Community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises in Dublin Mid West should apply for funding under the €35 million COVID-19 Stability Fund, a Fine Gael deputy has said. Deputy Emer Higgins said: “Following last Friday’s announcement of a €40 million funding package for the sector, applications are now being invited from today for the €35 million Stability Fund. “The funding will be prioritised for those organisations which are most in need and have seen their trading and/or fundraising income drop significantly during the crisis.
“The Fund will provide immediate, short-term cash flow to qualifying organisations which provide critical services to those most vulnerable in society and allow them to maintain their valuable services. “As a society we depend greatly on these organisations and I would like to thank them for their contribution to the inspiring community response to the current crisis in Dublin Mid West.”
Deputy Higgins added: “The funding for this initiative will be provided from the Dormant Accounts Fund and will provide a once-off grant to qualifying organisations. The Fund will focus on organisations providing supports and services in the following sectors:
* Health and Social Care (including addiction, disability and mental health)
* Child and Family Services (including counselling/therapies)
* Domestic/Sexual/Gender based violence
* Housing/Homelessness
* Community Services (e.g. meals on wheels/befriending services/old age supports/vulnerable people’s support groups etc.)
* Community Education Sector
Deputy Higgins continued: “The application process for the Stability Fund is straightforward. It will be open for a period of ten days in order to facilitate organisations that wish to be considered for funding. A link to the application process can be found on the Department of Rural and Community Development’s website. www.gov.ie/drcd. “Pobal have also prepared full additional information regarding the application process which can be found at www.pobal.ie. “I would encourage all eligible charities, social enterprises and community and voluntary organisations here in Dublin Mid West to fully engage with the application process and contact Pobal at stabilityscheme@pobal.ie if you have any queries.
Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring, said: “Organisations will be required to demonstrate the impact that the crisis has had on their services and applications will be prioritised according to need. “Pobal, which works on behalf of the Government to support communities and local agencies toward achieving social inclusion and development, will administer the Stability Fund on behalf of the Department of Rural and Community Development.” This new funding is being provided in addition to more than €45 million in funding announced last November for the Dormant Accounts Action Plan 2020. This plan allocated funding for 43 separate measures to be delivered across nine Government Departments to benefit disadvantaged groups.
