Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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585. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the plans that are in place to ensure community services which rely on funding from the Creeslough Together Initiative will be funded past July 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29397/26]

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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The Creeslough Together Initiative (CTI) was allocated funding for a three-year period (2023 to 2026) by my department. Since 2023, funding totalling €497,000 has been provided to support the Creeslough Together Initiative.

The aim of this funding was to provide a focused and collective emergency response in the aftermath of the Creeslough tragedy, by establishing a community hub, which now provides trauma-informed community support, youth services, and ongoing community activation initiatives.

The Creeslough Community Hub, located on Creeslough Main Street has employed a full time Community Links Worker and a part time Administrator over the past 3 years and has become a trusted focal point of the village of Creeslough following the tragic events of October 2022.

CTI is hosted by the Creeslough Community Association (CCA) and they are the contract holder and employer of the CTI team. CCA have made representations to the Department, requesting that the Creeslough Together Initiative be extended for a further 3 years, to 2029.

This proposal is currently under consideration in my department, and a decision in respect of any further funding will be considered in the context of available resources.