32 organisations are set to benefit from fresh investment in the programme, which aims to tackle disadvantage through a social enterprise model.
Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, Joe O’Brien has announced funding for 42 additional positions under the Community Services Programme (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.
This announcement follows a call for additional funding requests to existing CSP services, which took place in September 2023.
The investment will result in an extra seven managers and 35 full time equivalent (FTE) positions being supported.
Minister O’Brien commented: “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.”
“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.
The full list of organisations can be found here
