Community and Voluntary Sector: Motion

Deputy Brian Stanley

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

recognises that the community sector is estimated to be worth €6.5 billion to the Irish economy, three times the size of the State's investment, proving that the community and voluntary sector is a cost-effective medium for the provision of many vital services;

notes that the delivery costs of many of the services currently provided by this sector would be substantially greater if Government departments, the Health Service Executive (HSE) or private companies were to deliver the same level of service directly;

notes that the community and voluntary sector provides essential services which the State and private sectors are unwilling or unable to provide;

acknowledges that it is unacceptable for the State to abdicate its own responsibility for the delivery of vital services to the community and voluntary sector without providing adequate support and long-term security of funding;

condemns the hollowing out of genuine community development by abolishing voluntary boards of management and placing control under partnership programmes which undermines local democracy and the bottom-up approach upon which community development is based;

notes that the sector provides the equivalent of 50,000 full-time jobs, with large numbers of part-time workers greatly increasing the total number employed;

recognises and supports the community and voluntary sector's right to engage in advocacy as a valuable contribution to policymaking;

notes that there are 7,500 charitable, community and voluntary groups providing essential services to children, older people, people with disabilities or ill-health, vulnerable people, drug users, women, immigrants, travellers and other ethnic minority groups;

commends the sector for being a tireless advocate for communities dealing with some of Ireland's most serious social and economic problems, and for working to empower marginalised communities to apply their own solutions to their own problems;

recognises the potential of the community and voluntary sector, as both a service provider and an advocate, and further recognises that as unemployment rises and struggling public services are overwhelmed, community organisations are being pushed to fill the gap;

rejects the disproportionate Government cutbacks inflicted on community and voluntary groups, particularly those which are as a direct result of speaking out against Government policies;

notes that these cuts are targeting programmes that serve the most vulnerable in our society and deepen existing inequalities despite the acknowledgment in the Programme for Government that the community and voluntary sector has a ‘vital role' in tackling poverty and protecting the most vulnerable;

affirms that the community and voluntary sector needs to participate in decision making and must be able to monitor and challenge Government without fear of repercussions so as to fulfil a watchdog function on the political class;

calls upon the Government to reverse the cuts in funding to the community and voluntary sector and move towards multi-annual funding in order to allow organisations to plan ahead and end the practice of funding bodies requiring the production of detailed business plans before giving any indication of the size of the budget available for the year in question;

calls upon the Government to ring-fence €50 million per year from the Dormant Accounts Fund for the community and voluntary sector, ring-fence monies seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) for community development and community based drug projects and introduce a VAT refund scheme for charities;

calls upon the Government to re-conceptualise and extend the Community Employment (CE) scheme by increasing the number of CE places available, including Special CE schemes;

acknowledges that social enterprise has the potential to create 5,000 jobs a year and that community and voluntary organisations could benefit from the potential offered by social enterprise and calls upon the Government to support social enterprises' pursuit of social objectives, including job creation, which is a valued end in itself;

calls upon the Government to implement the Labour Court recommendations and furthermore, to allow community and voluntary sector workers to negotiate their pay and conditions on a collective basis by introducing a mechanism involving Departments, employers and workers which establishes the right to collective bargaining; and

calls upon the Government to establish an All-Ireland Consultative Civic Forum promised by the Good Friday Agreement, which would enable communities to engage with others across civic society and across the country and share information, learning and best practice on an all-Ireland basis.

With the agreement of the House I will share time with four of my colleagues. While I am happy to introduce this Private Members' motion on behalf of Sinn Féin, I am equally dismayed that we have to do so. Despite the important and extremely valuable work of the community and voluntary sector over the years, which has been independently evaluated, it has been disproportionately targeted by Government cuts since before the recession even began. In 2009 public expenditure increased by 6%, yet the then Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, which was responsible for funding essential community infrastructure, had its budget cut by 8%. Then, in 2010 the Department's budget was cut by a further 10%, leading to overall cuts of between 18% and 20% for organisations in the community and voluntary sector.

With the stroke of a pen, the then Fianna Fáil-led Government ensured not only unemployment for people in the sector, but a marked deterioration in the lives of thousands of others as the community and voluntary sector was no longer able to sustain the same levels of activities and services it had been providing. I remind the Government the community sector provides these services because the State continues to fail to do so itself. Fianna Fáil could not expect anyone to believe it supported the community sector when it was inflicting this level of cuts, and Fine Gael and the Labour Party cannot seriously expect us to believe they support the community sector when clearly they have no intention of reinstating the level of funding that is needed. Front-line service providers working in the area of drug use and addiction were especially hit by cutbacks, leaving the sector with 15% less of a service. Supports in general for the community and voluntary sector have been cut by up to one third. This is a scandal.

I commend those who work in the community and voluntary sector, both in paid and voluntary capacities. These are the people who have to face the reality of, and make up the shortfall for, the Government's wing and a prayer attitude to policymaking in the State. People are overworked in terrible conditions, providing services for people who are very often living in poor conditions, working for low pay or no pay, and trying to make slashed budgets stretch as far as humanly possible.

Once again, those who received little or nothing during the Celtic tiger years are being forced to bear the burden of governmental financial mismanagement. The State neglected the poor, the homeless and the disabled over these years when there was money. In May, it was stated at IMPACT's health and welfare divisional conference in Tralee that 5,000 jobs had been lost in the sector, and the budgets of organisations had been cut by as much as 20%.

Regardless of what the Government may say, funding is often used as a gag mechanism against those in the community and voluntary sector. These groups are forced to walk a tightrope of providing services and looking for funding to do so because the State is either unwilling to do it or because whatever structure it has put in place is too inept to do it, while at the same time highlighting the deficiencies in State provision. However, as always, they can highlight only so much. A step too far and they will very quickly find themselves with a budget significantly cut from what it had been the previous year, and all for having the nerve to stand up and be counted and state what they see is wrong.

During its general election campaign, the Labour Party made all sorts of promises regarding the community and voluntary sector. I recall one statement from Deputy Joe Costello which conveniently, in the October before the election, called on the Government and the then Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs "to ensure that the cuts to the community and voluntary sector are stopped and that, at least, the existing services are maintained". Unfortunately this support did not travel with it into government.

The Community Workers' Co-operative, CWC, was one of the original anti-poverty networks identified by the State as having strategic importance during the 1990s, and it received core funding from the State until very recently. Its core work was to promote and support community development approaches to tackling poverty, social exclusion and inequalities using community development as a far more sustainable approach to poverty reduction and social inclusion than an income-based approach which is vulnerable to fluctuations in social welfare and other direct payments.

The scheme to support national organisations in the community and voluntary sector was subsequently reviewed by the then Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs. On 8 June the Community Workers' Co-operative received word that it would not be funded under the scheme in the future. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, then stated the application from the CWC did not meet the qualifying mark for funding on this occasion. The Labour Party and Fine Gael cannot have it both ways. The CWC criticised the local and community development programme and then lost 100% of its funding. They cannot pretend to support the community and voluntary sector and then cut funding because they do not like what the sector has to say. The CWC office in Galway has now closed and people have lost a very important voice for disadvantaged communities throughout the west.

Funding for other organisations is also under serious threat, with groups dealing with violence against women and general domestic violence being forced to fight for the same money. The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, INOU, recently cancelled the posting of its newsletters owing to funding limitations. As unemployment reaches almost 500,000, staff are being lost across the board and the most vulnerable in the State are being thrown to the wolves.

