€1.7M Social Regeneration Funding Continuation Assured For Ballymun – Rock

Ballymun TD Noel Rock has this morning announced the details of the continuation of Ballymun Social Regeneration Funding, which confirms €1.7M for Ballymun from the Department of the Environment in 2017 and provides a roadmap for the future of the fund from 2017-2021 and beyond.

Announcing the funding, Deputy Rock said: “I am pleased that following extensive discussions between myself, the Minister, the Department of Environment and their discussions with Dublin City Council, that an assurance has been received around the €1.7m funding contribution for many important projects in Ballymun up to and beyond the end of 2017”.

“The structure of the handover is a little bit complex, but in effect assures that the Department of the Environment will fully directly fund these projects up to and including the end of 2017 and that the funding will then transfer sequentially from the Department of Environment to Dublin City Council as follows:

2017 – 100% Department of Environment / 0% Dublin City Council
2018 – 75% Department of Environment / 25% Dublin City Council
2019 – 50% Department of Environment / 50% Dublin City Council
2020 – 25% Department of Environment / 75% Dublin City Council
2021 and beyond – 0% Department of Environment / 100% Dublin City Council”

“This agreement follows extensive representations from myself, meetings with Minister Simon Coveney, meetings with his officials and extensive discussions between Dublin City Council and the Department of the Environment. This deal assured the future for a number of worthy organisations such as the AXIS in Ballymun, and I was glad to speak to them this morning to confirm the details”.

Deputy Rock added: “I have spoken to the Department of the Environment who have assured me that the funds for these projects will be ring fenced within Dublin City Council, and that written confirmation of same will follow in the days ahead. This gives me assurance for the future but the confirmation of ring fencing is an important component”.

“I was glad to have the Minister for the Environment Simon Coveney visit Ballymun last week and am grateful for his direct role in assuring this outcome and the certainty that it provides. It was important to get the details of this right, to make sure funding would happen until the end of 2017 in the first instance, and to ensure proper ring fencing of the funding when it is transferred to Dublin City Council and I have spent the last few weeks working to achieve this. I am satisfied with this outcome, and it is simply the first step of many big plans for a brighter future for Ballymun. Let it be clear: myself, Simon Coveney and Cllr Norma Sammon worked hard to ensure this funding for Ballymun for years to come, and we delivered”.

Councillor Norma Sammon, speaking on the matter, added: “The work that important organisation such as Axis, the Aisling Project and DCU in the Community do cannot be underestimated and this funding is vital to the continuance of this great work. I welcome this commitment and wish to thank Simon Coveney for his direct assistance”.