Today, the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, has announced the allocation of over €3 million worth of funding for community safety projects.
30 projects who are currently adopting projects to improve safety in their communities will receive funding.
Grants have been awarded under this fund to organisations or community groups that have innovative proposals to improve community safety and have not been able to access any other sources of funding.
Under Budget 2024, €7.9m will be allocated towards community safety initiatives, including €3.75m for the Community Safety Innovation Fund. This is almost a €1 million increase compared to last year.
Minister McEntee released a statement earlier today about the funding, explaining, “I’ve said consistently that the people who are best placed to know and respond to local safety issues are communities themselves”.
“It’s vital that we empower our communities to proactively address safety concerns and in the process build stronger, safer communities”.
“This fund reflects the continued successes of An Garda Síochána and the Criminal Assets Bureau seizing the ill-gotten gains of criminals. That’s why I’m delighted that we have been able to increase the size of this fund to €3.75 million under Budget 2024”.
The Minister added, “Putting this money back into the community is a really tangible way of showing that there can be a direct link between the activities of law enforcement and improved feelings of community safety”.
Some of the themes that this year’s applicants focused on include projects aimed at reducing anti-social behaviour, improving feelings of safety in the community, supporting victims of sexual and domestic violence, promoting pro-social behaviour through education and sport, and supporting those experiencing drug-related intimidation.
Minister McEntee will visit two projects who will be receiving funding from this year’s Community Safety Innovation Fund today. The Minister will visit The Esker Project in Athlone, who will receive €101,903 funding for a Domestic Abuse Community Awareness and Training project.
This project aims to create awareness of the prevalence and signs of domestic abuse and to build capacity within the community to respond appropriately and effectively to create safer communities for victims of gender based violence and domestic abuse.
McEntee will also visit the ‘Be Safe in Your Space’ project, run by Cultúr Celebrating Diversity in Navan, Co. Meath, who are strengthening relationships between migrant communities and An Garda Síochána.
‘Be Safe in Your Space’ will receive €150,000 and seeks to improve relationships and build trust between An Garda Síochána and migrant communities, while raising the migrant communities’ awareness of rights and laws in Ireland. In addition, it also seeks to give migrant parents the skills and confidence to deal with antisocial behaviour in their children.