We believe there must be a securely resourced community and voluntary sector that responds to and advocates for the needs and wishes of communities, be they geographically based or communities of interest. It is about much more than service provision. It can channel meaningful input into decisions and help to ensure ongoing accountability in implementation.

Front-line services alone cannot tackle marginalisation. Communities must also be given the resources and supports to address its underlying causes. There is a need for all those involved in responding to the problems to work together. This includes the most affected families, communities and young people.

Cuts to the community sector are part of a larger deflationary austerity plan. They do irreparable damage to our vital community infrastructure which has taken years to build up. Unfortunately, the consensus of cuts embarked on by Fianna Fáil is now being continued by Fine Gael and the Labour Party, with communities suffering from the cumulative effect of cuts to public spending, public services and community-based services. The programme for Government states: "During a time of recession and deep unemployment the Government acknowledges the vital role of the community and voluntary sector working in partnership with local communities, State agencies and local authorities." Cutting funding left, right and centre is acknowledging nothing but the Government's austerity agenda. For these reasons I ask Members to hold to the promises they made before the general election and support the community and voluntary sector by supporting this motion.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

How many of the Deputy's colleagues are sharing the remaining 30 minutes speaking time?

Deputy Brian Stanley

Five.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh

This is a very important motion and it is a pity it needs to be discussed in the House. When the people voted out a Government which was intent on ripping the heart and soul out of communities I thought we would have seen a different tack being taken by this Government but, to date, this has not been the case. The new Government has an opportunity tomorrow evening to declare its interest in and protection of the community and voluntary sector and its investment in the services and supports which those sectors need desperately.

Those services are vital and most of them are delivering a service which otherwise would have to be delivered by the State and this will be the case if those services are withdrawn as a result of the imposition of cuts in funding. The community and voluntary sector delivers services which should be the responsibility of the State to provide but the sector has been doing this work for many generations. The sector is a very effective and efficient provider of these services. In my view, the community and voluntary sector has been over-evaluated and it is regrettable the same evaluations of its effectiveness and expenditure were not applied to many of the Departments or to the Central Bank in particular. In many cases the sector has delivered a service at a much lower cost than the State could ever do. I urge the Minister to ensure that not only is the voluntary and community sector protected but that a reversal is made in the budget of the cuts imposed in recent years.

These are the vital services which include providing proper meals and day care for the elderly. These services are aimed at those who are drug-dependent or are recovering from some type of drug dependency. They also include youth services. If those services are not fully resourced we will be in a much worse state. This will be the outcome of any cuts inflicted on some of these groups.

I have been contacted by a number of groups both in my area and in others. They are at the end of their tether and they cannot sustain another cut. Some have managed to absorb the cuts. Addiction Response Crumlin is an umbrella organisation in my area for nine different groups. It has had a 22% cut in its budgets over the past three years. The group intervenes and supports communities and families who are in dire need and are the most vulnerable. Its work is saving the State an absolute fortune. If the services of the group is curtailed, more people will be in prison and more people will be in accident and emergency departments and there will be a higher level of crime in the Crumlin and Drimnagh areas. This demonstrates how vital is this one service.

I appeal to the Minister to ensure there will be no cuts. I hope no Minister will stand up to say there has not been any cut since the new Government came into office. There seems to be an embargo on filling community employment places. This is the equivalent of a cut. The HSE recently announced there has been a further cut of 5% in the budget for the last quarter for many of the mainstream drugs projects. This comes at a time when most of the money has been planned for and spent by the projects. The St. John Bos Co. youth centre in my area risks seeing its funded staff numbers being cut by half by the middle of 2012 if any cuts are imposed. This is its precarious financial situation. The centre has ten directly employed youth workers and service deliverers and this number would be reduced to five. It would be impossible to deliver the youth services which the centre has developed over the years.

I will list the organisations which have rolled out the services they were allowed develop. If these services are cut, the communities will suffer. These communities do not have jobs nor any wealth to allow for fund-raising. They are the most vulnerable and most disadvantaged communities in the country.

I refer to the Inchicore community drug team which has lost one staff member who had been working 21 hours a week as well as three seasonal workers who provide holistic therapies for three afternoons. That service is no longer available. Even in the absence of further cuts, they may still lose another half-time post by the beginning of January. This will impact on people in recovery from drug dependency. The FÁS community employment scheme in Dolphin House and Dolphin Park has lost five CE places as a result of an embargo on filling places. Providing employment and training opportunities is central to the successful social regeneration so these cuts in CE places undermine that vital objective.

I urge the Minister, if nothing else, to ensure the State lives up to its responsibilities to workers such as those on community employment and jobs initiative schemes. It must deal with the anomaly whereby one group argues it is not responsible for the workers and the State argues the responsibility lies with the partnerships, community development programmes or FÁS. This anomaly must be ended and it must be ensured that collective bargaining is allowed for that group of workers in our society who do not currently enjoy it. I urge the Minister to ensure there will be no cutbacks and to ensure a reversal of cutbacks implemented by the previous Government, as was promised by many of the Labour Party Deputies in the general election. They should live up to their promises or they will regret the day they cut any of these services.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

As there are four more speakers sharing time, Deputy Adams has five minutes.

Deputy Gerry Adams

I wish to place on record my thanks to those many men and women in the community and voluntary sector who work tirelessly to help others. They are engaged in daily acts of practical patriotism and that is worthy of recognition and acknowledgment by this House.

The community and voluntary sector is the cement which holds communities together, in particular the slightly disadvantaged communities. Many citizens would have fallen through the cracks if it were not for the work of these very good men and women. Those with disabilities, the young, the elderly, vulnerable families, ethnic minorities, lone parents and those citizens on low and middle incomes who are being pushed further into poverty would be in even greater distress if it were not for the community and voluntary sector. Sinn Féin believes, as my cairde said earlier, there is enormous untapped potential in this sector as a service provider, a source of employment and as an advocate for change. I have seen this in my constituency of Louth. I have seen, for example, citizens working with women victims of domestic abuse, with disadvantaged and disaffected youth, on suicide prevention programmes, on alcohol and drug abuse schemes and working with those who are disadvantaged with learning and other difficulties.

In these difficult economic times, high unemployment and cuts in public services have put special pressure on community organisations. Few of them get mainstream funding. I consider myself a community activist and I am still involved in one or two community organisations. These organisations must spend a huge amount of time chasing funding and trying to put together a cocktail of funding and as the end of the financial year approaches people's contracts come to an end. We would not work under those circumstances and should not expect others to do so.

Tá grúpaí ar an talamh faoi ionsaí díreach go rialta, ach ba chóir don Rialtas iad a mholadh mar gheall ar an obair a dhéanann siad. Tá daoine ag iarraidh go mbéarfaí lámh chúnta don rannóg phobail deonach seo arís.

Instead of the rhetoric which is sometimes used to praise these organisations, we need to follow through and sustain their efforts. There is widespread anticipation and the Government has signalled that the December budget will see the community and voluntary sector squeezed again. I return continually to the fact that on 2 November, the Government will gift €700 million to bondholders in the toxic Anglo Irish Bank. I know that even a small amount of money, of €5,000, €10,000, €20,000 or €30,000 can make a huge difference to a community running a community project. What could €700 million do in terms of helping our people through these difficult times? Many of these community groups are already suffering from cutbacks. Programmes that help the most vulnerable of people have been targeted and existing posts are at risk. Sinn Féin believes — I would like to think the founder of the Labour Party, James Connolly, would have believed — that the community and voluntary sector should be resourced in a way that removes the uncertainty and the endless effort required to chase after short term funding.

