How SICAP funds reach your organisation

SICAP sits under Priority 3 of the Employment, Inclusion, Skills and Training (EIST) programme. Of its €164.24m, almost €73m is ESF+ money and over €91m is Irish national money — so most of what reaches you was raised at home, not in Brussels. Your organisation sits at the Programme Implementer level, contracted by your LCDC across one of 53 lots.

ESF+Reg. (EU) 2021/1057€164.24m for SICAP 2024–2028

How the money reaches an organisation

Every level here can be asked for its own process map. That is the point of yours.

🏛
European Commission — DG Employment
Allocates ESF+ to Ireland under Reg. (EU) 2021/1057
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DFHERIS — Managing Authority
Dept. of Further & Higher Education; houses ESF+ Policy & Operations Unit
🏢
Dept. of Rural & Community Development & the Gaeltacht (DRCDG)
Lead national funder and policy authority for SICAP; delegates national management to Pobal
📋
Pobal
Manages SICAP nationally across 53 contract areas; administers ESF+ compliance
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Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs)
33 LCDCs approve annual plans, monitor Programme Implementers, manage local budgets
👉 Your organisation sits at this level
🤝
Programme Implementers — NGOs & Community Orgs
Contracted across 53 lots to deliver frontline supports to individuals and groups
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Final Beneficiaries
Long-term unemployed, Travellers, Roma, migrants, lone parents, people with disabilities
⚖️
Audit Chain
ECA → OLAF → Dept. of Education Audit Authority → C&AG → Pobal → LCDCs → Implementers

Process maps under this programme

Where this came from

Read against the source on 2026-09-02.

What that check changed: The budget read €1.08bn, which is Ireland’s whole ESF+ envelope. SICAP’s own allocation is €164.24m — almost €73m EU and over €91m national.