Omission of Newtowncashel from funding scheme questioned by Longford TD

Longford Fine Gael TD Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development Dara Calleary in the Dáil last week for the reason Newtowncashel community centre was not selected for funding.

The Ballinalee native also queried if there was an appeals process for the Community Centres Investment Fund scheme, which supports small-scale work on parish halls in designated rural areas.

Deputy Carrigy also requested if feedback could be provided to the Newtowncashel committee to support them in making future applications and if further funding opportunities will be available for community centres in 2025.

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Deputy Carrigy stated there was recently a round of the community centre funding announced.

"I had a parish hall in Newtowncashel, county Longford, that was unsuccessful due to an error in a letter of comfort as regards the length of time the hall was available," he said. "Will there be an appeals mechanism on unsuccessful applications, particularly, as I said, since community centres play such a vital role in all our communities throughout rural Ireland?

In response Minister Dara Calleary stated more than €33 million has now been approved for in excess of 770 projects nationwide under the 2024 Community Centre Investment Fund.

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However, he said given the very significant level of demand, not all applications were successful.

"The facility referenced by the deputy submitted an application under category 2 of the 2024 fund seeking support of €45,000 for enhancement works on the facility.

"The application reached the minimum scoring threshold required to be eligible for consideration but did not score high enough to be successful on this occasion.

"Correspondence is now issuing to all unsuccessful applicants.

"The community centre referred to by Deputy Carrigy is being offered an opportunity to avail of a feedback call which will clearly explain the basis for the decision and areas where the application can be strengthened.

"There is also an opportunity to appeal the outcome of this application process and this will also be outlined during any feedback call," he added.

Minister Calleary said he is committed to delivering further iterations of the scheme in the coming years in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government for this to become a permanent rolling fund.

"In addition all unsuccessful groups may wish to explore other potential funding options supported by my Department, including the LEADER programme, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the CLÁR programme," he added.

Minister Calleary stated details of the aforementioned schemes are available on the Department’s website.