We also believe that people have the right to participate directly in the decision making processes that affect them. I commend to the Government the need to establish the all-Ireland consultative civic forum promised by the Good Friday Agreement to build across the island a system where communities can learn from best practice and where information and ideas can be shared. I urge the Minister to do the decent thing and stand by the election commitments given by his party and support — not decimate — the community sector.

Deputy Pearse Doherty

Ireland, North and South, has a rich and vibrant community and voluntary sector. In every county and community there are groups of individuals working tirelessly to improve the well-being of their families, their neighbours and their country. In part, this strong tradition has been built on our strong sense of community. The same spirit was used to build the Gaelic Athletic Association and the credit union movement. It has also been mobilised in support of an unlimited number of local, regional and national efforts aimed at strengthening and sustaining our communities.

Tógadh an earnáil seo mar go raibh gá leis. Le blianta fada, chonaic muid go raibh rialtais éagsúla ag diúltiú infheistíochta chuí a dhéanamh in infreastruchtúr an phobail sa Stát seo. Fágadh ag oird na mná rialta agus na sagairt agus ag carthanachtaí eile le na hospidéil agus scoileanna a thógáil. We have seen civic minded individuals develop services for the homeless, people with disabilities and others in need of support and have seen communities mobilised themselves in defence of their rights. Inniu, tugann na mílte daoine a gcuid ama go deonach le bheith mar pháirt den fheachtas, den ruthag mór seo le tír níos fearr a thógáil.

Today hundreds of thousands of people give up their time to be part of this mass movement dedicated to making Ireland and their small part of our nation a better place for all. There are more than 7,500 charitable, community and voluntary groups across the State. They provide full-time employment for 50,000 people and contribute more than €6.5 billion to the economy annually, despite only receiving State funding of the order of €1.89 billion per year. They provide essential front line services, as Members on the Government side of the House know, and provide broader advocacy support to children, older people, people with disabilities or ill-health, drug-users, women, Travellers and many other groups of people in need of support.

In my county there are many heroes and heroines, with 730 community and voluntary organisations. While much of this activity is funded by the State, the community and voluntary sector has proven itself to be able to mobilise additional funds through fund-raising and direct financing, all of which reduces the cost to the State and represents real value for the taxpayer. Equally, the fact that community and voluntary groups are, in the main, small in size and active at the coal face of their respective sector, gives them the ability to adapt and respond to the needs of the communities they support with a speed and flexibility that is often absent from larger State agencies.

We all know from our experience in our constituencies and have seen it at first hand that from the onset of the recession, demand for community and voluntary support has risen dramatically. Níl lá a théann thart nach bhfuil muid ag léamh sna páipéir go bhfuil níos mó gá fá choinne na seirbhísí agus faoi na daoine atá gan teach, daoine atá as obair agus daoine atá ag strachailt lá i ndiaidh lae le tinneas agus a leithéid. Not a day goes pass that we do not read newspaper reports of increased demand for services for people who are struggling, homeless, out of work or struggling with mental health problems. Despite this, the Government, like its predecessor, is cutting vital funding to the community and voluntary sector. With the loss of funding, comes loss of jobs and loss of vital services.

In May 2010 the boards and voluntary agencies branch of the IMPACT trade union published a detailed report on funding cuts and job losses in the community and voluntary sector. It estimated that up to 5,000 jobs — almost 10% of the sector's workforce — would be lost as a result of cuts in Government funding and this at a time when demand for services was increasing. It also reported that up to 1,100 community employment schemes would also be lost. The report found that from 2009 to 2010, cuts to State funding for the voluntary and community sector amounted to between 18% and 20%. The cuts were also unevenly spread over the sector, with higher cuts to community development projects. IMPACT predicted a contraction in the community and voluntary sector of approximately 15% over the next two years.

What have we heard since? We have had the programme for Government to which Fine Gael and the Labour Party have signed up and in which they promise to protect and promote the community and voluntary sector. The programme states: "During a time of recession and deep unemployment, the Government acknowledges the vital role of the community and voluntary sector working in partnership with local communities, State agencies and local authorities". However, this Government appears to be pursuing the same short-sighted policies as its predecessor. The decision by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, to cease funding groups such as the community workers co-operative suggests that the Government is not serious about its commitments in the programme for Government.

The Government needs to make its intentions clear. It needs to outline what its strategy is for the future of the community and voluntary sector. In particular, it needs to indicate whether it intends to reverse the disastrous policy of underfunding projects. Caithfidh an Rialtas a rá go soiléir an bhfuil sé sásta tarraingt siar ar an chinneadh a ghlac Fianna Fáil, cinneadh faillíoch agus lochtach, nuair a ghlac sé an cinneadh le 29 CDPs a dhúnadh ar fud an Stáit. The Government needs to indicate whether it intends to reverse the worst decisions of the previous Government, such as the closure in 2010 of 29 community development projects across the State, a decision made by the previous Government that was nothing short of a politically motivated attack on some of the most deprived communities in the State.

At a time of social and economic crisis we need a strong and adequately resourced community and voluntary sector. Failure to invest in this sector today will cost much more in the long term. I urge the Government to give serious consideration to this motion and to work with the Opposition to develop a strong and vibrant community and voluntary sector. I urge the Government to take a step back when the troika is in town and think about the type of Ireland it wants when we send them home. Do we want an Ireland where the community and voluntary sector is decimated, an Ireland in which we have handed away our rights, natural resources and language? We might get our monetary and fiscal powers back but we may have given up everything that was good about Ireland.

Deputy Sandra McLellan

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. I will address the issue of funding and support for local community arts projects. Given the current economic climate and the daily reality of stress and anxiety in hundreds of thousands of homes across this state, the role of such schemes is immense in real terms. The arts have many benefits for individuals and society. They provide us with inspiring ideas and new meanings. They symbolise aspects of the world and can express meanings for communities and groups through, for example, pictures or plays about important events. Through the arts, children can develop a range of skills, self-confidence and ways to work better with others. Arts events bring people together.

Policy makers, arts practitioners and researchers have suggested that participation in arts activity can result in a broad range of positive effects. These range from increased self-confidence to increased educational attainment, from social cohesion to reduced offending behaviour. The claimed positive effects of arts participation have been categorised and labelled in many different ways but include, among others, developing self-confidence and self-esteem, increasing creativity and thinking skills, improving skills in planning and organising activities, improving communication of ideas and information, raising or enhancing educational attainment, increasing appreciation of arts, creating social capital, strengthening communities, developing community identity, decreasing social isolation, improving understanding of different cultures, enhancing social cohesion, promoting interest in the local environment, activating social change, raising public awareness of an issue, enhancing mental and physical health and well-being, contributing to urban regeneration, reducing offending behaviour, alleviating the impact of poverty and increasing the employability of individuals.

Some of the claimed benefits derived from the arts, such as self-esteem, are primarily personal or individual benefits while others, such as developing community identity, occur at a community level. It has been suggested that those participating in arts programmes may accrue some benefits directly as a result of their participation. However, there are also less direct and more complex processes that are dependent on achieving intermediary outcomes. For example, people learn new skills and feel more confident as the result of participating in community arts activity, and this, in turn, may increase their employability.

