Adjournment Debate

Job Creation

Deputy Brian O’Shea

I was speaking recently with an employer in the tree services industry in the Waterford constituency who in 2009 took three people off the live register and also took on two people who had just lost their jobs. Some six or seven weeks ago he met a young man who is a qualified block layer but who had been unemployed. The young man asked this particular employer for employment. The employer decided that he would take him on and in order to do so, he needed to undergo a training course which the employer set up and paid for. The course cost £912. The young man began on Monday, 27 September and concluded on Friday, 1 October. He further underwent his assessment for his City and Guilds qualification on Monday, 4 October. When this young man went to collect his jobseeker's allowance he was told that he did not quality for that week.

Against the background of 450,000 people unemployed nationally and 15,000 unemployed in the Waterford constituency, surely every effort should be made by Departments and State agencies to assist in every way in getting unemployed people into employment. This was a case where there was a job waiting for the person involved, the employer paid for his pre-employment training and the Department of Social Protection was not prepared to pay the jobseeker's allowance to this young man while he was preparing for employment. The employer provided a letter outlining the position regarding the course and stated that the young man had been in receipt of no payment. The employer in this case went on to tell me that in his view, 1,500 positions can be created in the tree servicing sector nationally but that employers need assistance in terms of grant aid towards the provision of the required training for people to enter this industry, where although the work is hard, the pay is relatively good.

Every person who returns to work on average benefits the Exchequer to the tune of €20,000. In the present crisis Departments and agencies must be flexible and prompt in supporting the areas of the economy where jobs can be created. Companies such as the one I describe pay tax and PRSI into the Exchequer and the more people they employ, the better the return to the State. Not alone is the qualification in regard to the course that I have already mentioned one that is required in Ireland but it is a City and Guilds qualification recognised throughout the world. The qualification described is in regard to the use of chainsaws and if an employer in this industry decides to upskill employees there should be grant aid assistance available against the background of the employer paying for the course, paying the employee's wages and not having production from that employee in the week of the course.

I am calling on the Minister to take a much more enlightened view on such situations.

Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport (Deputy Mary Hanafin)

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Haughey, Minister of State with responsibility for lifelong learning. I would like to thank the Deputy for raising the matter. He referred to a specific case on which I am not able to comment.

In the prevailing economic circumstances, the Government's priority in response to the number of people who are unemployed has been to assist these individuals to get back into employment. It doubled the job search support capacity of FÁS this year to over 154,000 referrals from the national employment action plan. From a training and education perspective this year, the Department of Education and Skills will be providing over 160,000 training and employment places for the unemployed compared to the 66,000 places provided in 2008. It will also provide 170,000 full-time and part-time further education places and 156,000 full-time higher education places.

All higher education programmes covered by the free fees scheme are open to unemployed persons. Included in this provision are new measures and approaches such as the work placement programme which provides up to nine months work experience to the unemployed and the labour market activation fund, which was an open call for proposals for education and training provision for the unemployed. Under the fund a total of 59 providers from the public, private and community and voluntary sectors are being supported and will provide approximately 11,500 places.

However, the Government is equally committed to ensuring levels of employment and national competitiveness are maintained, and increased where possible, through the training and upskilling of those persons who are in work. The current budget for training persons in employment is €82.4 million. Of this €5.4 million funds the FÁS services to business programme while €77 million funds the FÁS apprenticeship programme. In addition, a budget of €16.6 million is available in 2010 to the Skillnets training networks programme from the national training fund. This funding is matched by funds from the companies involved in the training networks programme.

The Skillnets training networks programme facilitates the creation of learning networks of groups of companies operating in the same industrial sector or geographical area. The companies co-operate as a group to provide training which individual companies would be unable to undertake acting alone. Some 70 networks are funded and engaging in Skillnets training activity.

The Skillnets model is an enterprise-led approach to training and development. It supports the development of flexible and effective training delivery methods among those enterprises which previously had difficulty in accessing or benefiting from training. It also aims to address the lack of investment in human resources development and training by business through tackling some of the real and perceived barriers to training.

Skillnets does not specify the type or scope of training but supports the networks with resources and expertise. Networks arrange relevant, cost-effective and innovative training courses for their member companies. The key difference in the Skillnets approach is that the enterprise itself has total decision-making power and can customise training to its specific needs.

