Mullooly: Community groups deserve new EU fund to access bridging finance

A European election candidate has called for the provision of a 'special bridging finance fund' exclusively for community projects, to assist them to apply for state and EU funding.

Mr Mullooly was speaking on a visit to SCCUL Enterprise Centre in Ballybane, and said that social enterprises around the country are doing work on the ground, that the government should be doing: “Groups of volunteers are operating community facilities, cleaning up towns, providing meals on wheels and other social services. They give their time and expertise freely. They deserve to have the job of work they are doing made that little but easier."

The solution
Independent Ireland candidate and former RTE journalist, Ciaran Mullooly, said that the requirement to fully fund grant applications by community groups, before they can draw down the money, is making it difficult, and in some cases, practically impossible, for valuable community projects to succeed. Mullooly has been involved in community development as a volunteer and administrator for over 30 years, delivering projects as part of a team, in areas such as tidy towns, social inclusion and sports and recreation.

“There are many worthwhile projects which never get off the ground,” Mr Mullooly said, continuing: “Because the applicant group of volunteers doesn't have the money to fully pay for the project, in advance, which is a requirement of most grants. If they had the money, they wouldn’t need the grant in the first place.”

"The grant process is cumbersome and requires that any monies applied for, have had to be spent, before the grant can be paid.  This is putting an unreasonable burden on these volunteers,” Mullooly said. continuing: “State and EU grants such as LEADER, and Sports Capital Grants, not only require that the money be paid up front, but only part of it is recoverable. Where can these groups of volunteers reasonably get access to the type of funds required?”

Mr Mullooly is proposing that a fund be established which would be exclusively available to social enterprise groups, at low interest rates. He said that a survey carried out by IPSOS MRBI after the Covid pandemic, confirmed that up to one million people, a fifth of the population, was engaged in unpaid voluntary activity in Ireland, supporting and assisting those in the vulnerable sector.

“This will recognise the significant personal contribution made by the voluntary sector to the economic development of the country, and the huge personal commitment to caring for the aged and unwell within the community, and the regeneration of rural communities,” Mullooly said. 

“Independent Ireland will completely review the existing procedures for the claim process for grants for CLGs, Co-ops and other entities. With the assistance of the European Commission and the parliament, we will introduce changes to make the process easier. 

Campaign tour
Last week, Mr Mullooly visited the wonderful volunteers and service users at SCCUL Enterprise Centre in Galway where he engaged with the local community and heard their concerns. No stranger to the highways and byways of the regions, the former Midlands Correspondent for RTE is touring the sprawling fifteen county Midlands-North West constituency, and is encouraging local groups to get in contact with him: "I'm a community worker and have been for most of my life. I understand the challenges community groups face but I am interested in hearing from various groups around the country who would like to highlight their concerns to me. If groups want advice or guidance, visit ciaranmullooly.com and get in contact."

"Special provision will also be made for agencies such as the Western Development Commission to oversee the bridging finance facility. Any group with two years’ audited accounts, and in good standing, should have access to these funds. The fund would only need to be established once, because loans would be repaid directly by the funder when the grants were eventually drawn down, and this money would then be available to subsequent applicant groups. This would play a huge role in rural and urban regeneration and ensure more balanced regional development.

Fitzmaurice endorsement
Mr Mullooly is contesting the five-seat, fifteen-county, Midlands–North-West constituency in the European elections. He has spent the three years since his retirement from RTE (where he was Midlands Correspondent) working in the community sector. He is running, he says, for the Independent Ireland Party after an invitation from Roscommon-Galway TD, Michael Fitzmaurice.

“We have a job of work to do, to support the community development and farming sectors where they are challenged by new legislation coming from Europe, and Ciaran Mullooly has the vast necessary experience to do it,” Fitzmaurice said, “that’s why I am asking the electorate to give Ciaran their number one vote in the European Parliament Elections on June 7th throughout the West, Midlands and North-West.”

Notes to the editor:
Photo Captions
8507 CENTER USERS CM
Independent European Parliament Election candidate Ciaran Mullooly meeting service users at SCCUL Centre Ballybane, county Galway. Back (left to right): Alice Waring and Margaret Spellman. Front: Ann Spellman and Joanne Laffey the centre manager.

8514 CENTRE USERS 2
Independent Ireland candidate Ciaran Mullooly meets local resident Charles Cooley, at the SCCUL Centre Ballybane, County Galway

8519 ENTERPRISE CENTRE CM
Election candidate Ciaran Mullooly chats with Joanne Laffey, the manager of the SCCUL Centre Ballybane, county Galway about the challenges facing the community and voluntary sector.


240428    Ciaran Mullooly BGR = Profile 
Ciaran Mullooly, MEP candidate, Midlands-North West


Audio-04-27-2024-17-44-44 (1).mp3
Audio: Ciaran Mullooly, MEP candidate, Midlands-North West speaking about his proposal