I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. At the outset, I want to acknowledge the excellent work that is done on the full range of schemes, including the community employment, Tús and rural social schemes, supported by my Department, and the contribution that these schemes and their workers make to communities across the country. Work schemes, such as Tús and the community employment scheme, are positive initiatives that enable the long-term unemployed to make a significant contribution to their communities while …

I thank Deputy Creed for raising this matter and for highlighting the work that is done by all these schemes. The schemes are different.

That is not to put a different value on anything. They are all extremely valuable. Tús was originally a one-year programme.

The rural social scheme is an income support measure. It does not have a training element, to make a slight distinction. It may look as if they are identical from the outside, but they are not. They are all of equal and high value. The Deputy knows I place a huge emphasis on the importance of such schemes. I have visited many community employment, Tús and rural social schemes over the past number of months, speaking with participants, supervisors and implementing bodies. I am fully aware of the important work that …

I thank Senators Dolan and Buttimer for raising this important matter. Schools are valued in their communities and not just from an education perspective. They sustain rural populations and are often viewed as an indicator of how an area is faring. They also provide a vital link for sports and social activity. Schools play a wide role in their communities and many schools make their facilities available outside of school hours for a variety of uses and users. Schools are often the centre of sustainable communities …

I thank the Senators for their kind comments. It is important to thank schools that are opening up their facilities and to acknowledge they are doing this. There is a bit of work and an element of risk involved in doing that and we should thank them for it. I reiterate my request for other schools to seriously consider doing this. As I said, I have written to the Minister for Education and suggested we open up an engagement. We could consider the guidance document and perhaps it could be reviewed and reissued. I am…

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter in regard to enabling access to school facilities for use by local community organisations and youth groups outside of school hours. Schools are very much valued in their communities in that they provide a vital link to sports and social activity but also to local heritage, and in rural areas they help sustain populations. Indeed rural schools make up the majority of our primary school sector. Nearly 2,000 out of just 3,200 of the State's primary schools are in rural are…

I thank the schools that are opening their doors and facilitating a variety of community groups. It happens quite a bit and many of us perhaps do not realise it happens because many of the activities are school-related, for example, homework clubs, breakfast clubs, summer camps and sporting and other activities. We almost assume that they are part of the school process, but they are very much a community function as well. I would like to add my voice to the call that has been made. I ask schools to consider opening…

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has provided grant funding to Benefacts since 2015. My Department has had no funding relationship with Benefacts. I understand the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform undertook a review in 2020 that found that the business case for its continued funding of Benefacts was no longer justified. Accordingly, the decision was made to terminate its funding. In respect of the reference by the Deputy to new regulations by the Charities Regulator, I want to take this op…

There was value in what Benefacts did but we have to be cognisant of the taxpayers' money. There was a business case made in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and it did not justify continuing the funding, sadly. The data on the Benefacts database are publicly available from the organisations listed on it. Obviously, there was a value to having data collated in one location but those data are still available from the organisations included on the database. We are developing an initiative separate from…

To explain the difference between what we are scoping at the moment, the Deputy will know that community and voluntary organisations often apply multiple times to different State bodies, often within a very short period. It is part of our strategic plan going into the future that we want to make it easier for community and voluntary organisations to apply. We want to make it coherent and more streamlined. That will involve a whole-of-government approach. There is a bit of work involved in this. We are doing a scopi…

I thank the Deputy for the question. The CLÁR programme provides funding under a number of different measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of depopulation over a defined period. The level of funding provided for the programme in 2021 was €5.5 million and this was increased to €7 million under budget 2022. The CLÁR programme has invested heavily in playgrounds in recent years, and the focus for the programme this year will be on supportin…

Depending on the application, it may either sit under one of the schemes I outlined, including CLÁR or the community enhancement programme, but from what the Deputy has outlined, it sounds like such applications might be a better fit with the sports capital grant scheme. That would be a question for the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, ultimately. To give the Deputy some examples from his own constituency on the applicability of the CLÁR programme, specifically regarding the issues the Deputy raised, last year t…

It strikes me that it probably depends on the ownership of the field, for example, whether it is owned by a particular club or a broader community organisation. I suggest that the Deputy writes to me and the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, directly, providing more detail on the specific situation, setting out who owns the field, who uses it and so on. We will see where it might fit best in terms of the programmes that we provide.

I thank the Deputy for his question. Given my Department's remit in supporting the economic and social development of rural Ireland and community development throughout the country, many of our existing funding schemes support the response to and the recovery from the pandemic. However, a number of specific targeted measures are aimed at directly supporting the Covid-19 response and recovery in communities right across the country. Through the Covid-19 stability fund, my Department supported 863 organisations in 20…

I thank the Deputy. I should mention to him that the forthcoming community centre fund may also be of relevance. Specifically on the question about schools, I can certainly identify with that because there are plenty of examples I can think of where there are large rooms available that are not always accessible. Ultimately, it is, I presume, a question for the boards of management of these schools. I hope that as we come out of Covid-19 that we will have some positive announcements in the coming days on the easing …

I again thank the Deputy. In respect of any improvements or adjustments that schools might wish to make, that is definitely not within our Department's bailiwick but it may be something we can talk to the Minister for Education about. I will take this question on board because it is a good one. We all are aware of space that is available in communities but which is not always accessible. We have a responsibility to at least make an inquiry as to what we can do in that regard. However, we are talking about facilitie…

I thank the Acting Chair for the flexibility because I very much welcome this question. My Department's statement of strategy contains a commitment to support the growth and development of philanthropy in Ireland and to develop a national policy on philanthropy. My Department works in partnership with Philanthropy Ireland, Charities Institute Ireland and Rethink Ireland to support their work to facilitate, encourage and grow philanthropic giving in Ireland. This includes the provision of grant funding. In 2021, my …

I thank the Deputy who has made a very good point. In the past there has certainly been a level of overreliance on a small number of very large international philanthropic organisations. As the policy goes forward I will be supportive of getting more Irish-based medium-sized philanthropic giving throughout the country. There is an argument for it being area-based also. There have been some proposals in this regard from foundations working in the area, whereby we should encourage a localised form of philanthropic gi…

I thank the Deputy. This specific issue is one we will start tackling this year. We hope to announce in the near future an advisory group to help us develop this policy. It is worth citing the top five things that motivate philanthropic giving as listed in the Indecon report. These are care about the cause, people believing they can make a difference, people believing we all need to help solve social problems, trusting the organisations being donated to and wanting to help people who are less fortunate. These are v…