The Skillnets approach is cross-regional, cross-sectoral and firmly grounded in the strength and synergies of networking. Networks are self-selecting and guided by a commonality of need. Decision-making is devolved to the level of the industry group or other network grouping so as to maximise enterprise involvement in all aspects of delivery.

This leadership by industry has been one of the most important and effective success factors of the training networks programme. It has been key to the uptake of training from 1999 to 2009 by over 240,000 employees in more than 50,000 companies. In 2009, Skillnets trained some 40,000 persons and its target this year is to train over 60,000.

In the current training networks programme, an innovative feature, given the prevailing economic context, is the expansion of the trainee profile to include unemployed participants. Up to €1 million has been set aside by Skillnets again this year for the Finuas training networks programme to provide appropriate in-employment training in the international financial services sector. Specific skills gaps are being identified with over 1,200 persons trained in the sector and over 6,500 training days delivered in some 170 participating member companies.

The Department of Education and Skills also funds the Engineers Ireland continuing professional development programme. Another important support to employers in growing their business is provided by the county and city enterprise boards which can assist in the establishment and development of new and existing enterprises. The forms of financial assistance which are available include priming grants, expansion and development grants and feasibility and innovation study grants.

A large range of training and education grant aid and support programmes are available for those in employment, as well as for those who are unemployed. It is the Government's intention to sustain and broaden the national skills base through the judicious application of these types of programmes.

Garda Vetting of Personnel

Deputy Denis Naughten

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for accepting this matter on the Adjournment and the Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, for being present to take it.

A serious issue if not immediately resolved will result in Elphin Day Care Centre, County Roscommon, having to close its day-care service for the elderly. The centre depends on four members of staff provided through the FÁS community employment scheme. There has been a significant turnover in staff over the past two years as they have either successfully obtained regular employment arising from their time at the centre, come to the end of their eligibility for a community employment scheme placement or have availed of maternity leave.

Persons offered work at the centre are not permitted by FÁS to take up their placements until their vetting process has been completed. Notwithstanding the absolute necessity of having a proper Garda clearance process and the need to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of that process, it seems incredible that the widely recognised delays in the system have still not been resolved by FÁS and the Garda Síochána. In the past, the centre struggled when the employment of new staff was delayed by six months because of the length of time taken to process Garda clearance. This has even happened with individuals who have always lived in the local community. Last November, the centre interviewed a young person who had never lived elsewhere but had to wait until May 2010 for her clearance. In another case, an individual already had Garda clearance from previous employment but it took a considerable time for the clearance to issue this time.

The management of the day care centre held interviews for three new members of staff on 12 June 2010 but is still waiting to hear from the Garda if the candidates have been given the required clearance. Two of these candidates will fill vacancies that the centre has struggled to cover over several months while the third will fill a maternity leave vacancy arising in the next two weeks. The centre, run by a voluntary committee, cannot afford to pay three staff on an ongoing basis. If these three staff are not in place in the next few weeks, the centre will have to reduce services available or close the day-care facility. This would result in the loss of the drop-in facility, cooked lunches and meals on wheels. Those affected will also include several elderly people who began to use the centre when the Plunkett Home facility in Boyle, run by the Health Service Executive, was forced to close last March due to government cutbacks.

While this is a significant issue facing the people of Elphin, it is replicated across the country. Such vital services are replacing State-run services or filling a vacuum due to the lack of State-run services for older people. Community and voluntary services, such as the Elphin one, are struggling to fill vacancies because of the delays in the vetting process, however. They should not be forced into possible closure due to the delays in processing Garda clearance requests. While I want the Minister to expedite this specific case, I hope he will ensure it will not be replicated elsewhere.

Minister for Justice and Law Reform (Deputy Dermot Ahern)

I fully appreciate the reasons Deputy Naughten has raised this issue. He will be aware of the current pressures on the Garda vetting service due to the large increase in recent times in the number of applications for vetting.

The Garda central vetting unit provides employment-vetting to organisations which are registered for this purpose and which employ or engage persons, whether in a paid or voluntary capacity, for posts where they would have substantial, unsupervised access to children or to vulnerable adults. This includes persons engaged by FÁS on community employment schemes.

As a large number of organisations are registered for vetting purposes, the vetting unit endeavours to provide vetting as expeditiously as possible.

However, there are particular factors which affect the timeframe for replying to each application which I will mention in my reply.

