Vol. 563 No. 5
106 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the discussions which have taken place between his Department and the Department of Finance on the possible introduction of a special tax credit to encourage voluntary activity. [8199/03]
112 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the discussions which have taken place between his Department and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on the possible introduction of a time in lieu entitlement to employees who engage in voluntary activity. [8201/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 106 and 112 together.
The White Paper on supporting voluntary activity, published in 2000, acknowledged the important role and unique strengths of the community and voluntary sector in giving opportunities to people to become active participants in democratic society.
The establishment of the national committee on volunteering in November 2000 was an additional and complementary initiative of the Government. The committee published its report, Tipping The Balance, in October 2002. The report is extremely detailed and comprehensive, covering many aspects of volunteering, and contains wide-ranging recommendations which impact on many State and other bodies.
The committee did not specifically recommend the introduction of tax credits, or the introduction of a leave in lieu entitlement to encourage volunteering. Accordingly, my Department has had no discussions with the relevant Departments about any such arrangements.
