Increased Funding for 400 Community Organisations Announced
Minister for Community Development, Integration and Charities, Joe O’Brien TD, has announced an increase in funding for the vast majority of Community Services Programme (CSP) supported organisations this week.
The CSP aims to provide employment opportunities and local services to disadvantaged communities throughout Ireland. 400 community organisations will benefit from this welcome increase.
According to the Department's website:
"The revised funding rates to be applied from January 2024 will see;
- an increase of €2,717 in the contribution per full-time equivalent employee to organisations categorised as having a high funding need,
- a €2,142 increase for CSP organisations categorised as having a medium funding need,
- an increased contribution of €1,500 towards the manager’s salary in the high funding need category in 2024, and
- €1,000 for organisations in the medium funding need category has also been announced.
No change is proposed for the small number of organisations in the low funding category, these are organisations identified as having the strongest earning potential and operating in less disadvantaged areas.
These increases will assist organisations to meet higher labour costs from 2024 onwards.
Minister Joe O'Brien made the announcement in Drumcondra, Co. Dublin while visiting the Conference Centre of the Child Vision organisation, one of the 14 organisations approved to join the programme:
“I am pleased to be able to provide additional funding of €4.3m to provide an increase to both the medium and high Community Services Programme funding categories.
“Given the increase of €1.40 per hour to the minimum wage level from 1st January 2024 announced in Budget 2024, we want to ensure the continued sustainability of organisations currently supported under the Community Services Programme.
“This increase to the funding rates should help alleviate the financial challenges faced by those CSP supported organisations with limited earning potential, operating in areas of disadvantage and employing individuals from the prescribed programme target groups.”
Further to this, the Minister also announced the awarding of contracts to 14 new entrants to the Community Services Programme (CSP) following an open call for applications in March of this year.
The Minister went on to say:
“I am delighted to say that the additional funding of €1 million made available for this new open call for applications under the CSP during 2023, will allow for these additional 14 community based organisations to be supported under the programme.
“This funding will support 13 new manager positions and 23 new full time equivalent positions, with an initial contract of 2 years. I am particularly pleased that two of the supported organisations have a focus on employment of people from the traveller community”
The Minister concluded:
“Between the increase to the funding rates from 2024, and the on-boarding of these 14 new entrants under the CSP and this will see my Department’s commitment to organisations supported under the Community Service Programme rise by more than €5 million, to over €54 million in 2024.
“I fully appreciate and have seen first-hand, the invaluable work carried out by CSP-supported organisations around the country and I am pleased to be able to provide further financial support to existing organisations while also increasing the number of organisations supported.”