Department of Rural and Community Development
Local Enhancement Programme 2025
Guidelines
Please read the following guidelines carefully before completing the application form
1. Introduction
The Department of Rural and Community Development (“the Department”) funds the Local Enhancement Programme (LEP) which provides funding to support community groups across Ireland.
The Local Enhancement Programme 2025 will support groups, particularly in disadvantaged areas, with funding to carry out necessary repairs and improvements to their facilities, and to purchase equipment for example tables and chairs, tools and signage, laptops and printers, lawnmowers, canopies and training equipment etc.
Facilities improvement works may also include, but are not limited to; improved access for persons with a disability; enhancing community participation for disadvantaged and marginalised groups, and; improving energy efficiency of community facilities to reduce ongoing costs.
This funding will help communities, community groups and committees, allowing them to continue to provide valuable services to the people in their area, and in the process strengthen the bonds that tie communities together.
The scheme is designed to ensure local priorities are identified and met, so as to improve and enhance community facilities for all. It is administered by Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) in each Local Authority area.
The Department has recommended that LCDCs ring-fence 30% funding to provide small capital grants of €1,000 or less. Ring-fencing funding at this level will allow a larger volume of those with limited resources to receive some funding. The programme can also fund or partially fund larger scale projects to address disadvantage.
Applications should relate to one or more key priority areas identified in their LCDC’s Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP) in order to be eligible for consideration.
GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
§ The Local Enhancement Programme will support groups, particularly in disadvantaged areas, to carry out necessary repairs and improvements to their facilities and purchase equipment.
§ This is a capital funding scheme. The scheme does not provide funding for the pay or employment of staff, or towards current ‘operating’ costs such as utility bills, etc.
§ The activity or project must benefit the local community and relate to the key priority areas identified in the LECP.
§ The information supplied by the applicant group /organisation must be accurate and complete.
§ Inaccurate or incomplete information may lead to disqualification and/or the repayment of any grant made.
§ All information provided in respect of the application for a grant will be held electronically. The Department reserves the right to publish a list of all grants awarded on its website.
§ The Freedom of Information Act applies to all records held by the Department and Local Authorities, including applications received and any additional correspondence related to the application.
§ The application must be signed by the Chairperson, Secretary or Treasurer of the organisation making the application.
§ It is the responsibility of each organisation to ensure that it has proper procedures and policies in place, including appropriate insurance, where relevant.
§ Evidence of expenditure, receipts /invoices must be retained and provided to the LCDC, the Department of Rural and Community Development, the relevant local authority or any agent acting on their behalf if requested.
§ Grant monies must be expended and drawn down from the LCDC by 31st December 2025. Photographic evidence may be required to facilitate draw down of grants.
§ The Department of Rural and Community Development’s contribution must be publicly acknowledged in all materials associated with the purpose of the grant, including signage.
§ Generally, no third party or intermediary applications will be considered.
§ Late applications will not be considered.
§ All applications will be submitted via the DLR online grants application system by 1pm on Friday 21 February 2025. Where a group does not have the capacity to submit an application electronically, support will be provided to facilitate this.
§ Breaches of the terms and conditions of the grants scheme may result in sanctions including disbarment from future grant applications.
§ Please ensure the application form is completed in full. Incomplete applications will not be considered for funding.
§ In order to process your application it may be necessary for Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to collect personal data from you. Such information will be processed in line with the Local Authority’s privacy statement which is available to view at https://www.dlrcoco.ie/gdpr-foi/data-protection-and-dlr
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown LCDC has determined that applications can be made by 1pm on Friday 21st February 2025
2. Who is eligible to apply?
Any not-for-profit community or voluntary group can apply.
Commercial organisations and individuals are not eligible for funding.
3. What projects are eligible for funding?
3a. What costs are eligible for funding?
The following provides a non-exhaustive list of projects that could receive capital funding under the programme:
Development/renovation of community centres
Accessibility improvements
Community amenities
Development of youth clubs or facilities
Development of sports/recreation facilities
Improvements to town parks and common areas and spaces
CCTV equipment
Public realm improvements
Streetscaping
Development of play/recreation spaces
Improving energy efficiency of community facilities to reduce ongoing costs
Purchase of equipment
Purchase of laptops, tablets
Maintenance of premises, including painting and repairs
Capital work to increase biodiversity, or to reduce the carbon footprint of a facility
Cleaning equipment
The scheme is designed to ensure local priorities are identified and met, so as to improve and enhance community facilities for all.
Target groups
This funding is targeted towards supporting communities that are impacted by disadvantage as identified in the LECP.
3b. What is not eligible for funding?
The following expenditure is not eligible for capital funding:
Any project not in keeping with the ethos of the Programme
Employment costs
Legal fees
Project management fees
Purchase of lands or buildings
Feasibility studies
Private or commercial operations
Costs which are being paid for by another funder or department
Energy costs (electricity costs, refuse charges, heating charges)
Operating costs (existing rental/lease costs, insurance bills)
Website maintenance
Audit & accountancy fees
4. Requirements of the Programme
The following conditions apply to all projects. Depending on the nature of your project (and the group applying), there may be further requirements that must be met. The LCDC/LA will discuss this with you, if your application is successful.