Many of the benefits are interlinked, overlapping or even interdependent. For example, social capital is a term closely related to social cohesion and well-being. Definitions of social capital often refer to the existence of, and participation in, organised networks or groups and less tangible items such as social trust, civic co-operation, local democracy and group solidarity. Increased self-confidence is frequently suggested as an outcome of arts participation. It has also been suggested that participants develop creative as well as non-creative skills, such as communication or organisational skills. Attainment of these sorts of outcomes by individuals may represent progress towards harder social inclusion outcomes such as employment or education and are pertinent to this inquiry.

We are reminded of some ground-breaking arts projects that have broken down barriers and been vehicles for understanding and absolute transformation, such as Féile an Phobail in Belfast, Music for the Mind in my home county of Cork, or RTE's popular "Music Changes Lives" programme, which documented how the simple act of learning to play a musical instrument changed the lives of a group of young children. This is not to mention the well-reported benefits to community development and urban regeneration. Research suggests arts programmes and projects were highly effective in producing community development outcomes, namely, development of community identity, decrease in social isolation, improvements in recreational options, development of local enterprise and improvement in facilities. Furthermore, the process of creating, strengthening communities or developing social capital frequently generates the desire for social change.

Local community arts schemes, like so many of the other projects mentioned, play an important, almost unquantifiable role in the lives of so many. In times of crisis the services they provide are in greater demand. They deserve recognition, appropriate support and encouragement. That the Government intends to continue its assault on them is a shocking reflection on its idea of what counts for a society.

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

This is one of the most comprehensive motions put before the Dáil in my experience of Private Members' time. It acknowledges the central role played by the community and voluntary sector in keeping our society together in a time of crisis. We have heard much in the current presidential campaign about the importance of the local community and the value of voluntary effort in helping our country to recover from the current recession. This focus on community and on voluntary effort is welcome but it must be more than rhetoric.

Those attempting to develop their communities and those volunteering to do so must be supported in their efforts by Government. Our motion points out the estimated monetary value of their work but the cost to the State and its agencies, if it had to replicate this work, is incalculable. The truth is that no State could replicate this effort, such is its scale. We are all aware of the massive efforts going on throughout our communities to improve quality of life for young and old alike. This deserves more than rhetorical recognition. It needs strategic economic support, which is the oil to help the engine of community effort to run. The fuel is free — that is the enthusiasm and what has been correctly identified as the patriotism of community volunteers across this country.

While different figures are cited, it has been estimated that there are more than 6,000 voluntary and community organisations in Ireland employing almost 55,000 people. In the economic approach of this and the last Government, we see anti-people and anti-community policies. People on low incomes, people dependent on social welfare and those in low paid employment are being hit hardest by the austerity measures. Cruel cuts to social welfare affect children, especially those in low-income families. These are the families who benefit most from community development but this too is subject to cuts.

As a spokesperson for health and children, I will address the child care area. Child care is vital for many of those who wish to take up employment where it is available or return to education and training but the community child care sector has also been subject to cuts. This was the subject of questions I put to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, in the Dáil on 27 September. I raised the position of many child care workers in the community sector who are on low pay and who do not currently have the right to collective bargaining. I make a particular appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Willie Penrose, for whom I have great respect, to take note of this. I have written to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs on this matter. The right to collective bargaining is something that the Labour Party in government should pursue.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Hear, hear.

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Community child care workers have seen their hours of work reduced while others have been or are being made redundant. Government funding to child care programmes was cut by a colossal 24% in 2010. This presents real challenges to the workers concerned and to those who depend on the community sector for their child care needs.

Obviously disadvantaged areas figure largely in this category but this is not exclusively within disadvantaged areas. SIPTU currently has an active campaign on this issue, seeking collective bargaining rights for child care workers in the community sector. I am appealing not only to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, which I have already done, and to the Minister of State himself, but to the Government to engage positively with SIPTU and with all concerned to help ensure decent pay and conditions for child care workers, the best possible continuing care for children and support for parents — support needed, all too sadly, today more than ever.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Willie Penrose)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

recognises that the community and voluntary sector plays a crucial role in supporting social, community, economic and cultural life throughout Ireland and is an important partner for the Government in delivering vital services;

notes that in addition to its societal and cultural roles, the wider not-for-profit sector is also a significant industry in its own right, employing more than 100,000 people;

notes that it is estimated that the sector has an annual turnover of €5.7 billion and generates €3.7 billion in wages and salaries per annum;

acknowledges the responsibility of Government to protect the vulnerable and disadvantaged in our communities by maintaining its focus on front-line services, while working to keep the cost of delivering these services to a minimum. In this regard, the aim must be to provide simplified, easy-to-access, high quality services for those who require them;

notes the Government's commitment to reviewing the delivery of services at local level and further aligning the functions of local development agencies with local authorities in order to improve service delivery from the point of view of the citizen;

commends the commitment by the Government to reducing duplication of services, providing more efficient and effective local services, and ensuring greater democratic accountability in decision-making at a local level through, inter alia, the alignment of the local government and local development sectors in a way which builds on the strengths of both sectors;

recognises that initiatives to improve services at a local level must be underpinned by a bottom-up community development approach, which will continue to ensure that communities, and the marginalised within those communities, are afforded the opportunity to influence and shape local decisions;

notes that the fiscal difficulties facing the Exchequer, combined with an underdeveloped philanthropic and fund-raising capacity in Ireland, have had an impact on both public funding and private investment from business and individuals to the community and voluntary sector, at a time when the need for services is increasing;

commends the Government for renewing the mandate of the Forum for Philanthropy and Fund-raising to support strategically the further development of both philanthropy and fund-raising capacity, with an interim report to be submitted to Government in October 2011;

recognises that to attract greater funding from philanthropy and corporate investment, it is critical that there is an appropriate infrastructure to facilitate philanthropy and investment in this country, and appropriate regulation of the non-profit sector that promotes effectiveness, accountability and transparency;

recognises that the community and voluntary sector can play an important role in the social and economic recovery of Ireland as a provider of valuable social services but also as a contributor to job creation and economic growth;

is conscious of the meaningful role the community employment scheme and similar initiatives play in supporting services for communities and their contribution to providing work placements and meeting the needs of people affected by long-term unemployment and those most distant from the labour market;

believes that opportunities exist to streamline the operation of these interventions with a view to meeting the commitments contained in the programme for Government for extending their reach and improving their effectiveness; and

notes that the St. Andrews Agreement commits the Northern Ireland Executive to supporting the establishment of an independent North-South consultative forum appointed by the two Administrations and representative of civil society and encourages the Government to continue its efforts towards the establishment of the forum.

We are fortunate in this country to have a vibrant and diverse community and voluntary sector. There are more than 14,000 charities and not-for-profit organisations which contribute to Irish society in a myriad of ways by providing essential services in areas such as social care, child care, care of the elderly, health services, education, the environment, sport and culture.

