Community groups urged to apply for redistributed gang proceeds

Announcing the details for the 2025 fund, justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said grants range from €20,000 to €150,000.

Local groups are being urged to apply for monies from a €4m fund to help make communities feel safer and prevent vulnerable young people from being sucked into gangland crime.

The Community Safety Fund was set up in 2022 in response to calls from disadvantaged areas to improve facilities and supports in the community for young people and make the public generally feel safer in their areas.

The fund, established by the Department of Justice, aims to redistribute some of the monies from organised crime seized by gardaí and the Criminal Assets Bureau back into communities most affected.

Announcing the details for the 2025 fund, justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said grants range from €20,000 to €150,000.

As part of a visit to Ballymun Garda Station and the Ballymun Implementation Board — a multi-agency committee set up to tackle deep-rooted issues in the North Dublin community — Mr O’Callaghan said the €4m set aside for this year is twice the amount in 2022, when the fund started.

It compares to a €3.75m fund in 2024, and just over €3m worth of funding was allocated to 33 projects.

“The Community Safety Fund is an important part of my overall objective to build stronger and safer communities,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

It takes the money seized from criminals and puts it directly back into community safety initiatives

“Investing this money into the communities provides that tangible and direct link between law enforcement and building stronger, safer communities.” 

Pilot projects

Funding was provided last year, on a pilot basis, for Community Safety Wardens projects, in both Limerick and Cork, along with continued funding for Community Safety Wardens in Dublin’s Wolfe Tone Park.

These wardens help to promote pro-social behaviour in the community and link in with support services, businesses, and members of the public to better understand specific concerns in the area.

Other projects that have previously benefitted include initiatives that hope to reduce the fear of crime, improve community safety and feelings of safety, support the creation of safe and resilient communities, reduce reoffending and divert vulnerable individuals away from engagement in criminal behaviour.

Mr O’Callaghan said the call for funding is open for six weeks, until Friday May 16.

The Community Safety Fund is being managed by the newly established National Office for Community Safety within the Department of Justice. Applications can be emailed to [e-mail].

The decision to set up the fund was made in April 2021.