Vol. 534 No. 3
70 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if initiatives are being taken to support the activities of the International Year of the Volunteer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10483/01]
The United Nations has proclaimed 2001 as the International Year of Volunteers, also known as IYV 2001. The year is designed to enhance recognition, facilitation, networking and promotion of volunteer service. On the 5 December 2000, leading on from the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, 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 mine, universities with related research or training roles, business and industry, foundations, leading NGOs and community and voluntary groups together with some individuals in a personal capacity. A budget of £1 million has been allocated to the workings of the National Committee on Volunteering.
The committee has made significant progress in its work to date. Due to the size of the committee, quite an amount of its day to day work is being carried out at sub-committee level. To date, the chairman has established four sub committees to address specific issues in relation to volunteering, the International Year of Volunteers and a grants sub committee has set aside £350,000 from the £1 million for a grant scheme to mark the year. As part of my Department's direct contribution to IYV 2001, a one-day seminar was organised on 29 March on the importance of social capital. The seminar was opened by me, was addressed by the Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, and included a number of prominent international and Irish speakers. More than 100 from the voluntary-community sector, the business community, trade unions and universities attended and, by all accounts, enjoyed the seminar.
