Community Development Projects
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-14
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Dara Calleary (FF), Mayo

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. I will begin by acknowledging the importance of having appropriate facilities in communities such as Citywest. Community centres are vital for bringing communities together and providing an outlet for services and for social, cultural and community activities.
The community centre investment fund, CCIF, was introduced to provide high-quality community facilities that are available to all groups in all areas. Earlier this year, the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I launched the fourth iteration of community centre investment funding. This round of the scheme is providing funding of up to €100,000 for the refurbishment of existing facilities. This is additional to the €80 million that has already been approved since 2022 for over 1,600 community centre enhancement projects.
Under the 2023 round of CCIF, over €30 million was approved for the construction of 12 new-build community facilities. These are substantial construction projects, with the scheme providing funding of up to €6 million. I hope to be in a position to announce funding for new-build community centres in 2027.
I have been informed that planning permission has been approved to construct a community centre and crèche in the Cúil Dúin Avenue area of Citywest. From contact with South Dublin County Council, I understand that the project will commence later this year and that the local authority is engaging with the developer. To date, my Department has not received any application for support for this project. I am happy to work with the Deputy, South Dublin County Council and the community in Citywest to ensure this facility delivers for the local community. My Department has funded eight different projects in south Dublin through the community centre investment fund. The Deputy's local authority has a very good record of delivering for us. We look forward to working with it on any potential application.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-14