COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE

Monday, December 19, 2022

QUESTION NO. 1

QUESTION: Councillor C. O'Connor

"To ask the CEO what supports are being offered to Tallaght Community Centres to assist their voluntary committees deal with rising energy costs and other challenges; will he appreciate the value of the Community Centres to local communities; will he give assurances and make a statement?"

REPLY:

The Council's recently closed Community Infrastructure Fund offered the opportunity for local community and sports organisations to apply for funding of between €5,000 and €50,000 to upgrade existing facilities including for energy upgrades.  Provision for this fund is repeated in the Council's 2023 revenue budget along with an additional €200,000 for a pilot energy fund specifically for the installation of solar panels in community facilities.

Separately, the recently announced Community Support Fund under the Community Enhancement Programme from the Department of Rural and Community Development to be administered through the South Dublin Local Community Development Committee allows for applications for funding for repairs/improvements to facilities and this will be open for applications through the Council's online grants portal from 23 January 2023 until 24 February 2023.  https://www.gov.ie/en/news/839fe-scheme-to-help-community-groups-with-rising-energy-costs

Finally, thanks to enhanced funding in the budget to support Community Centres the Management Support Grants application process is now open to all Centres. This grant offers centres the opportunity to apply for a grant to support staffing and/or operational and/or events costs. A recent presentation to the Social and Equality SPC outlines the grant application process and the community team will be calling all centres to offer support in applying for this grant during the coming weeks. A online training support meeting to advise groups is being held on Dec 12th at 7pm via MS Teams.