#Ploughing16: Community Alert Programme sees funding double

Funding for the Community Alert Programme has been doubled to €350,000, Tánaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald announced at the National Ploughing Championships.

It incorporates a new €100,000 rebate scheme to cover the cost of some 1.6m text messages for the distribution of crime prevention and community safety advice from the gardaí, as well as some insurance costs.

The new rebate scheme provides a flat-rate €100 payment and this will, on average, amount to about 25% of costs incurred by local groups for distributing text messages.