James O'Connor
Ceist:8. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the grants and schemes available from his Department to support community centres. [68332/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 4 December 2025
Ceisteanna (8)
Freagraí scríofa
Since becoming Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, I have prioritised investment in community infrastructure and community centres in particular.
As part of Budget 2026, I was delighted to announce increased funding for the programmes that are delivering on this priority. This includes an increase in the annual budget for the Community Centre Investment Fund by €3 million, from €17 million in 2025 to €20 million in 2026.
The Community Centre Investment Fund was introduced in 2022 and to date some €110 million has been allocated for the enhancement and refurbishment of existing community centres and for the construction of new centres where such a need has been identified.
County Cork has been allocated over €10.7 million for 189 projects under the fund. I was delighted to visit Cork last Saturday where I turned the sod for construction to commence on a new community centre in Rylane. This was allocated over €1.8 million in funding from my department under the 2023 new build measure.
In addition to the centre in Rylane, eleven other new build projects have been approved across the country with total funding of over €30 million.
I am committed to delivering further iterations of the Community Centre Investment Fund in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government for this to become a permanent rolling fund. I expect the next iteration of the fund to be rolled out next year.
It should be noted that my Department also supports community facilities through a range of other funding streams including the CLÁR programme, LEADER and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. I would encourage organisations to check my department’s website for information on all of these different funding opportunities.