Gang proceeds to fund 33 local safety projects
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Over €3 million taken from the country’s gangs is going towards more than 30 local projects aimed at boosting community safety.
The grants range from €27,000 to €183,000 and fund initiatives to combat anti-social behaviour, drug-related intimidation, social exclusion, and divert young people from crime.
Funding is earmarked for community safety wardens on a pilot basis in Limerick and Cork, with continued funding for the same in Dublin’s north inner city.
A total of 10 projects in Dublin got grants this year, with four each in Limerick and Longford, two each in Cork, Louth, Waterford and Wexford and one in Galway, Sligo, Meath and Westmeath.
The 33 grants given by the Community Safety Fund are from proceeds of crime seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau and Gardaí.
The Cork Business Association and Limerick City and County Council will hire community safety wardens to work with residents, businesses, and gardaí to help prevent crime and improve public safety.
Also in Cork the CEART Consortium, led by Amicita, is running a project aimed at addressing the needs of vulnerable young adults.
In Limerick, the Rathkeale Together Project got a grant for ‘The Hideout' drop-in centre, for young people between 12 and 18, opening 4-9pm every day.
Ballyfermot Youth Service in west Dublin received €150,000 to employ two outdoor education instructors to work with “disaffected young people”.
Longford Local Community Safety Partnership is funded for two projects, including ‘Sport for Change’, aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour and supporting disadvantaged communities.
Merchants Quay Ireland in Dublin got a grant to set up a peer engagement service to address criminal and anti-social behaviour related to drug use.
Waterford Local Community Safety Partnership received money to run an eight-week educational program to target anti-social behaviour related to e-scooters, e-bikes, and scramblers.
A national nine-week programme on ‘Non-violent Resistance’ will be hosted by the ISPCC for parents experiencing child-to-parent violence.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the Community Safety Fund would increase to €4m in 2025.