SOME 125 small charities and community groups in Dublin received a total of €200,000 as part of the Dublin Bus Community Support Programme announced yesterday.
The programme, initiated in 2003, uses money unclaimed by Dublin Bus customers who overpaid their bus fares. Awards of €5,000, €2,000 and €1,000 were given out to the groups.
The 10 recipients of €5,000 included Artane Drugs Awareness Project, St Peter’s Special School in Rathgar and Finglas West Horse and Pony Club. Presenting the awards at Croke Park, Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey thanked Dublin Bus and the “unsung heroes” involved in all of the organisations receiving funding.
He said the efforts made by volunteers were keeping communities together and that needed to be acknowledged.
“I’m fed up of all the doom and gloom; we have serious difficulties, we have to face them, we will face them, but this is still a great country, we still have great communities,” he said.
Patron of the programme, former Irish international footballer Niall Quinn, said volunteers were fantastic.
He said he hoped more people would stop collecting their excess fare payments during the recession so that Dublin Bus could help more communities.
Chairman of CIÉ, Dr John Lynch congratulated the volunteers and said they showed the spirit of community involvement was alive and well in Dublin.
Other €5,000 recipients were Dublin 17 School Completion Programme, Choices Befriending the Elderly Service, Canal Communities Intercultural Centre, the SAOL Project, Headstrong and Ballyboden Family Resource Centre.
Colm Kiernan of Finglas West Horse and Pony Club, said they would use the money to develop a safety programme for their members. The group has 120 members and up to 70 horses.
The young people needed training on how to handle, feed and care for their animals, he said.
The club is also hoping Dublin City Council will provide them with some land to keep the horses.
