Parliamentary Question addressed to the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government

To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if funding is in place to continue the Deaf Advocacy Service of the Irish Deaf Society when the current programme runs out; and if he will make a statement on the matter?

The funding Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO) in the community and voluntary sector aims to provide multi-annual funding to national organisations towards core costs associated with the provision of services. Applications for a new round of funding, which commenced on 1 July 2014, were subject to an appraisal process.  55 applications were approved for funding for the two-year period from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2016. A number of previously funded organisations were not approved for funding on this occasion.

On 18 July 2014, it was announced that bridging funding of €1.4million would be allocated for a twelve month period to a number of previously funded health, disability and other organisations that were not approved for funding under the new scheme, pending the carrying out of a review of the public funding of national organisations in the health and disability sector.

On 25 May 2015 I announced that that funding will be provided from 1 July this year to 30June 2016 to a number of health, disability and other organisations following a review in relation to the impact of the cessation of their current funding on 30 June 2015.

Funding of €1.32 million is being made available for this 12 month period to organisations, currently funded under a bridging scheme which was put in place to support the majority of organisations who were unsuccessful in their applications under the Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO) but had received funding previously from it up to 30 June 2014 and submitted a valid application in 2014. This further supportwill be based on current levels of funding to the organisations in question and is being provided through a Developmental Scheme to Support National Organisations.The funding to be provided to each organisation is set outin the table below.

It is envisaged that the new Scheme to Support National Organisations will be advertised in early 2016 and all groups will be required to apply for funding under the Scheme and meet the criteria required for funding.    The funding over the next 12 months will give time for organisations to prepare their applications.