Men's sheds funding
Deputy McGrath said some men’s sheds were having difficulty accessing the €2 million fund because of how they were organised. The Taoiseach said he was unaware of the problem and would contact the Minister for Rural and Community Development.
The men's sheds and, indeed, women's sheds in Ireland are wonderful groups of people. They do so much for people's mental and physical health, well-being and everything else. When a €2 million fund was announced in November, they were delighted that each sheds' group would get €2,000, even though they did not get much time to apply. Some of the Taoiseach's colleagues proclaimed that funding all over social media. However, there is now a problem. In Tipperary, many of these groups are associated with family resource centres, which are okay because they can claim the money. However, the stand-alone sheds cannot claim this money, which is going to the Irish Men's Sheds Association. That is no good to the people on the ground, their mental or physical health, what they do and the help they give communities. Something needs to be done. The Department of Rural and Community Development needs to tweak this funding to ensure the men's sheds that need the money get it. If they are not associated with the Irish Men's Sheds Association, they will not get their money. It is meant for the groups on the ground that have to get this money as they badly need it. They have many ways to spend it because ESB and energy costs mean they need it badly.
