Vol. 530 No. 5
142 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the sub-committees under the national committee on volunteering; if sub-committees have been established; the process to be followed by interested non-governmental organisations or individuals to gain membership, make submissions and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4379/01]
The United Nations has designated the year 2001 as International year of the Volunteer (IYV 2001). The main objectives of the year are the recognition, promotion, facili tation and networking of volunteering contributions world wide. The International year provides an opportunity to further raise the profile of volunteering in Ireland and progress the Government's policies with regard to development of social capital and encouragement of volunteerism.
On 5 December 2000, I launched the national committee on volunteering, under the chairmanship of Deputy Chris Flood. This committee has a total membership of 38 and members are drawn from relevant Departments, including my Department, universities with related research or training roles, business and industry, foundations, leading NGOs and community and voluntary groups together with some individuals in their personal capacity.
To date the national committee has met on three occasions. From the beginning, it was evident to the chairman that the use of sub-committees would be required to ensure the national committee worked effectively and was in a position to complete the ambitious terms of reference set for it. To date, four subcommittees have been established to address specific issues in relation to volunteerism, as follows: IYV 2001 implementation sub-committee is responsible for drafting an action plan for IYV 2001 and for co-ordinating and implementing decisions of the national committee; the grants sub-committee responsible for examining the desirability of operating a grant scheme to mark IYV 2001; the accreditation sub-committee will examine the whole issue of training and accreditation for volunteers and the volunteer awareness/support sub-committee established to develop the awareness of the role which volunteers play in Irish society; to examine measures to widen the pool of volunteers and to look at the range of supports needed in order to promote, sustain and develop volunteering. Currently, membership of the four sub-committees is drawn from the national committee. However, sub-committees may decide to co-opt outside expertise in relation to certain issues. In particular, the topics being examined by both the training/accreditation and awareness/support sub-committees are very wide ranging and are likely to take some time to complete. Any individual, or groups, wishing to make submissions to the national committee or one of the sub-committees can do so through the Chairman, Deputy Chris Flood, c/o Comhairle, Hume House, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.
