Joe O'Brien - Green Party
Minister Joe O’Brien Welcomes Announcement of Over €33 Million to Upgrade Community Centres, Including Two in Fingal
8th December, 2022
- Largest ever capital investment in Community Centres
- Grants of up to €300,000 provided
- Extensions to Existing Centres, Energy Efficiency Upgrades and Improved Access for People with Disabilities amongst works supported
- Community Centres, Parish Halls, Scouts Clubs, Youth Hubs, Family Resource Centres & Sports Complexes across country set to benefit
Minister Joe O’Brien welcomed the announcement today of funding of over €33 million for the upgrade and development of 278 Community Centres nationwide, including two centres in Fingal.
The announcement under the new Community Centre Investment Fund represents the largest ever capital investment in upgrading Community Centres and will see grants of between €25,000 to €300,000 provided to successful projects.
The funding will be used to upgrade, renovate and refurbish Community Centres, Parish Halls, Scouts Clubs, Youth Hubs, Family Resources Centres and Sports Complexes across the country.
Communities in every single county in Ireland will benefit as part of the investment.
The two community centres awarded funding in Fingal are Portmarnock Sports & Leisure Club and Skerries Community Association.
Welcoming the Announcement, Joe O’Brien TD said:
“This announcement will help community centres around the country and particularly those in Fingal that were awarded funding. Both Skerries Community Association and Portmarnock Sports & Leisure Club have done great work within their communities and this funding will help them continue to do so.
“The funding allows community centres and other buildings offering important services around the country to avail of a wide array of services including retrofitting, building and safety upgrades, improving disability access and creating social hubs.”
Cllr Karen Power said:
“The funding for Skerries Community Centre announced by Joe today is very welcome. The Centre is the beating heart of our community here in Skerries providing a home for many sports and social clubs as well as educational facilities and it is great to see it supported in this way.”
Examples of some of the types of work being supported include:
- Extensions to existing community centres
- The provision of meeting rooms, offices, counselling rooms and family rooms
- Energy Retrofitting/upgrades to Heating Systems
- Works to develop community centres as social hubs through the development of community cinemas, youth hubs and community libraries
- Works to upgrade kitchen facilities to enhance the delivery of Meals on Wheels
- Upgrades to lighting systems and stage areas
- Fire Safety Upgrades
- Essentials maintenance works, repairs to roof, re-wiring,etc
- Works to upgrade toilet facilities
- Works to improve disability access
- Replacement of windows and doors
- Installation of electric vehicle charging points
Minister Heather Humphreys and the Tánaiste Leo Varadkar made the announcement at
Hartstown Sports and Leisure Centre in Dublin 15 today.
The full list of successful projects being announced today is available here:
The new Community Centre Investment Fund forms part of a range of measures being
undertaken by the Department of Rural and Community Development to support the
community and voluntary sector, and to empower thriving, sustainable communities
across Ireland.
ENDS
Contact:
The Department of Rural and Community Development Press Office
01-773 6843 / 087-1734633
Notes to Editors
Funding will be available under 3 Categories, with grants up to €300,000 available:
Category 1: Small scale projects/improvements to facilities up to €25,000
Category 2: Larger scale projects €25,001 to €100,000
Category 3: Major projects €100,001 to €300,000
Funding is available for capital works such as: –
- works to improve communal facilities such as kitchen and toilet facilities
- energy retrofitting, new windows / doors / heating systems
- upgrades to lighting systems and stage areas
- works to address safety concerns, including as a result of fire safety audits
- works to improve disability access
- improvements to assist in providing additional or better services to the community such as meals for the elderly and youth facilities
- works to develop Community Centres as Social Hubs through the development of Community Cinemas, Youth Hubs and Community Libraries
- essential maintenance works, repairs to roof, and so on
The fund closed to applications on the 14th of July. Details of successful Category 1 projects were announce on the 12th October by Minister Humphrey’s and details of successful projects can be found here
Our Rural Future
Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for rural Ireland for the period 2021-2025. It represents a new milestone in the approach to rural development policy for Ireland and adopts a more strategic, ambitious and holistic approach to investing in and maximising opportunities for rural areas.