Catherine Connolly
Question:64. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when the national policy on social enterprise will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15358/19]
View answerWednesday, 3 April 2019
Questions (64, 84)
Colm Brophy
Question:84. Deputy Colm Brophy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of his plans in respect of the drawing up of a national social enterprise policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15439/19]
View answerOral answers (7 contributions)
Ba mhaith liom ceist dhíreach shimplí a chur. When will the national policy on social enterprise be published? Cén uair a fhoilseofar an polasaí sin? Táimid ag fanacht air le fada anois.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 64 and 84 together.
Social enterprises make an important contribution to Ireland's social and economic progress. They deliver a range of services to support communities and disadvantaged individuals and use innovative and creative approaches to address social, economic and environmental challenges.
As the Deputies may be aware, there have been calls for a national policy to support social enterprise for many years. I am pleased to say that my Department is now at an advanced stage in developing Ireland’s first national policy on social enterprise.
The policy is underpinned by a research and consultation exercise which was conducted by my Department in partnership with the Social Finance Foundation. The research project was overseen by a steering group which included practitioners from social enterprises and key Departments.
As part of the research project, three consultation workshops were held in Dublin, Cork and Athlone at the end of 2017 in order to obtain the views of stakeholders. In addition, an online survey was carried out which was open to all interested parties. A series of meetings was also held with relevant Departments and other stakeholders on specific issues and my officials have visited and met many individual social enterprises and social entrepreneurs.
In recent weeks my Department has engaged in intensive and detailed discussions with a broad range of social enterprise stakeholders and with the wider community and voluntary sector.
I now anticipate that a draft of the social enterprise policy will be published for public consultation in the coming weeks, with a view to publication of the final policy document in the middle of the year.
The policy will be complemented by the implementation plan for the framework policy for local and community development and the new national volunteering strategy, both of which are also being developed by my Department.
Taken together, this suite of initiatives will support the full range of organisations providing services to communities or tackling social issues, whether through a social enterprise model or through more traditional community services delivery.
Níl aon rud nua sa mhéid atá ráite ag an Aire. Tá sé léite agam cheana. Tá an t-eolas sin uilig agam. Baineann an cheist atá curtha agam leis an dáta. Unfortunately, there is nothing new in what the Minister stated. I have all those answers. I have looked back and done my research. On of the aims behind the Action Plan for Rural Development was to develop and publish the national policy on social enterprise by the third quarter of 2017. Beart 99 - action No. 99 - a bhí i gceist. That was changed and it was then to be published in the first quarter of this year. The first quarter has now passed. The Minister anticipates it in the future and states that it is at an advanced stage. Is the draft report available for viewing anywhere or is it still not for public eyes? Can the Minister give me a date? It is a very good scheme. I am delighted with social enterprise. I want to see a coherent strategy. It is the right policy for the Government to pursue, but it is extremely frustrating to listen to talk of yet more consultation. This has been going on for years. I ask the Minister to please give me a date.
I thank the Deputy. I can see that she is frustrated but I want to be honest. I have pushed this policy but I must be careful. As a representative of a rural constituency, Deputy Connolly must understand this - social enterprise is brilliant. It creates employment and any profits are put back into the businesses involved. However, I must be careful not to upset the community sector. I have to be fair to my Department and my officials. We have put a lot of work into this in the last several months. We have had a lot of consultations with the community sector, the social enterprise sector and the voluntary sector because I want to get it right. I do not want the community sector to be affected in any way. Deputy Connolly can understand that. Social enterprise is very good because it creates employment in sectors and areas where the private sector will not. I am a believer in social enterprise, but I must put on the record that I support the community sector. There are many areas in this country, such as west Galway, south Galway, west Mayo and south Mayo, where in the absence of the voluntary sector the services it provides would not be provided by the councils, the State, the HSE or anybody else. That is why I have to be careful to get this right, and I intend to do so. We are nearly there. This will be published very shortly.
Níl aon fhadhb agam aontú leis an Aire go bhfuil obair na gcapall á déanamh ag muintir na tíre ar an talamh. Gan an obair dheonach atá á déanamh ag daoine, ní bheadh aon rud againn.
I totally agree with the Minister that without community work, we would lose out. Volunteers are doing work that the Government and local authorities should be doing. I have absolutely no problem with that. However, the question is very specific. The Minister has had plenty of time. I welcome the news that it will be published soon. I would like to hear a date. We do not need the Minister to repeat how valuable social enterprise or community work is. This country would be much poorer, in every sense of the word, without either sector. We know that. I represent a community that extends from the Aran Islands to Kilmaine and Shrule. There is huge variation in that community. I am fully aware of what is happening on the ground, but without a coherent national policy we are going nowhere and dealing with it in bits and pieces. There has been ample time between 2017 and 2019. I appreciate that a steering group was set up and that consultation took place in the towns to which the Minister referred, including Athlone. However, it is time to publish the document. Any document can be reviewed. It can be rolled out for a year or two. It can be reviewed and appropriate changes can be made. I ask the Minister to let us have the policy.
As already stated, we have made a lot of progress. I am very confident that we will publish this very shortly. In the context of the issues the Deputy has raised, I have to make sure that I get this right. We must remember that mine is a relatively new Department that has been in place for just 18 months. We have had a great achievement. Many have spoken about getting a social enterprise policy in place for the last 20 years. I guarantee this will be published shortly and people will be able to have an input. It will be the first time that we have had a social enterprise policy in this country and that is to be welcomed. I reiterate that I have to be careful not to interfere with the community sector in any way. That is the policy that I will implement.
We now go to the sunny south east with Deputy James Browne.