*Cllr Joe Cooney at Riverside Park in Scariff. Photograph: Ruth Griffin
COMMUNITY groups have been advised that projects need to be “shovel ready” when looking for Government funding.
An appeal for Clare County Council to compile a comprehensive list of all grants available to community organisations this year and to circulate it to the secretary of each group was issued by Cllr PJ Ryan (IND).
Supports for community groups at local level from the Government has increased in recent years, Director of Services with the Council, Leonard Cleary noted. He said the local authority invested in community projects through the General Municipal Allocation and the Community Support Scheme. “The rural and community development will compile a list of grants for 2022 and will circulate details to all community groups on our data base,” Cleary stated.
Deadlines often pass community groups unaware to them, Cllr Ryan flagged. “The amount of people that say to me when a date has passed that they never knew there was a grant for this or that is very common”. He said the details should also accommodate persons that are not tech savvy who can sometimes miss out on a grant due to their inability to access websites.
Points of contact for further information would also be helpful, Cllr Michael Begley (IND) commented. “Community groups when they find out a grant is available they don’t know who to contact, there are so many available and it’s fantastic we’ve money available for community groups”. Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) agreed, “Trying to navigate who to look for and get grants has been an issue”.
Councillors would be aided by a workshop on the subject, Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) believed, “there are a myriad of grant schemes out there at the moment”. The Lisdoonvarna native added, “we are all in a frenzy to try make sure we don’t lose out on an opportunity”.
Each Municipal District is equipped with a rural and community development officer to help elected representatives and community groups, Cleary told a meeting of the Council. He said circulation of the details in different formats could be arranged. He advised, “all projects need to be shovel ready when they are submitted to the Department, the costings for the project need to be ready to go”. Cleary acknowledged, “Refusal can cause a lot of upset for volunteers”.
Cllr Ryan praised groups in Clarecastle, Sixmilebridge and Newmarket-on-Fergus who were “always ready” when it came to applications. “I’ve tried to get my own people in Cratloe to be ready, we’re now working with the people of Shannon, further down in East Clare, the people don’t seem to be ready,” the Mayor of Clare observed.
