From Department of Rural and Community Development
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Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys has today announced a €2.3 million investment to support social enterprises nationwide.
Some €1.4 million is today being announced to support 19 organisations under the Scaling-up Fund for Social Enterprises initiative.
And a further €890,000 will be provided to social enterprises via Rethink Ireland and Community Finance Ireland.
Examples of the Social Enterprises to benefit under the scheme include:
County Roscommon Disability Support Group Company - €66,000: To fund a designated training room for carers.
Darndale-Belcamp Village Centre, Co Dublin- €40,675: To fund an additional van to provide essential maintenance services, serving the elderly and those living alone.
No Barriers Foundation, Co Donegal - €100,000: To fund the purchase of equipment for senior exercise to improve the strength, fitness and mobility of their clients.
Announcing the allocations, Minister Humphreys said:
“I am delighted to confirm today that a further 19 social enterprises will benefit under the Scaling Up Fund which I launched last year. This funding will directly enable social enterprises to develop and expand the vital services that they provide in communities all across Ireland."
Minister Humphreys also confirmed the launch of the new Social Finance Hybrid Pilot Scheme for Social Enterprise. This scheme will be co-funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development in conjunction with Community Finance Ireland and Rethink Ireland. Some 20 social enterprises will now be able access the scheme for a hybrid package of financial and non-financial supports.
The Minister commented:
“This new initiative will directly address some of the barriers that start-up social enterprises have experienced in getting access to loans and establishing credit ratings. This will allow social enterprises to build their businesses and provide them with much needed financial flexibility. I am delighted to be able to deliver this innovative new model in conjunction with Community Finance Ireland and Rethink Ireland. I would like to commend the role that so many social enterprises are playing in communities across Ireland. They play a key role in creating jobs, providing goods and services, and delivering real benefits in communities.”
The department will contribute €890,000 in co-funding to the initiative, and Community Finance Ireland will make available approximately €500,000 for the repayable loans portion of the scheme. Rethink Ireland will administer the scheme, and it is envisaged that approximately 20 social enterprises will benefit from the scheme, over two calls for applications.
A list of recommended Social Enterprises under the Scaling-Up Fund for Social Enterprises is set out in Appendix A.
Further details of the Social Finance Hybrid Pilot Scheme for Social Enterprise are available on the Rethink Ireland website.
Social Enterprises recommended for funding under the Social Enterprise Scaling-up Scheme 2023 Medium-scale Capital Funding
| Number | Organisation name | County | Details | Total grant |
| 1 | Darndale-Belcamp Village Centre Company Limited By Guarantee | Dublin | An additional van to provide essential maintenance services, which serves the elderly and those living alone. | €40,675 |
| 2 | Walkinstown Greenhills Resource Centre Company Limited By Guarantee | Dublin | To fund the retrofitting of the existing building, the development of a sensory space in the garden area and the construction and installation of 3 rooms that will be used to provide therapy. | €87,347 |
| 3 | County Roscommon Disability Support Group Company Limited By Guarantee | Roscommon | To fund a designated training room required for the purposes of providing carers refresher and accredited training relevant to their work. | €66,000 |
| 4 | Dublin Food Co-operative Society Limited | Dublin | An Electric Vehicle (EV) to support a delivery service to customers. | €72,087 |
| 5 | Letterkenny Community Centre CLG | Donegal | To fund the fit-out and finishes to the Social Centre and External site works. | €100,000 |
| 6 | Roscommon Integrated Development Company Limited By Guarantee | Roscommon | To fund an electric powered vehicle to provide the meals on wheels service to the elderly and vulnerable people within the area. | €41,038 |
| 7 | Simon Community (Galway) | Galway | To fund an electric vehicle to support the expansion of their Charity Shops. | €40,750 |
| 8 | Adare Recreation and Community Complex Company Limited By Guarantee | Limerick | To fund upgrades to the playground equipment and fund a wheelchair accessible roundabout and sensory area, and a robotic lawnmower. | €72,412 |