The vetting procedure commences with a written request for vetting from a registered organisation, such as FÁS, made with the consent of the person in question. The Garda vetting unit is thus authorised to release criminal history information in respect of the person concerned to the registered organisation. It is important that I emphasise, however, that Garda vetting is only one element of the overall recruitment process. There will always be a range of other factors which a recruiting body or organisation should take into account when coming to a decision on a person's suitability.

There has been a marked increase in the last number of years in the demand for vetting services. This is the most important factor which affects the response time to a vetting request. There are also seasonal variations in the number of applications submitted. In response to this increased demand, the Garda vetting unit has undergone a very significant expansion. This expansion has enabled it to growth to the point where it dealt with almost 250,000 applications last year, an increase from a level of 137,000 in 2006. The Garda authorities anticipate an approximate total of 325,000 applications will be made this year.

The expansion of the Garda vetting service continues apace by way of a phased roll-out to other organisations in the child and vulnerable adult care sectors. The House will understand why this target group is, and must remain, the clear priority from a policy point of view. The Garda vetting unit treats all vetting applications with equal thoroughness given the necessity to protect those groups.

There are approximately 18,000 organisations in receipt of vetting services from the Garda vetting unit, covering a wide range of health, educational, sporting and recreational sectors in Ireland. The demand for vetting is growing constantly. The Garda authorities deserve credit for achieving the expansion to date in the vetting service to bring it to its current levels.

There are, however, significant pressures facing the delivery of the service in the current conditions and my Department and the Garda authorities are working together to seek to address these. The partnership approach that the Garda authorities have adopted with the various organisations availing of the service will also help to ensure that vetting requirements can be addressed.

The average processing time for vetting applications fluctuates during the year due to seasonal demands when the volume of applications received from certain sectors can increase greatly. In any individual case additional time may be required to process a vetting application where clarification or further information is required or where other inquiries need to be made, for example when the person in question has lived and worked abroad.

The Garda authorities indicate that the average processing time for valid vetting applications received at the vetting unit may vary from four to five weeks in periods of lower demand to up to 12 weeks at times when demand is particularly high, as is the case at the current time. The Garda vetting unit has advised the registered organisations of the processing timeframe and of the necessity to take this into account in their recruitment and selection processes. There will always be a reasonably significant time period required to process a vetting application, given the nature of the checks which are needed and the importance of ensuring the process is carried out thoroughly. However, the Garda makes every effort to reduce this to the minimum possible.

With the expansion of the vetting service, significant additional resources have been deployed to the vetting unit. There are currently 88 personnel assigned to the vetting unit, including six gardaí and 82 civilian personnel and ten additional temporary personnel who were recruited in recent months in order to deal with the high volume of applications. The number of staff was 13 before the process of development of the unit which began in 2005.

Nevertheless, I and the Garda authorities are determined that as effective a vetting system as possible is provided. In that context, the overall staffing arrangements at the vetting unit are kept under constant review in the light of the increasing demands being made upon the Garda vetting service by the registered organisations. I will raise the cases to which the Deputy referred with the Garda vetting unit.

Pension Provisions

Deputy Joan Burton

My colleague, Deputy Ciarán Lynch, from Cork South-Central, sought an Adjournment matter for the past two days on the problems surrounding defined benefit pension schemes and, in particular, the problems of pensioners who are coming very close to retirement age within months or years. This is an enormous issue around the country but when I was in Cork last week I had the opportunity to meet several delegations of workers in various employments, many of whom have almost 40 years of service and are now looking at a pension, under the current rules, which will be about half of the pension they might have looked forward to and expected to get three years ago.

Given the constant flow of people approaching pensionable age, once they are close to 40 years there is not a lot they can do. As they are defined benefit pension schemes, once they retire under the current regulations, as the Minister is aware, they are obliged to purchase an annuity. The Minister made a number of announcements on Wednesday when he spoke to the Irish Association of Pension Funds. He announced a longer framework for a defined benefit schemes which would allow schemes to take account of new provisions, in other words to extend the deadline, which was to have been November, to provide the restructuring and that is welcome.

However, there is still a problem for somebody who retires tomorrow as he or she has to purchase an annuity and, as the Minister is aware, the rules of most pension funds require that the annuity is purchased by reference to the highest rated bonds, which generally speaking are German bonds, with those of other European countries with very high ratings. The Minister will know the interest rates are very low at approximately 2.5% whereas the current interest rate on Irish Government bonds is much higher and is unfortunately closer to 6%. This means that one requires a very large capital sum from the pension fund to purchase an annuity at the very low rates available from German bonds.

