of over 1 million people.

I am also prioritising the Community Centre Investment Fund – or CCIF – which is designed specifically to invest in community centres. So far, my Department has allocated over €111 million to community centres since the scheme was introduced just 4 years ago.

This fund is delivering energy efficiency upgrades, essential maintenance and improved accessibility. It is investing in the modernisation of these facilities, the repurposing of existing spaces and, in some cases, the extension of these centres. The CCIF is resulting in more comfortable, functional and accessible community centres. That is why over 90% of grant recipients are reporting increased usage of their centres.

I want to build on the success of this scheme and, this morning, I was delighted to launch the latest round of funding under CCIF. The fund will be delivered across 2 categories with maximum funding levels of €25,000 and €100,000 respectively. The scheme will open to online applications on 29th May and I will announce the successful projects before the end of the year.

Full details of the new CCIF and support events for applicants, together with information on all of the other schemes I referred to, are available on my Department’s website.