Dublin West TD Paul Donnelly has welcomed Mary Lou McDonald’s announcement that the party was ringfence €1 billion of the Apple tax money into an Investment in Communities Fund.
“The money would be invested in working class communities that have been left behind by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael,” she told reporters on Monday ahead of the party think-in.
She said that the fund will be applied using the Pobal Index, which she noted is “not dissimilar to how DEIS areas are identified.”
The funding would then be operated under the Department of Community and Rural Affairs and administered by local Councils.
Dublin West TD Paul Donnelly, who also serves as the party spokesperson on community development, said that working class communities “bore the brunt of austerity” at a time when the tax should have been collected.
“This is about giving the same opportunities to build a better future to every community,” he said.
“This will be a targeted capital investment fund for sports facilities, play facilities, community facilities, youth facilities, arts facilities and public spaces to transform communities that bore the brunt of austerity. ”
“These communities live with the barriers created by austerity. They live with intergenerational disadvantage, poverty and young people denied access to opportunities.”
He said “it’s time to repair that damage, to invest ambitiously in community development and build a better future for all.”
“Such investment will be a key part of an overall plan to tackle poverty and disadvantage and ensure equal opportunities for all.
“Community is everything. It’s the beating heart of life in Ireland and Sinn Féin is absolutely committed to backing communities held back by neglect and cuts, ensuring they can reach their full potential.”