There has been a series of proposals from a number of different organisations involved in pensions, including the Society of Actuaries, suggesting that the Minister should allow flexibility. There are several different kinds of flexibility involved. The first is not to force the new retiree to purchase the annuity immediately or to purchase all of the annuity immediately, rather to give him or her time and space. The second is to examine, as has been suggested by the Society of Actuaries, the notion of a sovereign Irish bond which would potentially provide a much higher rate of interest. I do not think the Minister would anticipate, if such a bond was developed, issuing it at current Irish Government market interest rates but it could be at the German rate plus a percentage to reflect the fact that, for reasons of which the Government is aware, a higher risk premium is demanded for Irish debt and the purchase of same.

On the pace of pension reform in Ireland, people are terrified. They were looking forward to a reliable pension of a certain level as they moved into retirement. In many cases half of that expectation is gone and the Government shows absolutely no urgency in addressing the matter. Defined contribution schemes have seen more flexibility. A business owner or director can avail of special pension fund systems like approved retirement schemes. Again, there is quite an amount of flexibility in those schemes.

I urge the Minister to address this pressing issue immediately. In starting to address it, it is critical to provide for flexibility. We know we are in a fairly disastrous period in our economic history but we hope this will not continue forever.

Minister for Social Protection (Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and I agree with her that it is very important. I assure her that I will be, and that I have been, directing quite an amount of attention to the matter. However, it is quite complex and it is important in the decisions we make that we look at all of the various angles.

Under the Pensions Act, defined benefit pension schemes must meet a minimum funding standard which requires that schemes maintain sufficient assets to enable them discharge their accrued liabilities in the event of the scheme winding up. At the end of 2009, there were 254,325 members in 1,212 defined benefit schemes subject to the funding standard. It is estimated that more than 75% of these schemes are in deficit. However, the full extent of the level of underfunding will not be fully apparent until all schemes carry out their next actuarial assessment and report the results to the Pensions Board. These assessments are carried out through the completion of actuarial funding certificates which evaluate the funding position of a scheme and include confirmation as to whether the funding standard is satisfied. Where schemes do not satisfy the funding standard, the sponsors or trustees must submit a funding proposal to the Pensions Board to restore full funding within a specified time period, normally three years.

The Government is acutely aware of the pressures on sponsoring employers and pension scheme trustees that have arisen from investment decisions and changing market conditions. The Government has taken a number of significant measures to ease the pressures on pension schemes since 2008. These measures include the granting of extra time for schemes to formulate funding proposals and allowing longer periods for recovery plans, up to ten years or more, subject to the agreement of the Pensions Board. The deadline for the submission of funding proposals was initially extended for six months and has been further extended on a number of occasions. The current deadline for receipt of funding proposals is the end of November 2010.

Also introduced were significant legislative changes in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2009 to allow for the restructuring of underfunded schemes; to ensure a more equitable distribution of assets in the event of the wind-up of a defined benefit scheme; and to strengthen the powers of the Pensions Board in ensuring that pension contributions are remitted by employers to scheme trustees. These amendments improved the level of protection that was in place for current and former scheme members who had yet to reach normal retirement age.

The 2009 Act also introduced the legislative provisions to enable the Minister for Finance to establish the pensions insolvency payments scheme to reduce the cost of purchasing pensions for trustees where the employer has become insolvent. This scheme came into effect in February 2010 and will ensure a more equitable distribution of assets following the wind up of relevant underfunded pension schemes.

The national pensions framework was launched by the Government in March 2010. As Deputy Burton knows, the framework is the Government's plan for future pension reform in Ireland and it encompasses all aspects of pensions, from social welfare to private occupational pensions and public sector pension reform. It aims to deliver security, equity, choice and clarity for the individual, the employer and the State. It also aims to increase pension coverage, particularly among low to middle income groups and to ensure that State support for pensions is equitable and sustainable. The framework is committed to examining new models for the future of defined benefit pension schemes to ensure the sustainability of this pension model.

As Members are aware, I announced yesterday that the Government is expediting the framework proposal to move to a new defined benefits model. As the Deputy knows, the framework recognised the difficulties with the current design of defined benefit schemes and proposed an alternative approach to the design. My Department will aim to introduce this new model, following legislative changes, on 1 July 2011. This is a very tight timeframe. On the basis of this decision, the pensions regulator has announced that the deadline of 30 November for the phased submission of recovery plans is being extended further. This is in order to give schemes time to consider the impact of this new model on their funding position before they are required to submit a recovery plan. The Pensions Board will shortly announce the details of this extended timeframe.