| 9 | COPE Galway Company Limited by Guarantee | Galway | To fund works to their kitchen space and a new electric vehicle. | €63,548 |
| 10 | GIY Ireland Company Limited By Guarantee | Waterford | To fund the acquisition of a jeep and horsebox, machinery to prepare the site for planting, a shed and shelter area for groups attending the site for training and education. | €97,772 |
| 11 | No Barriers Foundation Company Limited By Guarantee | Donegal | To fund the purchase of equipment to improve the strength, fitness and mobility of their clients enabling rehabilitation and senior exercise. | €100,000 |
| 12 | Obair Newmarket-On-Fergus Company Limited By Guarantee | Clare | To fund purchase of electric vans to enable the scaling up of Obair Food4u Meals on Wheels service to serve a wider geographical area. | €100,000 |
| 13 | Feachtas Ealaion Cuideachta Faoi Theorainn Ráthaíochta | Wexford | To fund the purchase of a sound system that will allow the applicant to provide full sound provision for any events staged at their theatre. | €56,634 |
| 14 | Michael Coleman Heritage Centre Company Limited By Guarantee | Sligo | To fund upgrades and improvements to their theatre including purchasing a new digital projector and a large screen, installing energy efficient lighting; New sound system. | €86,387 |
| 15 | Ionad Cois Locha Company Limited By Guarantee | Donegal | To fund the building of a disability toilet, Air to Water, plumbing and air condition, fire alarm, emergency lighting upgrades, and works to improve access to the playground. | €100,000 |
| 16 | Comhlacht Forbartha Áitiuíl Acla Cuideachta Faoi Theorainn Ràthaìochta | Mayo | To fund the development of a small extension and the repurposing of an existing space. | €100,000 |
| 17 | Farney Community Development Group Company Limited By Guarantee | Monaghan | Essential maintenance works to weather-proof the 108 sq. m. first-floor flat felt roof of Carrickmacross Workhouse. | €30,195 |
| 18 | Our Lady of Lourdes Community Services Group Company Limited By Guarantee | Limerick | To install toilets, male and female and disabled access. To refurbish the kitchen facility that is used to operate a café. To fund upgrades including fire alarm system, flooring, electrical and plumbing works. | €79,672 |
| 19 | Churchfield Community Trust | Cork | To fund the development of a horticulture site on the grounds of St. Mary’s Primary Health Care Campus | €56,710 |
Social enterprises are businesses whose core objective is to achieve a social, societal, or environmental impact. Like other businesses, social enterprises pursue their objectives by trading in goods and services on an ongoing basis. However, surpluses generated by social enterprises are re-invested into achieving the core social objectives.
They frequently work to support disadvantaged groups such as the long-term unemployed, people with disabilities, travellers, or to address issues such as food poverty, social housing, or environmental matters.
Ireland’s first National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland 2019-2022 was launched by the Department of Rural and Community Development on 18 July 2019, with the objective of creating an enabling environment for social enterprise to grow and contribute more fully to Ireland’s social and economic progress.
The Policy is focused on three main objectives:
1. Building Awareness of Social Enterprise
2. Growing and Strengthening Social Enterprise
3. Achieving Better Policy Alignment
Work has started on developing a new policy in partnership with stakeholders. This will include a public consultation followed by publication of the policy later in the year.
The Dormant Accounts Acts 2001-2012, together with the Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Act 2003, provide a framework for the administration of unclaimed accounts in credit institutions (that is, banks, building societies and An Post) and unclaimed life assurance policies in insurance undertakings.
The main purpose of the legislation is to reunite account or policy holders with their funds in credit institutions or insurance undertakings and in this regard, these bodies are required to take steps to identify and contact the owners of dormant accounts and unclaimed life assurance policies.
However, in order to utilise the un-used funds in dormant accounts and unclaimed policies to best effect, the legislation also introduced a scheme for the disbursement of funds that are unlikely to be reclaimed from dormant accounts and unclaimed policies for the purposes of measures to assist:
1. the personal and social development of persons who are economically or socially disadvantaged;
2. the educational development of persons who are educationally disadvantaged; or
3. persons with a disability
Social Enterprises work in many ways to assist people in these categories.