My officials contacted the Deputy in relation to this Parliamentary Question in order to seek clarification on the scope of the question. My Department provides supports and funding to hundreds of bodies and community organisations including through for example, Community Employment (CE) Schemes, Tús (community work placement initiative) and the Rural Social Scheme. These schemes provide support to hundreds of organisations across the country and thousands of participants as key supported employment programmes.
Furthermore, contracted public employment services are provided throughout the country through the Intreo Partners National Employment Services and Intreo Partners Local Area Employment Services. In this regard, it is not possible in the timeframe available to answer a Parliamentary Question, to provide a table with the list of organisations, without further clarification from the Deputy as to what is within scope.
The Department also provides matched funding under the European Social Plus Fund (ESF+) which provides social protection by tackling poverty, fostering social inclusion, and improving employment opportunities for disadvantaged groups through training, education, and basic material assistance. The ESF+ Food and Basic Material Support is designed to support Member States in addressing the basic needs of the most deprived people in our community. The Department will continue to work with its beneficiary partner, FoodCloud, a not-for-profit organisation, and the charities around the country, to provide food and basic material assistance to the most vulnerable in our society. The current programme of funding is due operate until the end of 2027.
While the Department does not partner with philanthropic bodies in terms of seeking funding, there is close engagement with community, voluntary, and non-governmental organisations to provide better outcomes for our customers and to deliver its services.
