Community Development Projects
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-05
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Jerry Buttimer (FG), Cork South-Central

I would love to do that because it is very important to support that organisation. The Deputy raised that already.
The reality is that we have seen - for example, in the community services programme - an increase of €4 million to €59.4 million this year. We have seen a 6% increase in the budget. We will reflect on the articulation by the community and voluntary sector in terms of the preparation of the strategy and in the consultative process for the new Our Rural Future. I assure the Deputy the Minister and I are very much rooted in this sector. We want to ensure the challenges that are being encountered will be considered in the development of any new policies. When we had Covid and the cost-of-living crisis, and energy was at its core, the Government was not found wanting. Again, our community and voluntary sector is very resilient in the sourcing of funds. We will look at what we can do to support what is a very important pillar of our society.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-05/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:36+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-05