Over €23,000 allocated to Lullymore Heritage And Discovery Park under Community Services Programme
Minister Joe O’Brien announces €1 million funding to create 42 new CSP positions
Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, Joe O’Brien TD, has today (TBC) announced funding for 42 additional positions under the Community Services Programme (CSP).
€23,175 has been allocated to Lullymore Heritage And Discovery Park under the CSP.
A total of 32 organisations across Ireland are set to benefit from the investment which will see approximately €1 million in additional funding allocated to the programme.
The CSP supports community-based organisations to provide local social, economic and environmental services through a social enterprise model.
It aims to tackle disadvantage by providing a co-funding contribution towards the cost of employing a manager and full-time equivalent (FTE) positions.
Today’s announcement follows a call for additional funding requests to existing CSP services, which took place in September 2023.
The investment results in an extra seven Managers and 35 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) positions being supported.
Announcing the newly funded positions today, Minister Joe O’Brien said, “I am delighted to announce these additional posts for the Community Services Programme, and to extend the capacity of our CSP organisations to deliver vital services in our communities.”
Minister O’Brien added, “The organisations supported under the Community Services Programme provide a wealth of services to meet the needs of their communities, while also providing local employment and contributing to sustainable, inclusive and empowered communities. I am committed to continuing to support these organisations and am delighted to announce the funding for these additional posts.”
The Community Services Programme has evolved over recent years, and in line with emerging priorities, a new needs-based differential funding model was introduced from January 2023.
An increase in the funding contributions to CSP organisations was announced in December 2023, to help CSP organisations to implement the increased national minimum wage for all staff.
The CSP contribution supports organisations to meet local service gaps and provide access to services and facilities that would potentially otherwise be unavailable.
There are currently 449 community based services supported by the CSP through 429 organisations throughout the country.