Peter Roche (Galway East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

129. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if consideration is being given to establishing a dedicated annual maintenance and operational support fund for volunteer-led rural community centres in recognition of the growing cost of maintaining community infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38265/26]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department has a range of supports in place with regard to community centres.

The Community Centre Investment Fund (CCIF), which was established in 2022, provides capital funding for the upgrade and refurbishment of existing community centres and the construction of new centres in urban and rural communities. The 2026 CCIF will focus on the improvement and refurbishment of existing community centres, and the online application portal will open on May 29th.

Community infrastructure is also supported through other schemes administered by my Department, including the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, CLÁR and the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. In addition, the Local Enhancement Programme (LEP) provides small-scale grants to community and voluntary groups to assist with facility improvements and equipment purchases, which can help groups to maintain and improve their facilities. The scheme is administered by each local authority on behalf of my Department and is an important support for many community groups. Such investment can help reduce costs, for example by improving energy efficiency of buildings or providing new more energy efficient equipment.

Ongoing operational supports are provided for some groups through the Community Services Programme, which supports community organisations and social enterprises delivering essential local services and managing community facilities. In addition, my Department provides current supports to Tidy Towns Groups and to Men’s Sheds. Finally, it should also be noted that the Community Employment Scheme, Rural Social Scheme, and Tús, which are operated by the Department of Social Protection, provide an important resource for many community centres and community facilities across the country. At present we do not have any plans to introduce additional funding supports for volunteer led rural community centres but we continue to review our schemes to ensure our available funding is put to best use.

Peter Roche (Galway East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

130. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if consideration is being given to introducing a cost-escalation or inflation support mechanism for approved community projects under schemes such as the Community Centre Investment Fund and CLÁR where projects face significant increases in construction and material costs between approval and delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38264/26]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department implements a wide range of schemes that have supported thousands of individual capital projects throughout the country in recent years, including through CLÁR and the Community Centre Investment Fund (CCIF).

I am acutely aware that cost pressures have created challenges for community groups seeking to complete approved projects within the original funding allocations. Many of the projects approved under the CLÁR programme or for refurbishment works under the most recent round of the Community Centre Investment Fund are smaller in nature and can be delivered in a relatively short time period.

This mitigates against some of the impact of inflation, yet it can still be a challenge for community groups to manage within the funding provided. While approved funding amounts cannot be increased for these projects, my Department works flexibly with groups delivering CLÁR and CCIF projects so that the scope of the project can be adjusted in the event that the costs have increased significantly.

In the case of CCIF new build community centres, which are larger in scale, my Department works with the lead body responsible for delivering the project to address challenges as they arise. These projects are allocated an 'approval in principle' amount of funding at approval stage. Each project subsequently goes through a series of approval decision gates before and after the tender process, with the level of funding only confirmed post tender. This ensures that the final approved funding amount reflects the full cost of delivery as confirmed through the public procurement process and takes account of any market changes in the period since the project was first approved.