Paul Kehoe
Question:235. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if grant funding is available to assist in covering the cost of volunteering abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2790/22]
View answerThursday, 20 January 2022
Questions (235)
Written answers
The National Volunteering Strategy commits to the promotion of ethical and skills-based international volunteering to deliver results for beneficiaries and to enhance global citizenship education in Ireland. My Department works with specific partners to deliver upon this.For example, my Department provides significant support to the United Nations Volunteer Programme. Twenty seven United Nations Volunteers were fully funded by the Irish Government in 2020. These volunteers go on to share their expertise and influence in the UN, my Department and elsewhere in Ireland and abroad.
My Department also provides support to volunteer-sending organisations such as UCD Volunteers Overseas (UCDVO) and Suas. In addition, Irish international volunteers are assisted by my Department through two specific schemes, the Public Service Pension Scheme for Volunteer Development Workers (PSPS) and the Volunteer Development Worker Scheme (VDWS).
The PSPS allows public servants, including teachers, to have their pension contributions paid while volunteering overseas while on an authorised leave of absence or career break from the public service. The period of service must be for a minimum of six consecutive months and up to a maximum of two years. This scheme applies to volunteering undertaken after 1 January 1995. The VDWS provides credited social welfare contributions up to a maximum of five years for those who have volunteered in a country classified by the OECD as eligible to receive Overseas Development Assistance (ODA). This scheme applies to volunteering undertaken after April 1983.
Comhlámh, the Association of Returned Volunteers and Development Workers, administers these schemes. Individuals who intend to volunteer abroad may wish to contact Comhlámh to receive information on their specific entitlements, in addition to other supports that may be available, including any pre and post departure training.