In developing the new defined benefits model we will look at issues regarding the governance of defined benefit schemes and the basis for the funding standard, including areas such as risk management, and smoothing out effects of changes in the bond markets. Strategies for transitioning schemes to this new model will also be examined. Full consultation will, of course, take place with the pensions industry, employers, trade union and other stakeholders in developing the new model.

Once this new model is introduced and schemes have been given this additional time to develop funding proposals, we do not envisage continuing to revisit the position — in other words, there will be no further extensions. These measures should not be viewed as a silver bullet. Pension schemes still have to address their liabilities, their risks and their investment strategies in order to ensure that they are properly funded and we expect them to do that. The proposal for a sovereign annuity is also being given serious consideration. However, it must be stressed that the issue is by no means straightforward and an assessment of the benefits and risks involved for all stakeholders is ongoing. I hope the Government will be in a position to make a decision on this in the near future.

Community and Voluntary Sector

Deputy Joe Costello

In the words of the Government's White Paper, the community and voluntary sector "contributes to a democratic pluralist society, provides opportunities for the development of decentralised and participative structures and fosters a climate in which the quality of life can be enhanced for all". It is clear that it plays an important role. The sector operates from the ground up and is strongly represented in areas where unemployment is high and State services and infrastructure are low. This is the case in areas of Tallaght, which is the Acting Chairman's area, and in many areas in my constituency of Dublin Central.

It is estimated that the sector employs approximately 50,000 people and delivers a wide range of vital programmes, including child care, care of the elderly, disability services, health care, social inclusion, homelessness services, skills training, family supports, drug rehabilitation, homework clubs and sporting activities. Without a vibrant voluntary and community sector, the bonding in society would erode very rapidly and we would end up with conflict and chaos. It is what keeps society together not only in the good times, but particularly in the bad times when there are pressures and people find it difficult to makes ends meet.

Over the past two years, the voluntary and community sector has suffered disproportionately from Government cuts. In 2009, funds for those essential services decreased by 8%. In 2010, the decrease was even worse at 10%. Already, local projects have suffered from redundancies, pay cuts and reduced services. It is estimated that by the end of 2010 there will be more than 5,000 job losses in the sector. With savage cuts in the two most recent budgets and four more years of austerity budgets to come to try to reach the 3% deficit target, the immediate future is very black indeed.

This week, we debated the Labour Party Private Members' motion on fuel poverty and spoke about how the ESB disconnects 2,500 homes every month and how Bord Gáis has disconnected approximately 4,000 homes this year because people cannot afford to pay their energy bills. We also spoke about that fact that while we introduced a carbon tax, we did not provide a corollary fuel poverty strategy whereby the money raised by the State would, to a large extent, be re-injected into the community where it is badly needed.

No wonder the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice today indicated in its new study that a high proportion of Irish families cannot afford the basics required for a minimum standard of living. That is a terrible reflection on us as a country and the manner in which we conduct our business because Ireland is far from a poor country. It is not good enough that we are unable to prevent a sizeable percentage of the people from falling into poverty, homelessness and a situation of hopelessness.

There is a need, more than anything else, to look at why all of these people who are falling through the net, and at the experience of abject poverty and what that entails in feeding a family, keeping a roof, keeping heat, looking after the elderly, fuel poverty, education and all of the aspects that bond society. More than anything else, the Government, and the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs which is largely responsible for the funding of this sector, should endeavour that this time round there would not be further cuts but that at least we would maintain the current levels of service and funding.

Minister of State at the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs (Deputy Mary Alexandra White)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak to this Adjournment matter in the Dáil this evening.

My Department's mandate aims to progress the achievement of an inclusive society with vibrant communities in which families may thrive. Measures to support this are contained in the Government's strategies for social and economic development and social inclusion. The primary role of my Department in the community and voluntary sector is to encourage and facilitate communities, with a special focus on areas of disadvantage, to pursue social and economic progress in their areas. Policy initiatives are underpinned by the Towards 2016 partnership agreement, which recognises the valuable role of the sector. The agreement notes that the great strength of voluntary activity is that it emerges organically from communities and points out that while the Government should not seek to control and be involved in every aspect of voluntary activity, it has a responsibility to provide an enabling framework to help the sector.

