Published 21 September 2018

The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring TD, today announced additional funding of €8 million for the Community Enhancement Programme (CEP) which supports disadvantaged communities throughout the country by providing capital grants to community groups.

The CEP provides a flexible and targeted approach to funding those communities most in need, while reducing the level of administration involved.  Today’s allocation follows on from an initial allocation of €4.5 million under the fund in May of this year.

Minister Ring said: “The Community Enhancement Programme supports a range of investment in all areas of communities, such as childcare groups, playgrounds, recreational groups, sports grounds, landscaping, and the elderly.

“Typical enhancements under the programme could include the renovation of community centres and community amenities; improvements to town parks, common areas and spaces; and the purchase of equipment which is used to benefit the community.

“The additional funding has been allocated in a way that takes deprivation levels into account and I am confident that those communities who need it most, whether in cities, towns or rural areas, will benefit.”

The application process for the CEP is administered by Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) in each Local Authority area. There was an open application process when the CEP was originally launched in May, and this additional funding will be used to fund applications that were made under the original call, but which were not funded or not fully funded.

Minister Ring concluded: “Based on the extremely positive response to the Community Enhancement Programme funding announced earlier in the year and the evidence that more worthwhile initiatives could benefit from support, I have decided to allocate a further €8 million under the Community Enhancement Programme.”

€500,000 was also provided to support the work of Men’s Sheds through the Community Enhancement Programme. Today’s announcement brings to €13 million the funding provided to community groups through the Programme this year alone.

For details on the funding in each Local Authority area see the below table:

Notes to Editor:

The CEP is targeted towards enhancing facilities in disadvantaged communities. It provides capital grants to community groups.

• The CEP replaced the re-cast RAPID programme and Communities Facilities Scheme (CFS) which were launched in 2017 and funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development (the Department).
• The development of the CEP follows on from a review of the CFS and re-cast RAPID, a process which involved consultation with the LCDC in each area.
• The CEP is the result of the first significant exercise in the streamlining of schemes and programmes carried out by the Department.   Its development follows recommendations arising on foot of an assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of existing funding schemes (the CFS and re-cast RAPID), which included consultation with the 33 Local Community Development Committees across the country.
• The funding provided to each Local Authority area is outlined in the above table. The funding has been allocated by providing a baseline amount to each area and allocating the remainder based on the relative population and disadvantage level in each area.
• The application process is administered by LCDCs in each area. There was an open application process when the CEP was originally launched in May, and this additional funding will be used  to fund applications that were made under the original call, but which were not funded or not fully funded.