Over €73,000 Secured For Clare Community Response To Covid-19

Some €73,704 in funding has been secured for Clare’s Community Call response to Covid-19, Deputy Joe Carey announced today.

The Covid-19 Emergency Fund will provide immediate and urgently needed funding to local groups that are participating in the Government’s ‘Community Call’ initiative, which is being led here by Clare County Council in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deputy Carey, who has been helping to deliver meals to the vulnerable with Obair Newmarket-on-Fergus in recent weeks, said: “Local community and voluntary groups here in Clare are supporting significant numbers of vulnerable people, many of whom are self-isolating, to get through this crisis.

“This Fund will help these groups to cover the costs of their fantastic work. This is a response to support immediate and emergency efforts by community and voluntary groups in assisting people locally.

“It is recognised that there are wider challenges and impacts facing the community and voluntary sector as a whole, but this initiative will help to provide support to community groups that are delivering services at the frontline.

“Priority will be provided to organisations which incur costs on direct delivery of frontline services to people, such as Meals on Wheels and other similar activities. These individual grants will generally be modest in nature, however it is expected that higher amounts will provided where the need is greatest,” Deputy Carey said.

The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring, added: “My Department has allocated a total of €2.5 million funding to Local Authorities, and Local Authorities will now administer the funding to groups involved in the Community Call effort. Local Authorities will be making contact with those groups participating in Community Call in the very near future with further details. The need for funding assistance will be kept under review.

“Collaboration and partnership between the community and voluntary sector and the State are key to coordinating and responding to the needs of our communities and supporting people at this time. These groups are making a real difference to help individuals at this unprecedented time.”