While we are all aware of what these organisations bring to our quality of life, perhaps we do not fully recognise the value of the not-for-profit sector in the economic well-being of our country. The wider not-for-profit sector in Ireland employs more than 100,000 people, which is almost equivalent to the number employed in agriculture. It is estimated that the sector has an annual turnover of €5.7 billion and generates €3.7 billion in wages and salaries per annum. Moreover, funding channelled into the sector goes straight to work in every city, town and parish across the country, boosting local employment and the local economy. These figures do not include the tens of thousands of unpaid volunteers who make an enormous difference on a daily basis in every parish in the country, from serving on school boards to coaching football teams. For example, the Tidy Towns awards ceremony earlier this year paid tribute to what has become one of the most important environmental initiatives in this country, driven by an army of volunteers working in 821 cities, towns and villages across the country in co-operation with local authorities as well as local business and tourism efforts.

The reconfiguration of ministerial portfolios earlier this year means that responsibility for local government and community-related functions is now vested in one Department, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. The bringing together of these functions provides the means to effect a comprehensive and joined-up reform of local government and local development as outlined in the programme for Government. It provides us with an opportunity to implement a more co-ordinated approach to the reform of these sectors than would otherwise be the case. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has already begun to work on the task of achieving greater alignment between local government and local development functions and programmes. Alongside this, work is under way on implementing the recommendations of the local government efficiency review group. This is an important process and, as it is being implemented in parallel with our focus on alignment between local government and community development, it will help to provide a solid foundation for the successful alignment of functions and programmes. It is also important at this early stage in the approach to alignment of functions that Ministers and officials at the Department have the opportunity to consult with key stakeholders in order to share our view on what we are aiming to achieve and to obtain input from all those involved in the areas of local and community development.

The programme for Government has committed to reviewing the delivery of services at local level to improve service delivery for the citizen. At a basic level, this is a commitment by Government to deliver services in an integrated and joined-up way that meets the needs of citizens. It is a commitment to create and sustain vibrant rural and urban communities in a way that involves those communities in the decision-making process, fosters progressive change and provides people with the means to shape their own futures. This involves sharing and devolving responsibilities down to a much lower level, and will allow communities to have a meaningful say in shaping their future rather than being passive recipients of decisions from on high.

Essentially, we must improve service delivery and do so at a significantly reduced cost to the public purse. The economic and social challenges we face are unprecedented and the pressure and demands on the public finances are ones we must face. We must ensure that scarce resources are invested wisely and fairly. We must not lose sight of the fact, however, that we have a responsibility to protect the vulnerable and disadvantaged in our communities. The Government is conscious of the critical importance of maintaining the emphasis on front-line services while working to contain and reduce the cost of delivering these services. In this regard, the aim must be to provide simplified, easy-to-access, high quality services for those who require them.

The closer alignment of local government and local development that my Department is pursuing is aimed at reducing duplication of services, ensuring greater democratic accountability in decision making at a local level and delivering more efficient and effective services for the citizen. While it is too early to predict the shape of the outcome, the steering group has been asked to pursue its work within a short timescale.

The bottom-up approach is an integral feature of local and community development and must be retained. We must ensure our communities, and the marginalised within those communities, are afforded the opportunity to influence and shape local decisions. The Government is also of the opinion that a partnership model is a vital element in delivering effective local and community development programmes. This model facilitates a multi-agency effort and fosters a multi-dimensional approach to the delivery of services to communities.

Those who wish to continue to volunteer on behalf of their communities will be encouraged under the local and community development programme, LCDP, without the bureaucratic burden of ensuring compliance with company law. The LCDP is delivered using such a partnership-based or bottom-up approach. Local development companies have been chosen by the Department as the main LCDP delivery agents. Representatives from a range of voluntary, statutory and community sectors, along with social partners, constitute the boards of directors, who work collaboratively to effect change locally. This integrated delivery of social inclusion responses will allow the LCDP to harness local skills and resources to empower individuals and groups in supporting progressive change. There has already been a significant reduction in the number of local development bodies operating in the sector, resulting in a more coherent and streamlined targeting of resources at local level. These achievements are not inconsiderable and provide a strong foundation to meet the challenges ahead.

The Department also saw a need to reduce or remove the responsibility for company law compliance from the board members of community development projects, allowing them more time to do what they do best — to use their local knowledge, energy and commitment to improve service delivery on the ground. We will make sure the aligned structures resulting from the process now in hand recognise the strengths and experiences of both the local government and local development systems. We want to be sure the best elements of both are accommodated in any new structures.

Responsibility for community employment and a number of similar initiatives transferred earlier this year to the Department of Social Protection. Over the coming months, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, hopes to be in a position to look afresh at a number of aspects of the operation of these initiatives, which were referred to in earlier speeches. Against the background of scarce resources, the Government will consider where the best outcomes at the best value can be achieved in providing opportunities for people who are out of work. Community employment cannot be excluded from any consideration of this nature.

It is important to emphasise to the House that the purpose of community employment is primarily the development of a skills base and improvement of the work-readiness of individuals so they can re-enter the workforce after periods of unemployment or other absences. Community employment is an active labour market programme designed to provide opportunities for people to engage in useful work and training within communities on a fixed-term basis with a view to progression to the labour market in the short term.

The criteria for participating in community employment are based on a person's individual circumstances, including his or her age, the length of time he or she has been unemployed or absent from the labour market, and whether he or she is in receipt of qualifying social welfare payments. The programme also focuses on those with more limited access to jobs and training opportunities, including lone parents, persons with disabilities, stabilised substance abusers, ex-prisoners, Travellers, and long-term unemployed persons. Duration on the programme is limited to facilitate the progression of participants to the open labour market. This also allows for the movement of participants through the programme and opens opportunities for new participants to avail of the benefits offered. The number of places available was increased to 23,300 in 2010. The budgetary provision for 2011 will allow FÁS to continue the programme at the same level as 2010. In delivering these places, FÁS will continue to operate flexibly in the management of this allocation in order to maximise progression to the labour market, while at the same time facilitating the support of community services.

In summary, the Government will continue to support the positive role of FÁS employment schemes in meeting the needs of long-term unemployed persons. The Government is also conscious of the meaningful role community employment projects play in supporting services in communities the length and breadth of Ireland. While there are no immediate plans to alter the current criteria for participants in community employment or add to the number of places available, I understand the Minister will be taking stock of its operation with a view to making improvements if these are found to be necessary. The programme for Government contains a commitment to reform local government, including consideration of the possibility of moving functions that are currently being performed by agencies, such as community employment and enterprise supports, back to local government. Any future consideration will have regard to that commitment.

On 7 December 2010, the then Minister for Finance announced the introduction of a community work placement initiative for up to 5,000 people in his budget statement to Dáil Éireann. The initiative, known as Tús, was launched on 21 December 2010, and work on developing the necessary implementation structures has been under way since. Tús will provide short-term, quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year, with work placements being offered by the not-for-profit, community and voluntary sectors. The initiative will be delivered locally by each local development company and by Údarás na Gaeltachta in Gaeltacht areas. Promotion of Tús to potential work placement providers has been under way for some weeks as part of a process of identifying suitable positions. Local development companies are recruiting supervisory staff which will provide for a phased roll-out over the coming months, with the full 5,000 placements being made available in 2012. The 2011 provision is €30 million, increasing to €100 million for a full year's operation.

The aims of the rural social scheme are to provide income support for farmers and fishermen who are currently in receipt of specified social welfare payments and to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities. The scheme allows low-income farmers and fishermen who are unable to earn an adequate living from their farm holding or fishing to earn a supplementary income. All of the work undertaken while participating on the scheme should be beneficial to the local community. Although responsibility for the scheme rests with the Department, it is managed at local level by the local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta in Gaeltacht areas. In 2010, some 2,600 participants and 130 supervisors were engaged in supporting 2,460 community projects at a cost of more than €46 million. The provision for 2011 is €46.14 million, which will be used to retain existing numbers employed while aiming to provide support to 2,500 community projects.

