Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 May 2026
133. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to outline whether his Department intends to extend supports similar to the recent funding provided to men’s sheds to sister sheds groups; to indicate the way in which the Department assesses community demand and eligibility for such supports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38371/26]
View answerThe emergence of Men’s Sheds, Women's Sheds and Sister Sheds has been a very positive development for communities across Ireland and I am fully committed to supporting them in the valuable work they do.
My Department has provided funding directly to the Irish Men’s Shed Association (IMSA) for the past number of years, which helps Men's Sheds with their operational and running costs. Earlier this month details of the Men's Sheds which benefited from the most recent allocation were announced.
As Women's Sheds and Sister Sheds do not operate under a national organisation, my Department is unable to distribute funding in a similar way to that provided to Men's Sheds through the IMSA. However, it should be noted that both my Department and the Department of Health jointly funded the provision of a facilitator to assist representatives of Women’s Sheds form a national body (Women’s Sheds of Ireland – WSOI). This work was completed recently. As part of this process Sister Sheds were also consulted, but they wished to remain independent from WSOI.
My colleague Minister Murnane O Connor secured €150,000 for Women's Sheds in her Department's Health and Wellbeing Budget 2026. The funding was assigned to the HSE, and recently officials from my Department and the Department of Health facilitated an introduction of the WSOI to officials in the HSE regarding the utilisation of this funding. My Department will continue to offer any support it can while this process continues.
Separately, my Department provides a range of supports which are available to individual Men's Sheds, Women's Sheds and Sister Sheds.
These supports include -
• The €7 million Local Enhancement Programme (LEP) 2026, the results of which I will be announcing in the coming weeks;
• The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme 2024 - 2028; and
• The LEADER programme.
I would encourage all Men’s Sheds, Women’s Sheds and Sister Sheds to check my Department’s website, and to engage with their Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs), Local Development Companies and Public Participation Networks (PPN), to ensure they are aware of funding opportunities as they become available.
