Ministers Humphreys and Joe O’Brien announce €10 million Fund to support parish halls and community centres with energy bills

• New Community Support Fund to assist thousands of community groups across the country

• Support available for Parish Halls, Community Centres, Local Development Associations, Social Clubs, ICA Groups, Senior Citizen Groups, Men’s Sheds, Women’s Sheds and more

• Small grants to help groups with running costs and rising energy bills

• Applications from groups supporting rural pursuits and activities welcome

Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, and Minister of State, Joe O’Brien TD, have today announced a new €10 million fund to support thousands of local community & voluntary groups with their energy bills.

The Community Support Fund will provide small grants to a wide and diverse range of local community groups to assist with their running costs.

Funding will be available to support Parish Halls, Community Centres, Local Development Associations, Social Clubs, ICA Groups, Senior Citizen Groups, Men’s Sheds, Women’s Sheds and much more.

The new scheme has been devised to support groups with their energy costs who may not have been deemed eligible under previous Government schemes.

These include groups that operate from parish halls and who need support with running costs such as energy or insurance bills.

Groups can also use the funding to carry out small upgrade works and to purchase equipment to support their activities such as laptops and printers, lawnmowers, training equipment, etc.

Announcing the funding today, Minister Humphreys said:

Also announcing the funding today, Minister O’Brien said:

“In recognition of rising energy costs the Government announced a package of funding supports to business, cultural, health, sporting and C&V organisations in September. We know that many small organisations/groups particularly those who serve in disadvantaged areas may not be able to access these funds.

“These grants will help thousands of community organisations, clubs, men’s and women’s sheds, youth centres and parish halls, to continue to provide their valuable services to the people in their areas.”

The once-off fund will be allocated under the Department’s Community Enhancement Programme and will be administered locally by the Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs).

This funding builds on the Minster’s earlier announcement of the €10million Community and Voluntary Energy Support Scheme (CVESS).

The CVESS will provide once-off support to incorporated organisations and registered charities within the Community and Voluntary sector which fall outside the parameters of other energy support schemes being delivered by Government such as the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS).

Further details can be found here.

This initiative forms part of a range of measures being undertaken by the department to support the community and voluntary sector, and to empower thriving, sustainable communities across Ireland.

It also ties into the Reduce Your Use energy efficiency campaign where the government are asking people, where safe and possible to do so, to turn their thermostat down and consider when they use larger appliances.

Groups should contact their LCDC for further details of the fund. Contacts details for all LCDCs can be found here.

• The funding has been allocated by providing a baseline amount to each area and allocating the remainder based on the population and disadvantage level in each local authority area.

• The funding is administered on behalf of the Department of Rural and Community Development locally by Local Community Development CommitteesLocal Community Development Committees (LCDCs) across the country, with support from their Local Authority. Applications for funding can be made to the relevant LCDC. Contact details for LCDCs are available herehere.

• Community and Voluntary Organisations that are incorporated and/or are registered charities should check their eligibility for the Community and Voluntary Energy Support Scheme. Further details are available on the Pobal website.

Funding for each Local Authority area