The launch of the accountability report 2000-2003 on 6 April 2004 by Business in the Community Ireland, BITCI, on behalf of the Foundation for Investing in Communities was attended by myself and by a senior official from my Department. BITCI is a leading organisation in Ireland promoting corporate social responsibility. The report is an impressive account of its work in encouraging and developing activity in the area of corporate social responsibility and in engaging with local communities to that end.
In September last I was pleased to approve a grant of €105,000 over the next three years to BITCI. The grant will assist the organisation in helping the community and voluntary sector enhance its capacity to engage with the corporate sector. The funding will help create an important conduit in facilitating skills transfer from businesses to the community and voluntary sector. My Department's development of CSR in a community and local development context will be facilitated through a range of supports and structures such as partnerships, community development projects and Leader groups. This is an integral element of my Department's strategic objective of assisting communities, especially those suffering disadvantage and social exclusion.
In the social policy agenda adopted in June 2000, the European Commission prioritised corporate social responsibility as part of its strategic goal to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world. While the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment enjoys lead responsibility for co-ordinating EU policy in relation to CSR at national level, my Department maintains regular contact with that Department on developments, given the commitment in An Agreed Programme for Government to support initiatives to expand CSR.
