A FUNDING boost of €3.75million was announced in Limerick to reinvest the proceeds of crime back into local communities.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee visited Céim ar Chéim in the Moyross Youth Academy on May 29 to announce the reopening of the Community Safety Fund (CAF).
CAF uses funds seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) as the proceeds of crime and puts them into supporting local communities, such as Céim ar Chéim in Moyross.
The €3.75m fund is now open for applications from community groups across Limerick for the development of services that help to tackle crime or reduce the fear of crime, reduce reoffending, and divert vulnerable individuals away from crime.
Speaking in Moyross, Minister McEntee said that “community safety goes beyond traditional, high visibility policing. It requires a whole of government approach, and those within communities who know best the dynamics, strengths, and challenges of their localities to work together to build safer and stronger communities.”
The Minister added that “when I visit organisations who have already benefitted from the fund, such as Céim ar Chéim here in Moyross, it reaffirms the role community involvement and collaboration has in improving quality of life and community safety in local areas”.
“For this project, Céim ar Chéim, Limerick CYPSC, REPPP (University of Limerick), An Garda Síochána, Limerick and Clare ETB, Probation Services and Youth Representative are all working together towards a common goal of improving community safety by putting young people who are at risk of offending onto better life paths.”
