Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 November 2025
674. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the amount allocated in Budget 2026 for the financial support and establishment of new sister sheds, by county. [64668/25]
View answerI believe that the emergence of Women's Sheds has been a very positive development for communities across Ireland and I am fully committed to supporting Women's Sheds in the valuable work they do.
My Department provides funding to Women’s (Sister) Sheds under various funding supports, including:
• The Local Enhancement Programme (LEP)
• The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) 2024 - 2028; and
• The LEADER programme.
Women's Sheds can apply individually for all of these schemes.
Separately, the Department of Health secured funding of €150,000 in Budget 2026 to support Women's Sheds.
As Women’s Sheds do not currently operate under a national organisation, my Department is unable to provide funding similar to that provided to Men’s Sheds via the Irish Men's Sheds Association. My Department and the Department of Health are currently working with the Women's Sheds of Ireland to support their efforts to form a national body thereby facilitating access to similar funding.
At present, I do not have any plans to introduce additional funding supports specifically for Women's Sheds. However, the Local Enhancement Programme 2026 is currently under consideration and, as in previous years, I expect individual Women's Sheds will be eligible to apply under the programme.
I would encourage all Women’s Sheds to check my Department’s website www.gov.ie/drcdg, and to engage with their Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs), Local Development Companies and Public Participation Networks (PPN), to ensure they are aware of relevant funding opportunities as they become available.