The objective of the community services programme is to support local community services in the delivery of good quality local services which address disadvantage while providing funding to employ people with limited work opportunities. An important aspect of the programme is its emphasis on the creation of employment opportunities for specific groups suffering social or economic disadvantage. As a general principle, 70% of workers in CSP-funded posts must be from the following target groups: people with disabilities, the long-term unemployed, Travellers, lone parents, and rehabilitated drug misusers.

The economic difficulties facing the country have undoubtedly impacted greatly on both public funding and private investment from business and individuals to the not-for-profit sector. This is occurring at a time when the need for services from the sector has increased dramatically. In addition, parts of the sector are hugely reliant on State funding, with not-for-profit organisations on average receiving 60% of their funding from the public purse. We have a shared responsibility to support the non-profit sector. Both philanthropy and fund-raising capacity are underdeveloped in this country and we lag behind other nations such as the United States and the United Kingdom in terms of a strategic approach to private investment in the non-profit sector. There is great scope to increase corporate giving in this country, an area in which we trail well behind our European counterparts.

It is against this background that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, reconvened the Forum on Philanthropy last June under the chairmanship of Mr. Frank Flannery. The Minister has asked the forum to bring forward proposals for a strategy to develop philanthropy and fund-raising in support of civil society. These proposals will be delivered by the end of this month. There is an urgent need for such a strategy, which offers a great opportunity to create new and innovative public private partnerships to address fundamental social and economic challenges and support arts and cultural initiatives.

To attract greater funding from philanthropy and corporate investment, it is critical to have in place an appropriate infrastructure to facilitate it, with efficient tax and legal frameworks that encourage giving, proactive and engaged intermediaries and wealth advisers and appropriate regulation of the non-profit sector which promotes effectiveness, accountability and transparency. The non-profit sector must adapt to the new economic realities we face and operate more efficiently and innovatively. It must also become better at targeting a more diverse range of supports, including partnerships within the corporate sector, to develop its potential. It is essential that the non-profit sector can tap into the many crossover benefits which can flow from a well-cultivated relationship with the business community.

The extent of the challenge to develop philanthropy and fund-raising capacity in this country is underlined by the statistics generated on behalf of the Forum on Philanthropy. For example, only 15% of donors in Ireland give in a regular, planned fashion compared with 36% in the United Kingdom. This is an important statistic because planned donations are on average five times larger than spontaneous donations. In terms of percentage of income donated, Ireland ranks well below the United States and many of its European peers, including Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, where despite a similar government philosophy, people are donating more than 1% of their disposable income compared with the Irish figure of 0.8%. The United Kingdom figure is 1.2%. In Ireland the 400 top earners account for some 10% of tax-deducted charitable giving. In comparison, in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, the top income earners account for more than 30% of private donations.

There are only some 30 active grant-making foundations in Ireland compared with more than 8,000 in the United Kingdom. With 0.7 charitable foundations per 100,000 inhabitants, the number of Irish foundations lags far behind the European average of approximately 20. If Ireland were to match the average European figure, we would have 857 grant-making foundations. Corporate giving in Ireland is also very low. Only 1.4%, or some €25 million, of Irish NGOs' income in 2005 stemmed from corporate donations, or less than 0.1% of pre-tax profits of the top 500 Irish companies. By comparison, all listed corporations in the United Kingdom donate on average 1.2% of their pre-tax profits, reaching as much as 7% for Sainsbury's. In other words, these British corporations donate 12 times the Irish contribution.

Of the professional advisers surveyed, 80% stated that their clients do not understand the concept of strategic planned philanthropy. Some 50% of advisers have never had a discussion with their client about philanthropy and another 18% do not feel comfortable with the subject and only discuss it if the client raises it. Even though Ireland is gripped by recession, there is significant potential to increase the amount of money raised. For example, between 2009 and 2010 the total sum raised by charities increased by 23%, or 6% if one excludes the most effective fund-raisers, namely, the overseas development charities.

I will now deal with the section of the motion dealing with the North-South consultative forum. The Good Friday Agreement provided for the establishment of a consultative forum, appointed by the two Administrations, representative of civil society and comprising the social partners and other members with expertise in social, cultural, economic and other issues. The Government fully subscribes to the importance of the implementation of this and all other provisions of the Agreement. However, this is an issue which requires in the first instance a firm commitment from the Northern Ireland Executive to proceed. Accordingly, the Government has proposed a rewording of the paragraph in the motion, as follows:

[Dáil Éireann] notes that the St. Andrews Agreement commits the Northern Ireland Executive to support the establishment of an independent North-South consultative forum appointed by the two administrations and representative of civil society and encourages the Government to continue its efforts towards the establishment of the forum.

This more accurately captures the complex nature of the steps required to progress this important issue.

The establishment of the North-South consultative forum, provided for in both the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement, has been discussed with the Northern Ireland Executive at all the plenary meetings of the North-South Ministerial Council since the re-establishment of the Executive in May 2007. The Government delegation is led at these meetings by the Taoiseach, while the Northern Ireland Executive delegation is led by the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. The plenary meeting in July 2007 noted the intention of the Northern Ireland Executive first to complete its review of the Civic Forum for Northern Ireland, a body provided for in the Good Friday Agreement for consulting civic society in Northern Ireland. That review is still outstanding.

During 2008, the Government consulted the social partners and various cross-Border and North-South groups on the establishment of the North-South consultative forum. Following on from this, we formally communicated our proposals to the Northern Ireland Executive on the role, format, membership and operation of the forum. A response is awaited from the Executive. On 15 October 2009, as a contribution to the process leading to the establishment of the forum, the Government facilitated a consultative conference in Farmleigh involving the social partners and other civil society groups from across the island. The conference was opened by the then Taoiseach. Participants from across the island came from all traditions, including representatives from business, the trade union movement, agriculture and the community and voluntary sector. A wide ranging discussion took place on the role of civil society and its capacity to contribute meaningfully to cross-Border co-operation. Participants strongly supported further such engagement to explore specific areas for co-operation, North and South, at the level of civil society.

Following on from the October 2009 event, and to contribute further to the process leading to the establishment of the consultative forum, a second consultative conference took place in Dublin on 26 May 2010. Two panels discussed the key themes of the conference — sport and young people, and the role that innovation can play in economic recovery, North and South. Participants strongly endorsed continuing engagement between representatives of civil society, North and South.

A third North-South consultative conference took place on 13 January 2011, also in Farmleigh. Participants were drawn from the social partners, business and the community and voluntary sector across the island. The event focused on the theme "co-operating through the crisis", that is to say, how civil society groups can work together creatively, North and South, to tackle the challenges ahead, given the current difficult economic environment on the island. Keynote presentations were delivered by Professor John Fitzgerald, a research professor at the ESRI, and by Mr. Victor Hewitt, Director of the ERINI -Economic Research Institute of Northern Ireland. Topics arising included the need to address the social economy across the island as a source of potential growth which should be fostered and encouraged, including the provision of necessary capital. Structural unemployment, North and South, was also identified as a significant problem needing attention.

