Press Release 26 June 2020

Fund designed to provide immediate support to Community and Voluntary Organisations, Charities and Social Enterprises

179 organisations to benefit from €10.5 million in supports

Mr Michael Ring, Minister of Rural Community Development, today announced the approval of €10.5M in funding under Tranche One of the COVID-19 Stability Fund for Community and Voluntary Organisations, Charities and Social Enterprises (Stability Scheme). 179 organisations will benefit from this funding initially under Tranche One.  Once-off cash injections of between €2,000 and €200,000 are being awarded to qualifying organisations that provide critical services to those most vulnerable in society to help with short term cash flow issues being suffered due to the COVID crisis.

It is important to note that due to the considerable interest in the Stability Scheme and in order to ensure that funding is released as quickly as possible, applicants are being considered  in smaller groupings and the funding being announced today is just the first tranche with further tranches to be announced over the coming weeks.

Speaking this morning, Minister Ring said:

“I am delighted to be able to announce this funding today. Community and Voluntary organisations, along with Charities and Social Enterprises have been at the heart of our country’s response to the challenges brought by COVID-19. In every corner of the country people have got behind their community and dug deep to help each other. But they needed help and extra resources to ensure they could continue to deliver the critical services and cope with the inability to generate traded or fundraised income due to social restrictions. In many cases while the rest of the world shut down, these organisations kept going and my colleagues in Government and communities all over the country are grateful for that.

“The sector reached out and asked for help, which is why I, along with other Government colleagues committed €35 million of Dormant Accounts Funding to help these organisations to keep the lights on, and keep delivering those critical services to the people that depend on them. I am delighted to make the first tranche of payments available today and hope to see many more funded in the coming weeks as my officials and Pobal complete final verification checks.”

Some of the successful applicants today include:

• Ballyphehane Community Association                       €200,000
• Peter Mc Verry Trust                                                  €200,000
• Barnardos                                                                   €153,953
• Gort Cancer Support Group                                           €14,784
• Limerick Autism Group                                                    €14,323

The COVID-19 Stability Fund for Community and Voluntary Organisations, Charities and Social Enterprises is intended to be a targeted once-off cash injection for organisations and groups delivering critical front-line services to the most at need in our society and in danger of imminent closure due to lost fund-raised or traded income as a direct result of restrictions to counter the spread of COVID-19.

Pobal will contact successful applicants announced under the first tranche in the coming days to finalise contracts and facilitate payment of funding. Additional checks are ongoing on remaining applicants to determine suitability for funding, with further announcements expected in the coming weeks. A full list of successful applicants under Tranche One is available at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/3957e-covid-19-stability-fund-successful-applicants/

ENDS

Contact:

The Department of Rural and Community Development Press Office

076-1006843 / 087-1734633

[email protected]

Notes for editors:

Following the announcement of a €40 million funding package for the sector, applications were invited for the €35 million Stability Scheme. The Stability Scheme, administered by Pobal, opened for applications from 11^th – 21^st May 2020. A total of 1,027 applications were received in that period.

The Stability Scheme will provide immediate, short term cash flow to qualifying organisations which provide critical services to those most vulnerable in society. The funding will be prioritised for those organisations which are most in need and have seen their trading and/or fundraising income drop significantly during the crisis.

With funding being provided from the Dormant Accounts Fund, the Stability Scheme will provide a once off grant to qualifying organisations. In line with the objectives of the Dormant Accounts Fund, the Stability Scheme will focus on organisations providing supports and services in the following sectors:

• Health and Social Care (including addiction, disability and mental health)
• Child and Family Services (including counselling/therapies)
• Domestic/Sexual/Gender based violence
• Housing/Homelessness
• Community Services (e.g. meals on wheels/befriending services/old age supports/vulnerable people’s support groups etc.)
• Community Education Sector

Organisations were required to demonstrate the impact that the crisis has had on their services and applications will be prioritised according to need. Pobal, which works on behalf of Government to support communities and local agencies toward achieving social inclusion and development, administers the Stability Fund on behalf of the Department of Rural and Community Development.