Joe O'Brien - Green Party Joe O'Brien - Green Party

Additional €20m Fund for Community Centre Development Confirmed by Minister Joe O’Brien  

31st March, 2023

  • First ever dedicated fund for shovel-ready community projects in our towns and villages
  • Investment of at least €1 million per project
  • Focus on areas which currently lack community facilities

Joe O’Brien TD, Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development, Charities & Integration has today confirmed the launch of a new dedicated €20 million fund for the construction of new Community Centres.

For the first time, funding of at least €1 million will be invested in projects that are shovel ready and which are in areas that currently lack community facilities.

This builds on the highly successful 2022 initiative, announced by Minister Joe O’Brien, which delivered an investment of over €45 million to renovate and upgrade over 850 community projects across Ireland.

Speaking as the new funding was confirmed Minister Joe O’Brien said:

“I regularly travel to communities all over Ireland and it’s always clear how important is for communities to have a central hub wherein which they can work, gather together, provide services or simply provide a safe space for people to drop by.

“Community centres are vital infrastructure so I am delighted to be able to confirm this additional funding which will specifically assist communities currently without such a community facility to build & develop one. I would really encourage any local communities in Fingal that are in need of a community space to take the lead and partner with the local authority in making an application to this important scheme.

“We know that communities thrive when local groups and services work together to support people and community centres can play a crucial role in facilitating that cooperation as well as being an important local amenity for gatherings and events. I look forward to seeing communities use this fund to further develop their community infrastructure.” 

Details of the Community Centres Investment Fund – New Builds Measure are available at www.gov.ie/drcd with the closing date for applications on 3rdJuly 2023.