Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 April 2023
364. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will make a statement on the BearingPoint review of volunteers in the Citizens Information Services; if she agrees that volunteers should be reintegrated into the CIS. [19251/23]
View answerThe Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body, under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection, that funds and support the eight independent Citizens Information Service (CIS) companies, which operate the national network of Citizens Information Centres.
As Minister, I absolutely recognise and value the important work carried out by volunteers in the CIS and I have been very clear to CIB that it is important that the voluntary ethos of the CIS should be protected and the skills of its volunteers be valued and utilised to the maximum extent possible.
To this end, I welcome the recent publication of the independent review of volunteering in the CIS. The report endorses my long-standing view of the value that volunteers bring to the service and confirms the important role that volunteers play in delivering these essential services across the country.
The report’s recommendations will support the return of more volunteers to Citizens Information Centres and also welcome new volunteers. There has been extensive engagement with all stakeholders during the preparation of this report, including volunteers themselves. This positive engagement is reflected in the findings of the report.
It is now a matter for the eight independent CIS companies, with the support of CIB, to implement the report’s recommendations, in order to see a welcome return of both old and new volunteers to the service. I hope to see this happen as quickly as possible.