The establishment of the formal North-South Consultative Forum is reviewed at regular plenary meetings of the North South Ministerial Council, the next of which is scheduled for 18 November 2011. In its contacts with the Northern Ireland Executive, the Government will continue to press strongly to have the matter brought to an early conclusion.

In the course of the Sinn Féin motion there are references to ring-fencing funding for the community and voluntary sector and it would be disingenuous not to refer to it. It also focused on the dormant accounts fund.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh

And CAB moneys as well.

Deputy Willie Penrose

With regard to ring-fencing moneys from the dormant accounts fund, Members will appreciate that given its focus, as set down in the legislation, a significant proportion of the fund disbursed to date from the fund is already channelled through community and voluntary groups under existing arrangements. This is in addition to the other substantial supports provided by the Department to that sector annually through other programmes and schemes. The intention has always been to ensure there is a broad and balanced range of potential beneficiaries from dormant account disbursements. This should continue into the future rather than focus on any particular sector. In any event, given the reduced levels of funding available for disbursement from the dormant accounts fund, ring-fencing would not be feasible. In this context it should also be noted that in the light inter alia of the reduced levels of funding available legislation is now in train to dissolve the dormant accounts fund board and to make appropriate arrangements for the transfer of its functions to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. I anticipated this and related matters in regard to future disbursements will be considered by the Government in the near future. It must be stressed that moneys disbursed from the fund increase Government debt levels as the money belongs to the account holder——

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

No.

Deputy Willie Penrose

——who can reclaim it at any time and not to the State.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

Nonsense.

Deputy Willie Penrose

Consequently every euro spent from the fund is regarded in counting terms as potential Government liability. In the current fiscal climate our priority, therefore, must be to ensure that funding is targeted on a needs basis and spent efficiently and effectively. This is the Government's intention in the context of the dormant accounts disbursements and in the case of supports for the community and voluntary sector more generally.

This Government has made significant progress since taking office in working to improve the infrastructure for the community and voluntary sector. We are fully aware that these are unprecedented economic times and have set out to ensure that every euro we spend is spent wisely.

Each Department is examining its budget to ensure that the public gets good value for money, and with initiatives such as the alignment process my Department is working to ensure that while budgets may be more constrained, services will be maintained to the greatest possible extent.

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. As Members will appreciate ongoing funding for my Department's programmes is being considered in the context of the expenditure review process which is ongoing. No area is immune to cost reduction measures in the current economic environment.

The Government is acutely aware of the concerns of community and voluntary groups in this regard and that is why our primary concern has been and 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.

The Government will continue to work with the community and voluntary sector with a view to its continued effective operation; this will involve reducing duplication of service where it exists and ensuring that all State funding to the sector is managed with optimum efficiency.

The current economic crisis has presented an opportunity to pursue social and community development in a more co-operative, creative and innovative manner across the country. We know that State resources will be tight over the next few years, and that we will need to draw more from the ingenuity and resourcefulness that exists within our own communities to get things done. By giving communities the opportunity to have a greater say at a local level, I believe that they will emerge stronger and more sustainable as we begin to recover from our current difficulties, and create new opportunities for the future.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

Ba mhaith liom moladh a thabhairt do Shinn Féin as ucht an rúin seo a ardú. Is fiú go mór na heagraíochtaí deonacha agus an earnáil dheonach a phlé.

From the time I left university until I got into politics I worked totally for voluntary organisations in the form of Conradh na Gaeilge, Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge and subsequently for a Gaeltacht co-op which effectively was a community co-op that created employment and activity and social services in a very remote Gaeltacht area.

Voluntary organisations come in many shapes and sizes. All the sporting organisations do enormous good throughout society for people of all ages. There are also local organisations, community councils and specialist organisations, particularly in the health and social sector. There are also national organisations and locally based organisations even in the specialities. Some of those organisations are professionally driven and a huge part of this sector is voluntary in its nature. To say that one size fits all would be very wrong because it is a hugely diverse sector. It is important that at all times we recognise that diversity and try to make the supports we give to the sector fit the sector as it needs to be on the ground.

I pay tribute to all in society who give of their time to voluntary work. I should say that as one who has always been involved in voluntary work there is a fantastic reward for participation in such work and being part of various organisations who work with the community. I encourage anybody in society who wants to have a more fulfilled life that there is no better way than to get involved in community organisations and the rewards in terms of friendships and satisfaction are huge. An enormous amount of time is put in by people into voluntary organisations. Without that great volunteerism our society would not work as it does. There is another way of doing it, that is to tax everyone at a higher rate and make all the voluntary work professional. Voluntary work cannot all be made professional while leaving the tax rates at the present levels because one cannot spend money unless it is taken in. One of the fundamental lessons we all need to learn is that in the longer term borrowing is only a short-term panacea, that the money spent by the State has to be taken in by the State and the only ultimate source of money is the people of the State. Therefore, anybody who calls for more services must tell us from where the money will come. I agree with the motion from Sinn Féin regarding continuous funding. One of the problems with the funding streams is that it comes in three year periods, where it takes one year to get into business, one year operating as normal and the final year one was uncertain whether one would get into the next round. We need longer funding cycles and that the funding of certain basic organisations was fundamental. In certain cases, there were organisations for every purpose rather than a sharing of facilities creating synergies in the provision of services.

The Government is looking for reform of the system, but the funded voluntary sector must recognise that they are required to reform themselves. This requires ongoing dialogue. I am not particularly happy and I never have been with the transfer of responsibilities to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. This is what they do on the Continent, and the idea is that we should do the same and that money should transfer from the Department to the 32 local authorities who in turn allocate it to about 100 groups in their administrative area. That seems to be crazy thinking. My experience is that the Minister will spend the time chasing the 32 local authorities should one of the organisations it funds gets into trouble. The Department will not be able to get at the trouble because an intermediate body will be in the way. It is ironic that at time when we are transferring responsibilities to local authorities, we are amalgamating vocational educational committees, because there are too many of them. In my view, things worked better when operated directly through a Department. We are a small society comprising 4 million people, who like to go to their TD even about local authority matters. Did that ever happen to the Minister of State, Deputy Penrose? Of course it did, because in Ireland people like to go to the top man because he will fix it.

There was a move in the system to transfer responsibility to local authorities, but as this will add greatly to the bureaucracy, I ask the Minister to think again. In my view if responsibility for the voluntary sector and the partnerships is shifted to the local authorities we will wind up with a much higher bill. It will be driven by professionalism. The beauty of our voluntary sector is that there is a significant voluntary input but if it was under the local authority management people would ask why should they be out shaking the boxes when it up to the local authority to do it.

There is major potential with the community employment scheme, the rural social scheme and the community services programme. As the then Minister for Social Protection, I was in the middle of a major reform of these schemes when the Government collapsed. I was in the Department for a total of ten months. I had set up the rural social scheme, which allowed farmers to do their farm work once they worked on a scheme for 18 hours, for which they were paid. This was much better for the farmer and it was of great benefit to society. The work carried out under community employment schemes made a significant impact in the community. One theory was to train all the people to participate in competitive employment, but one snag is that there is insufficient competitive employment. If we are honest — I speak as a person who was an employer in a co-operative which had a competitive side, timber mill trading and so on and a community element, where people were on community employment schemes — some people on community employment schemes would never be able for one reason or another to hold down a competitive job. All they ask is to be left on a scheme, and we allowed them to do so, if they were a small farmer, subject to periodic means test. They get €20 more than the basic social welfare payment. I expanded the community services programme, which I believe could create much more than 5,000 jobs. There are a great many buildings that are not fully used, which could generate some income but would never be viable in a commercial sense. The purpose of the community services programme is to help people who are unemployed to earn the minimum wage plus by working in these centres. We had come to a point where we had to make a big jump. Every Department sees itself as separate and operates on that basis.

