Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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13. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development to provide an update on the Social Innovation Fund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49609/23]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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639. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development to report of the successes achieved through the Social Innovation Fund; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49994/23]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 639 together.

Rethink Ireland (previously Social Innovation Fund Ireland) is a charity created by the Government in 2013. Launched in 2016, Rethink is an organisation set up by the Government to stimulate philanthropy and aid the development of social innovation in Ireland. The organisation has done this by establishing a philanthropic fund of significant size and impact to aid the development of social innovation.

As a partnership between the private sector and Government, Rethink Ireland has been funded from the Dormant Accounts Fund through contractual funding arrangements since its creation in 2013. The business model which these arrangements support is for Government funding to match the philanthropic donations on a 50:50 co-funded basis i.e., every euro raised in philanthropic funding is matched by Government. However, this is subject to budget allocations as part of the estimates process.

The current five-year contract between Rethink Ireland and my Department runs from January 2021 to December 2025 and provides match funding to a maximum of €5.5m per annum. In 2022, my Department provided a total of €5.5m to Rethink from the Dormant Accounts Fund.

It should also be noted that, while my Department provides the majority of its match-funding, Rethink Ireland have also received funding from other Departments and my Department encourages these partnerships.

To date, with philanthropic and Government support, Rethink Ireland has created a €96 million Social Innovation Fund and created 54 individual funds across five key themes of Health, Education, Equality, Social Enterprise, and Climate. These funds have reached over 829,000 people and supported 2,700 people into employment. During 2022, Rethink supported 185 awardees with a total Fund value of €42.7 million.

The Social Innovation Fund assists innovative non-profit organisations working in communities across the country, to help innovations rise to the challenges of the most pressing issues across the five themes. Cash grants and business supports enable social innovations to develop and maximise their impact within their communities.

On a related note, my Department is currently developing a National Philanthropy Policy. The policy aims to set out specific actions to enable philanthropy to grow and thrive in Ireland for social good. Once finalised, it will identify the supports required for the sector to thrive and maximise its potential. One of the key objectives of the new strategy will be around strengthening Government and Sectoral partnerships.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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14. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if there will be another round of the Community Recognition Fund in 2024. [49717/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Community Recognition Fund recognises the huge efforts made by communities going to great lengths in welcoming and supporting people coming to Ireland.

Funding of €50 million for over 880 projects is supporting towns and villages nationwide that have shown such generosity in welcoming people from Ukraine and other countries.

The Fund aims to support the development of facilities that will be used in the future by all members of the community. It is important to note that this is separate from other public funding streams which aim to support the development of public service needs arising from the significant number of new arrivals into Ireland.

Through this initiative, communities are being assisted to develop projects such as large-scale multi-purpose sports facilities, walkways, cycle paths, playgrounds, equipment for sports clubs and community festivals. Vehicles have also been funded to address transport needs in communities.

I have been delighted with the very positive response to this Fund. €50 million for almost 900 projects is an unprecedented level of investment in community facilities. We need to make sure that this investment translates into projects on the ground that have a real impact in our communities.

A key priority for me now is to ensure that the range of projects approved across the country are delivered in a timely manner. Once we see good progress in delivering these projects, we can then assess the potential for a further round of funding within the context of overall budgetary resources.

I look forward to seeing projects coming to fruition across the country in the coming months.