Our Rural Future: Minister Humphreys announces €2.3 million in Dormant Accounts Funding to support social enterprises
- Foilsithe: 24 Márta 2023
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 12 Aibreán 2025
Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys has today announced a €2.3 million investment to support social enterprises nationwide.
Some €1.4 million is today being announced to support 19 organisations under the Scaling-up Fund for Social Enterprises initiative.
And a further €890,000 will be provided to social enterprises via Rethink Ireland and Community Finance Ireland.
Examples of the Social Enterprises to benefit under the scheme include:
County Roscommon Disability Support Group Company - €66,000: To fund a designated training room for carers.
Darndale-Belcamp Village Centre, Co Dublin- €40,675: To fund an additional van to provide essential maintenance services, serving the elderly and those living alone.
No Barriers Foundation, Co Donegal - €100,000: To fund the purchase of equipment for senior exercise to improve the strength, fitness and mobility of their clients.
Announcing the allocations, Minister Humphreys said:
“I am delighted to confirm today that a further 19 social enterprises will benefit under the Scaling Up Fund which I launched last year. This funding will directly enable social enterprises to develop and expand the vital services that they provide in communities all across Ireland."
Minister Humphreys also confirmed the launch of the new Social Finance Hybrid Pilot Scheme for Social Enterprise. This scheme will be co-funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development in conjunction with Community Finance Ireland and Rethink Ireland. Some 20 social enterprises will now be able access the scheme for a hybrid package of financial and non-financial supports.
The Minister commented:
“This new initiative will directly address some of the barriers that start-up social enterprises have experienced in getting access to loans and establishing credit ratings. This will allow social enterprises to build their businesses and provide them with much needed financial flexibility. I am delighted to be able to deliver this innovative new model in conjunction with Community Finance Ireland and Rethink Ireland. I would like to commend the role that so many social enterprises are playing in communities across Ireland. They play a key role in creating jobs, providing goods and services, and delivering real benefits in communities.”
The department will contribute €890,000 in co-funding to the initiative, and Community Finance Ireland will make available approximately €500,000 for the repayable loans portion of the scheme. Rethink Ireland will administer the scheme, and it is envisaged that approximately 20 social enterprises will benefit from the scheme, over two calls for applications.
A list of recommended Social Enterprises under the Scaling-Up Fund for Social Enterprises is set out in Appendix A.
Further details of the Social Finance Hybrid Pilot Scheme for Social Enterprise are available on the Rethink Ireland website.
Appendix A
Social Enterprises recommended for funding under the Social Enterprise Scaling-up Scheme 2023 Medium-scale Capital Funding
| Number | Organisation name | County | Details | Total grant |
| 1 | Dublin | €40,675 | ||
| 2 | Dublin | €87,347 | ||
| 3 | Roscommon | €66,000 | ||
| 4 | Dublin Food Co-operative Society Limited | Dublin | €72,087 | |
| 5 | Letterkenny Community Centre CLG | Donegal | €100,000 | |
| 6 | Roscommon | €41,038 | ||
| 7 | Simon Community (Galway) | Galway | €40,750 | |
| 8 | Limerick | €72,412 | ||
| 9 | COPE Galway Company Limited by Guarantee | Galway | €63,548 | |
| 10 | GIY Ireland Company Limited By Guarantee | Waterford | €97,772 | |
| 11 | Donegal | €100,000 | ||
| 12 | Clare | €100,000 | ||
| 13 | Wexford | €56,634 | ||
| 14 | Sligo | €86,387 | ||
| 15 | Ionad Cois Locha Company Limited By Guarantee | Donegal | €100,000 | |
| 16 | Mayo | €100,000 | ||
| 17 | Monaghan | €30,195 | ||
| 18 | Limerick | €79,672 | ||
| 19 | Churchfield Community Trust | Cork | €56,710 |
Notes
Social Enterprises
Social enterprises are businesses whose core objective is to achieve a social, societal, or environmental impact. Like other businesses, social enterprises pursue their objectives by trading in goods and services on an ongoing basis. However, surpluses generated by social enterprises are re-invested into achieving the core social objectives.
They frequently work to support disadvantaged groups such as the long-term unemployed, people with disabilities, travellers, or to address issues such as food poverty, social housing, or environmental matters.
National policy
Ireland’s first National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland 2019-2022 was launched by the Department of Rural and Community Development on 18 July 2019, with the objective of creating an enabling environment for social enterprise to grow and contribute more fully to Ireland’s social and economic progress.
The Policy is focused on three main objectives:
1. Building Awareness of Social Enterprise
2. Growing and Strengthening Social Enterprise
3. Achieving Better Policy Alignment
Work has started on developing a new policy in partnership with stakeholders. This will include a public consultation followed by publication of the policy later in the year.
Dormant Accounts Fund
The Dormant Accounts Acts 2001-2012, together with the Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Act 2003, provide a framework for the administration of unclaimed accounts in credit institutions (that is, banks, building societies and An Post) and unclaimed life assurance policies in insurance undertakings.
The main purpose of the legislation is to reunite account or policy holders with their funds in credit institutions or insurance undertakings and in this regard, these bodies are required to take steps to identify and contact the owners of dormant accounts and unclaimed life assurance policies.
However, in order to utilise the un-used funds in dormant accounts and unclaimed policies to best effect, the legislation also introduced a scheme for the disbursement of funds that are unlikely to be reclaimed from dormant accounts and unclaimed policies for the purposes of measures to assist:
1. the personal and social development of persons who are economically or socially disadvantaged;
2. the educational development of persons who are educationally disadvantaged; or
3. persons with a disability
Social Enterprises work in many ways to assist people in these categories.