Tipperary groups awarded €85,000 grant to establish Local Area Child Poverty Action Plans.
The groups will work on a joint project
Two groups in Tipperary are to receive €85,000 in funding for a joint project to develop a Local Area Child Poverty Action Plan.
The funding was announced today by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman.
Tipperary Children and Young People’s Service Committees and Tipperary Local Community and Development Committee submitted an application which was one of four chosen out of 23.
The grants are funded by dormant accounts under the What Works Initiative.
Minister O'Gorman said the initiative aims to take a coordinated approach to enhance capacity, knowledge and quality in prevention and early intervention for children, young people and their families, with a focus on those at risk of developing poor outcomes.
"These four projects are undertaking important initiatives to better support innovation and collaboration between local organisations to enhance communications, knowledge sharing and joint working to respond to child poverty issues at local level.
"I look forward to seeing these pilots implemented and making a real difference to the lives of children, young people and their families,” said Minister O'Gorman.
The fund for all projects totals €378,000.
Under this scheme, Children and Young People’s Service Committees (CYPSC) and their Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) were invited to submit a joint application for up to €100,000 in funding to design and implement a pilot plan that will respond to their local realities and contexts while utilising existing co-ordination structures.
The other three projects were Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and Wicklow Children and Young People’s Service Committees and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown and Wicklow Local Community and Development Committee, Kildare Children and Young People’s Service Committees and Kildare Local Community and Development Committee and Monaghan Children and Young People’s Service Committees and Monaghan Local Community and Development Committee.
The project in Tipperary aims to enhance living conditions and reduce child poverty by improving energy efficiency and service integration.
Welcoming the announcement, Taoiseach Simon Harris said he was delighted to see the funding awarded.
“I am particularly encouraged to see that all four pilots will explore how to enhance access to vital supports in the areas of early years, food and fuel poverty, for those facing challenging circumstances, and for disadvantaged families with neurodivergent children”.
"We are fortunate to have many outstanding family and children’s services in Ireland, but sometimes they can be difficult to access and navigate, especially for families in poverty.
"These pilots will allow us to learn from innovative and practical action and will move us closer to making sure service integration means every child gets the service they need, when they need it – a key priority area in my Child Poverty and Well-being Programme Plan.”