Donegal County Council and the Donegal Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) are inviting Expressions of Interest from Community groups in the county for funding under the Communities Recognition Fund for Capital Projects.
The Community Recognition Fund 2023 was launched recently by the Minister of Rural & Community Development, Heather Humphries TD.
This Fund aims to support the development of community infrastructure and facilities in recognition of the contribution being made by communities across the country in welcoming and hosting significant numbers of arrivals from Ukraine and other countries.
The funding is specifically targeted at projects that are located in communities, towns and villages that are hosting the Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection and/or International Protection Applicants.
The Fund aims to support the development of facilities that will be used in the future by all members of the community. It is separate in its objectives and scope to any other public funding streams which aim to support the development of public service needs arising from the significant number of arrivals from Ukraine.
€50 million is available nationally under the Fund and this is allocated between each local authority based on the number of new arrivals located there. On this basis, the allocation to County Donegal is €3,114,395.
Launching the Scheme Minister Heather Humphries said “This Fund is recognising the vital role our communities are playing as we continue to deal with many challenges, not least the war in Ukraine. I would like to encourage communities to engage directly with their local authorities in the coming weeks to ensure that high quality projects can be delivered, benefitting their towns and villages for years to come.”
Welcoming the fund, Cllr Niamh Kennedy, Chairperson of Donegal LCDC said “Donegal LCDC acknowledge the enormous contribution Communities throughout the County have made in welcoming and hosting people coming to their areas who are beneficiaries of Temporary Protection and/or International Protection Applicants.
We welcome this Scheme, which will provide funding for developments which will benefit the entire Community in recognition of the support they have shown to people from Ukraine and other countries who have come into to their communities.
Closing date: The closing date for receipt of applications to the Scheme is 3.00pm on Monday, 6th March 2023.
Further details and application form are available at https://www.donegalcoco.ie/community/fundingforyourgroup/communityrecognitionfund2023/#d.en.33574
The deadline for receipt of completed EOI applications is 3pm on Monday, 6th March 2023.