Tax Requirements
The applicant group/organisation does not have to be registered for tax purposes.
Any applicant group/organisation that is registered for tax purposes must be tax compliant. In line with revised tax clearance procedures, which came into effect in January 2016, the Tax Clearance Access Number and Tax Reference number must be submitted for verification purposes.
Statutory Consents
Applicants must ensure that all necessary statutory permissions or consents have been obtained before any works commence. This includes but is not confined to planning permission.
Insurance
Written evidence of a valid insurance policy may be requested by the LCDC, where relevant, during the applications review process.
Acknowledgment of funding
Due to the value of some of these grants, it would not be cost-effective to require signage acknowledging the Department, Local Authority or LCDC. Other suitable acknowledgements will suffice e.g. on a group/organisation’s website or social media platforms. Where signage is developed it should acknowledge the contribution of the Department of Rural & Community Development.
Match-funding
This is not a requirement under this programme.
Provision of Coordinates
For the 2025 LEP grant each applicant is required to provide location XY co-ordinates in Irish Transvers Mercator (ITM) format. This is a simple process and instructions on how to locate these coordinates are in this document:
5. Selection Criteria
Applications will be evaluated by the LCDC to ensure eligibility and that they are targeted at addressing disadvantage as identified in its LECP. Projects must be in keeping with the ethos of the programme, which is to provide funding to communities across Ireland to enhance facilities in disadvantaged areas.
Projects may also be judged having regard to how they:
support local groups and clubs, which serve their communities;
increase the number of people that can be supported by the group, including through accessibility improvements, new community integration measures or safety improvements;
invest to increase or extend the use of the facility, for example, to voluntary and community groups;
reduce the annual running cost of a facility;
have a positive impact on the environment, for example, a reduction in energy consumption;
demonstrate collaboration with the local authority or other relevant bodies in the catchment area;
support the creation of a sense of place within the community including through the enhancement of the built environment;
address health and safety issues; and/or,
invest in technology which will be accessed by individuals and communities that are impacted by disadvantage .
Projects may also be judged having regard to additional criteria deemed appropriate by the LCDC which demonstrate the added value of the project or element of a project in suitably addressing the programme's aims in each Local Authority administrative area.
Eligible applicants must:
- Identify the priority target group(s) the grant relates to
- Identify the theme/LECP objective the project will support
Relevant groups as listed below must be registered with the Public Participation Network (PPN) in order to qualify for funding:
- Groups working in the areas of Community, local development, Sports, Arts, Residents Associations, Social groups, etc;
- Social Inclusion groups working with people experiencing disadvantage and inequality and
- Groups with a focus on protecting the environment and sustainability
LEP Eligible applications must meet the following criteria:
The LCDC will also assess the application with regard to the following considerations:
Need
Applicants must clearly identify and evidence the need for the project or proposal.
Additionality
Grants awarded will be for the purposes that are additional to and not a substitute for mainstream government spending. Priority will be given to projects which demonstrate that said projects would not be undertaken but for the Scheme funding.
Government Policy
The project or proposal must take account of government policies and priorities in the area of economic development, local and community development and social and economic disadvantage.
Impact
Applicants must demonstrate the difference their project will make to the community.
Sustainability
Projects must be broadly sustainable and demonstrate local support. This is particularly important in the context of the Scheme as the core of the Scheme is communities.
Final Allocation
In deciding the final allocations of funding to projects, the LCDC will take account of a number of factors including geographical balance and the desirability to fund a variety of different projects.
Selection Process after the closing date
- Completed applications received on time will be reviewed and assessed by the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown LCDC to ensure they are in keeping with the ethos of the Community Enhancement Programme and to ensure complementarity with the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown LECP
- The LCDC sub-committee will assess applications in accordance with the criteria of the Local Enhancement Programme and in particular the complementarity with the LECP
- The sub-committee will decide which applications it considers eligible and which applications it considers ineligible under these eligibility conditions
- The sub-committee will assess the application bids and make a recommendation to the LCDC to approve or decline the applications
- The LCDC sub-committee will issue a report on its recommendations to the LCDC
- The LCDC will make the final decision on project approvals, which will be forwarded to the Department for final approval.
- As set out in section 9, the scheme may be over-subscribed and not all eligible projects may be approved for funding; where this occurs the LCDC will make the final decision on selecting which of the eligible projects will be approved for funding. The LCDC will also decide whether the funding needs to be reduced to allow for the funding of other eligible projects.
- Once a project has been approved for funding, subject to any legal formalities or other requirements, LCDC’s will:
- make an offer in principle of grant-aid to the group/organisation;
- confirm that bank details etc on the application form are unchanged or get written signed confirmation of any changes;
- make grant payments
- Notification will issue to applicants to inform them of the outcome of their application in Q2 2025
6. Corporate Governance
6a. Monitoring:
Grantees will be required to comply with the highest standard of transparency and accountability as documented in Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circular 13/2014 - Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer Funds http://circulars.gov.ie/pdf/circular/per/2014/13.pdf
The overall principle is that there should be transparency and accountability in the management of public funds, in line with economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The circular outlines, for example, that grant recipients should not dispose of publicly funded assets without prior approval.
