Cii Welcomes Additional €10M for COVID-19 Stability Fund

As described by the Minister for Finance himself the almost €18 billion (€17.75 billion) budget package announced yesterday was “unprecedented in both size and scale in the history of the Irish State.”

It was a budget drawn up on the assumption that we will continue to feel the presence of the Covid-19 virus in the country next year and the absence of a vaccine. And looming in the background was the ever-present threat of a no-deal Brexit.

So how did the biggest budget in the history of the State stack up for the charity and community sector?

Firstly, Charities Institute Ireland welcomes the additional €10 million for the Covid-19 Stability Fund for Community and Voluntary Organisations.

This additional funding will build on the €35million we and many others worked so hard to secure a number of months ago.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector’s ability to generate revenue through fundraised and earned income threatens the very existence of many organisations and, for many brings the ability to maintain existing supports and services into question. We were pleased to see a further commitment from the Government in this area.

It has been an incredibly difficult year for our sector, and we are envisaging that the total losses felt across the sector will be somewhere in the region of €450m. Yesterday’s budget announcement is certainly positive for the sector however it is likely we will need more.   

There were also significant funding announcements across many public services which charities provide.

Key announcements for the sector:

• An additional €22 million will be provided to support homelessness programmes including additional beds and the introduction of a Cold Weather initiative
• An increase in supports for volunteering to €5.1m
• €20m additional funding for voluntary disability services to provide support to the ‘Transforming Lives’ programme
• €10m for voluntary hospices
• €100m for new disability measures
• €38 million set aside and made available to implement new measures under the ‘Sharing the Vision’ plan
• The extension of the vital Employee Support Scheme
• €867 million for overseas development assistance (ODA)
• An increase in the Living Alone Allowance by €5 to €19
• An increase in the Fuel Allowance by €3.50 per week to €28 to compensate those on lower incomes for the additional energy costs they are likely to incur due to carbon tax changes
• An increase in The Carer's Support Grant by €150 to €1,850 per year

While allocations made yesterday will be welcomed by many, the potential for the Covid pandemic to create greater need across many citizens within our sector still exists. Cii will continue to work with Government to seek and secure further supports.

As Minister Joe O’Brien told us at our recent conference the VAT compensation scheme will not be reviewed until next year. Cii will be making a strong case to Government for this to happen next year.