- Fund will focus on upgrade and enhancement works to existing community centres nationwide
- Funding of up to €100,000 available for refurbishment works
- Range of supports in place to assist community groups in developing high quality applications
The Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary TD, has today, 26th March 2026, announced a fourth round of funding under the Community Centre Investment Fund (CCIF).
The focus of the Community Centres Investment Fund 2026 – Refurbishment, is to support upgrade and enhancement works to existing community centres nationwide. This fund builds on the success of the CCIF 2022 & 2024 which provided funding of over €80m for almost 1,650 community centre refurbishment projects. Funding of over €30 million has also been provided to build 12 new centres.
Making the announcement today, Minister Calleary said:
“The Community Centre Investment Fund has had a transformative impact across the country. Since the inception of this Fund, over €111 million has already been provided to support community centres in their role at the very heart of community life.
“I am pleased today to be able to launch a new round of funding under the Community Centre Investment Fund with online applications being accepted from 29th May. This builds on an unprecedented level of investment in our community centres in recent years.”
“This scheme can be used for a range of refurbishment works such as new roofs, energy upgrades, accessibility measures, new kitchen facilities, new stage and lighting, essential repairs and lots more.”
The Community Centre Investment Fund 2026 – Refurbishment will provide grants for projects from €10,000 up to a maximum of €100,000 towards capital costs. This is broken down into two categories of funding:
- Category 1:
Small scale projects/improvements to facilities: €10,000 – €25,000 (95% funding)
- Category 2:
Larger scale projects: €25,001 to €100,000 (90% funding)
All applicants must register as ‘users’ on the online portal here in advance of the application process which will open in late May. Groups that applied for this fund previously will not need to register again but should check that their details are still correct.
Groups are advised to get their application and paperwork ready in advance of the online application process opening at the end of May. The closing date for applications will be 13th July.
The Department will be running a series of information sessions in advance of the application opening date to assist in the preparation of applications.
All materials to support applicants including template application form, guidelines, FAQ document and details on information sessions can be found at the Department of Rural & Community Development and the Gaeltacht website here.
The Minister concluded:
“I would encourage groups who need funding for works on their community centre to avail of this opportunity to begin preparing their applications and to start getting quotes together for the required works. I would also advise them to engage fully with the information sessions that will be provided and to review the information available about this scheme on my department’s website..”
“Through ‘Our Rural Future,’ the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht continues to invest and to support communities the length and breadth of this country to thrive and to become better places in which to live, work and raise a family.”