To this end, my Department supports a wide range of initiatives that support the work of the sector. In particular, I would draw the Deputy's attention to the following schemes that directly support their operations. Under the scheme for national organisations within the community and voluntary sector, 64 organisations within the sector are supported and funding of the order of €5 million is being provided for the scheme in 2010. My Department has been reviewing the operation and scope of the scheme over the past few months and I will be considering various options in relation to its future in the coming weeks. Funding of €878,000 is also provided to support the sector in its work under partnership.

Encouraging volunteering and supporting active citizenship is also a key part of the work of my Department in this context. To this end, my Department also provides annual funding of the order of €3.4 million to support the work of 22 volunteer centres operating at county level. In 2010, the number of centres funded increased to 22. The Department provides core funding to both Volunteer Centres Ireland and Volunteering Ireland, both of which promote volunteering nationally.

The role of the sector is widely acknowledged in other areas in my Department, most especially in the ongoing implementation of the national drugs strategy. Under the National Drugs Strategy 2009-2016, formal protocols are in place to ensure the active participation of the community and voluntary sectors in the work of the Drugs Advisory Group which advises me, as the Minister of State responsible, on operational and policy matters relating to the national drugs strategy. This funding provides for the continued input, expertise and participation of these sectors under the structures applying in delivering on the national drugs strategy.

In addition, my Department provides annual funding to assist Citywide Drugs Crisis Campaign support and promote the participation of communities most affected by drugs misuse and is used to facilitate the involvement of communities in the structures and the implementation of the national drugs strategy. Furthermore, as an additional support to communities affected by drugs misuse, annual funding is provided by my Department to the Family Support Network. This funding helps to improve the situation of families coping with drug misuse and to raise public awareness about the associated problems for families and communities.

As the Deputy will be aware, community and voluntary organisations play a significant role in delivering community based drugs initiatives in the 24 drugs task force areas from dedicated funding from my Department. Funding of the order of €36 million is being provided through the Department in 2010 to support the broad range of drugs measures under the strategy.

It is my intention, through the various arrangements, to continue to support the sectors to the greatest extent possible within the limits of the resources available to me in 2011. I draw the Deputy's attention to the local and community development programme which supersedes the local development social inclusion and community development programmes. A key difference between the new LCDP and its predecessors is the fact that, when fully implemented, it will be delivered nationally on an integrated basis by a reduced number of companies.

A national model involving full integration of community development projects with local development companies has been set out by my Department. However, it was made clear from the start of the process that other options could be considered and I have approved a number of alternative models in recent weeks. Ongoing funding for the programme in 2011 and beyond will be considered in the context of the annual Estimates process and will be routed through the local development companies in support of the following four goals of the LCDP: to promote awareness, knowledge and uptake of a wide range of statutory, voluntary and community services; to increase access to formal and informal educational, recreational and cultural development activities and resources; to increase people's work readiness and employment prospects; and to promote engagement with policy, practice and decision making processes on matters affecting local communities.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Charlie O’Connor)

The time is almost up but I am in the hands of the Minister of State.

Deputy Mary Alexandra White

This is a detailed reply to the Deputy, if I could finish it.

In the context of the current economic climate, my primary concern will continue to be the protection of front-line services delivering vital programmes and initiatives, especially those focused on the needs of the most socially deprived communities, whether they are urban or rural.

The Deputy will appreciate that ongoing funding for my Department's programmes for next year, and beyond, will fall to be considered in the context of the upcoming annual Estimates process. He will also appreciate, however, that no area is immune to cost-cutting measures in the current economic environment. Regrettably, this may mean that reduced budget allocations may have to be made to certain measures and programmes next year. I am acutely aware of the concerns of community and voluntary groups in this regard and that is why I have responded to those concerns by placing such emphasis on the protection and prioritisation of front-line services and support to customers and beneficiaries over administration, overhead and ancillary costs.

On the provision of supports to the sector, the Deputy can be assured of the Government's commitment to the development of our communities and our belief that the whole area of community development is central to the social and economic well-being of our nation. Unfortunately, in light of the current economic climate, the sector, like all sectors of the Irish economy, has had to rationalise where possible and operate within reduced budgets.

Across Government as a whole, we are taking a number of difficult decisions but our approach is to do this in as balanced a way as possible. Ensuring a continued positive impact across the community and voluntary sector will be a key part of my Department's work in the coming years.

Dáil Éireann debate - Thursday, 14 Oct 2010