My philosophy was that if you cannot beat them, join them, in other words, the rural social scheme and the community services programme in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the community employment schemes in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Would the Department of Social Protection transfer some of its resources required for the dole to other Departments so that people who were being forced to be inactive could be active for €20 a week? We decided that we would not be able to get the Department to hand over the money, but we could if we put them all into one Department, which the then Government did last year, in nine months; the process was completed on 1 January 2011. I transferred the schemes to the Department of Social Protection and had it operational. Now the big game is in the hands of the current Minister. There is a sum of €6 billion between social welfare, unemployment and scheme payments. It would be great to transfer €1 billion from the unemployment tranche and put it into the scheme payment and progressively transfer people as jobs are created in the community sector. There is a difference in the cost, and I will now explain how to cover the cost.

The Minister, Deputy Burton knows this but she has to take her courage in hand and do the big thing. We have it all teed up and ready for her to do it. People who are genuinely unemployed will be more than happy to take a place on a scheme, but those who might have a fairly good sideline going, will sign off. One would only need an attrition rate of between one in ten and one in 20. One does not require significant numbers to sign off to make my proposal self-financing. If one thinks of all of the services society needs, everything one could do in a parish, I know that in my parish we have a significant number on schemes but we could do with twice as many and have useful project for all who could take them up and none will be leaning on a shovel because there is so much good work to be done, whether opening up walkways, providing meals on wheels, care for the elderly, services for young people, after-school services, literally anything as far as one can imagine. If we were to do that, at very little cost we would bump up the voluntary and social services in our society and we would give those who are unemployed because they do not have a job at present but who will move on and those who will never get competitive employment an opportunity to make their contribution and enjoy the dignity of work. When the Minister of State, Deputy Penrose meets the people on the schemes, he will know I am telling the truth when I say they really value the place on the schemes and that it makes a significant difference.

I cannot agree with the Sinn Féin position on dormant accounts. They obviously have not studied the dormant account. The amount of money coming in is too small in the first place. Second it does not suit and was never meant to replace the mainframe funding. It was for extra projects, in social and economic disadvantage, educational disadvantage and disability. I suggested when in government that we rerun a scheme for capital projects, that was really effective and it ties in with what the Minister said about philanthropy, that ranged from providing respite care for people with mental or physical disabilities to aquatherapy and anything else which fell within the guidelines. We ensured half the money was provided by community collections or philanthropy. In many cases money was collected through box shaking and in a few cases by philanthropy. All the money could not come from the State. Some 50% of the money was provided from dormant accounts. With €30 million in dormant accounts one could provide €60 million in facilities. If the money dried up, it did not matter because it was already in the fund.

For about ten years, even though there were payments every year the money coming in always exceeded that being paid out. There is a reserve of 5% of total funding held against people who may claim money lodged 15 to 100 years ago. I suggested the Government amend the legislation to ensure those who wished to reclaim money had the first call on the reserve and the second call on any money taken in. In the 10 million to one likelihood the reserve was used up as inflows came in money would be repaid. The money spent would be written off and there would be no right to reclaim it. It is perfectly safe idea.

It is also fair to say that if people have not reclaimed money lodged 40 years ago or more in an account which became dormant the money is dead. There are many ways one could write off such money. The €400 million which is considered to be a liability on the State is extremely unlikely to be claimed and it would be important to get such money written off the books.

The previous Government was very keen to get the Irish civic forum going. The problem is not here. Sinn Féin is in the wrong Oireachtas. It should be in the Northern Ireland Executive. If it knows anybody who sits on it, it might have a word with him or her.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh

We have.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

It is obviously not persuading him or her because there is a hold-up. The civic forum should be in place and Sinn Féin should persuade its ministerial colleagues to move on with the issue. Blaming the Government here for something that is held up by the Northern Ireland Executive——

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh

There is no blame in the motion.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

The hold-up is with the Executive in which Sinn Féin Ministers sit.

Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan

I wish to share time with Deputy Pringle.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan

We all recognise the community and voluntary sector plays an important role in supporting all aspects of life throughout Ireland. It delivers vital services the Government neglects to deliver on many occasions. Communities respond to particular needs because they would be waiting a long time for the various powers that be to respond to them. I am glad to see one aspect of the amendment, namely, that the Government recognises and values the bottom up community approach so that local communities have a meaningful say in decisions relating to them.

I have difficulty with the word "voluntary" as it is used in this context. The word has been misused by a number of organisations which are far from voluntary. Executives are on extremely high salaries and have lucrative expense accounts. They are doing a disservice to the real volunteers throughout the country who give so freely of their time. It is ironic that €75 million of senior unsecured bonds is due to be paid by three financial institutions at the same time the sector is suffering more crushing cuts. It is picking up the pieces from the public service decisions on cuts which are made very far from communities. Public servants should go out to communities to see what is happening locally and not make decisions from offices.

The Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, launched booklets this week for parents and young people involved in substance abuse. She mentioned one child in 11 is in a family with an alcohol or drug abuse problem. She said, "It is imperative that we support children and families in Ireland to tackle the issue of problem drug and alcohol abuse". My constituency is Dublin Central. I cannot discuss it without remembering the late Tony Gregory and the work he did in the 1980s and 1990s which led to the drug task forces, the community policing forum and the huge variety of community, youth and drug projects working on local solutions created by local people.

Community organisations have taken cuts of 18% to 20% and cannot take any more. I support the call for €3 million from the Criminal Assets Bureau, under the Proceeds of Crime Act, to be allocated to the community sector. It would be shortsighted to cut funding to the sector any further. It would cost a lot more in the long run.

Deputy Thomas Pringle

I fully support the motion. As has been said by others, the community and voluntary sector delivers services which, in many cases, the Government cannot or will not provide. Over the past number of years services have been handed over to the community sector by the Government which has abdicated its responsibility to provide such services.

During the course of the recession the community and voluntary sector has been penalised to a great extent through cutbacks. A couple of years ago the Department of Rural, Community and Gaeltacht Affairs was told to cut spending by 2% but cut community funding by over 20% to achieve it. It had a very negative impact on the community and voluntary sector.

The programme for Government committed to protecting the most vulnerable in everything the Government does but cuts disproportionately affect community and voluntary organisations and have an extremely negative impact on the quality of life of people dependent on the services. It is vitally important that the Government recognises the importance of the community and voluntary sector, strengthens it and makes it largely immune from the cutbacks that are taking place.

It is depressing to note the amendment tabled by the Government constantly refers to philanthropy which is expected to pick up the slack. It is not the case. Nothing will compensate for secure funding for the community and voluntary sector. I appeal to the Government to target funding and, as mentioned in the motion, decide to have multi-annual planning over three to five years. It should give the community and voluntary sector some sense of security in order that it can continue to provide services and in the long run savings will be achieved by the Government.

Debate adjourned.

The Dáil adjourned at 9 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 12 October 2011.

Dáil Éireann debate - Tuesday, 11 Oct 2011

Community and Voluntary Sector: Motion

Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 11 Oct 2011