6b. The Code of Governance for Community and Voluntary organisations:
The Department is encouraging funded bodies to adopt the Governance Code, a Code of Practice for Good Governance of Community, Voluntary and Charitable Organisations, which will assist in achieving excellence in all areas of your work. The Governance Code asks organisations to agree to operate to key principles in order to run their organisation more effectively in areas such as leadership, transparency and accountability and behaving with integrity. Further information on the Code is available at www.governancecode.ie
7. Approval Procedures
All applications for funding under this programme received by each LCDC will be reviewed and assessed to ensure consistency with the relevant Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP).
In deciding the final allocations of funding to projects, the LCDC may take account of a number of factors including geographical balance and the desirability to fund a variety of different projects and the relative disadvantage of the area where the facility is located (or will serve).
Following the decision each approved project, subject to the completion of legal formalities and other requirements, will receive an offer in principle of grant-aid. This will be subject to compliance with the relevant conditions and subject to the satisfactory acceptance by the applicant of that offer.
The right is reserved to reassign the funds offered to another approved project if all requirements are not met within a reasonable period. This is a matter for the LCDC in question, who must inform the Department of their intention to do so.
The Department and/or the Local Authority reserve the right to carry out an audit of expenditure or conduct inspections from time to time.
Please Note:
Requests for assistance usually exceed the funds available and it is important therefore that the process of evaluation is rigorous. The purpose of this process is to ensure that the best projects, taking all factors into account, emerge and receive support. It is Departmental policy to ensure that every application is treated fairly and impartially.
Offers of funding may be for a lesser amount than that sought by the applicant. Applicants should be aware that the Programme may be oversubscribed. Therefore, in such circumstances, all applications fulfilling the conditions may not be successful or may be for a lesser amount.
The LCDC in evaluating proposals received may seek advice and consult with other agencies, and may disclose information on projects under consideration to those experts and agencies.
8. General
The information provided in this document is intended to give applicants an understanding of the process by which applications for funding are assessed and approved and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.
Freedom of Information Act 2014
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2014, details contained in applications and supporting documents may, on request, be released to third parties. If there is information contained in your application which is sensitive or confidential in nature, please identify it and provide an explanation as to why it should not be disclosed. If a request to release sensitive information under the legislation is received, you will be consulted before a decision is made whether or not to release the information. However, in the absence of the identification of particular information as sensitive, it could be disclosed without any consultation with you.
Site Visits
The Department, Local Authority, the LCDC, or agents acting on their behalf may carry out unannounced site visits to verify compliance with Programme terms and conditions.
Further information may be requested
The LCDC reserves the right to request further information from you in order to assess your application if so required.
Usage of information
The information provided on the form will be utilised for the purposes of evaluating and administering the grant process, and to facilitate audits and any site visits. When evaluating the applications received, the LCDC may seek advice and consult with other agencies, and may disclose information on projects under consideration to those experts and agencies.
Other
- Under the programme it is intended that 30% of the funding that is allocated to each Local Authority area will be ring-fenced for grants of €1,000 or less.
- Applicant groups shall self-certify that they do not have the funding to undertake the costs, without the grant aid, or alternatively that with the grant they will now undertake a larger project which they otherwise would not be able to afford.
- If the funding application is for one element of a project, or a portion of a project, applicants will be required to provide documentary evidence of the availability of the balance of funding for that particular element of that project.
- There is no limit on the number of applications for different projects from any organisation. However, applicants should be aware that an equity/fairness approach will be taken by the LCDC to ensure an even distribution of funding. The LCDC has set an upper limit of €10,000 for any grant award under this scheme.
- The Programme is 100% exchequer funded. Applicants are free to leverage other funding/match funding for projects (e.g. with LEADER, Tidy Towns, Town and Village Enhancement funding, etc.) although that is not a requirement of this programme.
- It is the responsibility of the grant applicant to ensure that using this Programme to co-fund a project does not contradict the rules of that other scheme/programme. Please ensure you consult with the administrators or body responsible for any other funding scheme or programme in this regard.
- VAT will only be paid where it is included in the application amount. No further requests for VAT payments or repayments will be accepted.
9. How to Apply
Application Form
The application form is detailed and is designed to ensure that it has the necessary information to evaluate each proposal accurately and fairly. Please ensure that you complete the LEP (Capital Funding) 2025 application form in full and that any documentation in support of your application is submitted with your application.
Only projects that meet the criteria outlined above will be considered eligible.
PLEASE NOTE THAT INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS OR LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.
Submission of false or misleading information at any stage is treated very seriously. Any organisation that does not comply with the terms and conditions of the Programme may be subject to inspection, have their grant withdrawn, be required to repay all or part of a grant and/or be barred from making applications for a period of time. All serious breaches of the terms and conditions of the Programme will be notified to An Garda Síochána.
For any queries please email: community@dlrcoco.ie or telephone (01) 205 4893