Gabhaim buíochas leis an choiste as an deis seo a chur ar fáil dom ráiteas gairid a dhéanamh ar an ócáid seo nuair atá an cuntas don bhliain 2003 do Vóta na Roinne Gnóthaí Pobail, Tuaithe agus Gaeltachta á scrúdú. Ag an tús, ba mhaith liom aitheantas a thabhairt don obair phroifisiúnta atá déanta ag Oifig an Ard-Reachtaire Cuntas agus Ciste i ndáil leis an gcuntas seo.
Members will be aware that 2003 was the first full year of operation of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. The Department was established by the Government in June 2002 and brought together a range of functions previously undertaken by six Departments. It has been given an overall mandate to provide for more co-ordinated engagement by the State with communities nationally as they pursue development.
In its work the Department focuses on five main areas. In the area of community and local development it encourages and facilitates local communities, with a special focus on disadvantage, to pursue social and economic progress. It addresses drug misuse by facilitating a more integrated and co-ordinated response by State agencies to the problem within the framework of the national drugs strategy. In the area of rural development it supports populations in rural areas by helping to foster sustainable and culturally vibrant communities. It assists Gaeltacht and island communities through the development of infrastructural, social and cultural supports and helps to increase the use of Irish nationally while supporting the maintenance of the language in Gaeltacht areas. It also plays a role in the promotion of North-South co-operation with two of the North-South Implementation Bodies — An Foras Teanga and Waterways Ireland — coming within its ambit.
The operation and roll-out of programmes and schemes continued in 2003 under the heading of community and local development. The community development programme aims to mobilise disadvantaged communities to participate in mainstream local development, training, education and employment programmes. The local development social inclusion programme seeks to counter disadvantage and promote equality by targeting our most excluded individuals, including vulnerable children. Funding for voluntary and community organisations, principally in disadvantaged areas, is provided through grants for locally based community and voluntary organisations. The scheme of community support for older people funds initiatives to improve the security of vulnerable older persons.
The White Paper on a framework for supporting voluntary activity sets out a scheme of assistance for national federations, networks and umbrella bodies in the community and voluntary sector and a funding scheme for training and supports. The Department, supported by ADM Limited, is also responsible for the co-ordination of the RAPID programme which targets the 45 most disadvantaged areas in the country.
As well as continuing to operate local and community development programmes and schemes in fulfilment of its mandate to provide for more co-ordinated engagement by the State with communities, the Department, in conjunction with the Departments of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Justice, Equality and Law Reform, initiated a review of the structures employed in their delivery. On foot of this review, the Government has decided to increase the involvement of county development boards, to use existing local structures for new initiatives, to seek the input of local bodies, to create a rewards scheme for workable proposals for improved cohesion measures and to restructure ADM Limited. Work on improving structural and working arrangements continues at local and central government level.
A key element of the Department's activities is the facilitation of a more integrated and co-ordinated response by State agencies to drug misuse within the framework of the national drugs strategy which focuses on the four pillars of supply reduction, prevention, including education and awareness, treatment and research. Local drugs task forces continued to implement local action plans at community level in 2003. The work involved projects on education, the curbing of local supply as well as local treatment and rehabilitation support.
Significantly, 2003 saw the transfer of administrative responsibility for the young persons facilities and services fund to the Department. The transfer of responsibility facilitated the targeting of increased resources towards at-risk youth in the context of the Department's wider remit on drugs. Beidh an coiste ar eolas go bhfuil tuarascáil amach ar maidin — a report is being published this morning setting out the findings of mid-term review of the national drugs strategy.
Key legislative developments in 2003 were implementation of the Official Languages Act, publication of a consultation paper on the reform of charity law, implementation of the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (Powers and Functions) Act 2003 and the announcement by the Government of proposed changes to dormant accounts disbursement arrangements. The proposed changes became law within the past week. Other developments in 2003 included the extension of the CLÁR programme, a targeted investment programme in disadvantaged rural areas, and the adoption of new initiatives to promote language planning in Gaeltacht areas in line with the recommendations of Coimisiún na Gaeltachta.
The creation of more than 1,050 full-time jobs in Údarás na Gaeltachta assisted enterprises in 2003 was offset during a difficult year by job losses of almost 1,280. North-South co-operation was promoted in 2003 through shared institutional arrangements while the delivery of the Leader and national rural development programmes continued with the establishment during 2003 of the majority of the 190 new businesses brought forward since late 2001.
A new rural social scheme was announced in 2003 while the European Union's Salzburg conference set out key policy principles to emphasise the development of the wider rural economy outside the farm gate. The policy principles which constituted an especially significant development have been reflected in the draft rural development regulation published by the European Commission and currently under negotiation.
What I have outlined represent a sample of the Department's wide-ranging and diverse responsibilities, on which I will be happy to expand if the committee so wishes. The various initiatives are drawn together by the Department's underlying focus on communities. A key aspect of our mandate is to provide a coherent and positive interface between the Government and communities as they seek to fulfil their potential. The work involves dealing not only with local and community development groups but also, critically, with other Departments and statutory agencies. Each community group, from the most isolated rural area to the most densely populated inner city parish, is entitled to proper access to a range of State supports. Part of the Department's job is to seek, through enhanced coherence and in co-operation with other Departments and agencies, to improve co-ordination, dialogue and, ultimately, supports for such groups and local communities. While impacts tend to be reflected in the medium to longer term, significant steps were taken in 2003.
I wish to refer briefly to the 2002 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the provision of subsidised ferry services to the Aran Islands. The report which has been considered by the committee set out four critical areas — more effective management and monitoring of existing services, the need for a more strategic and co-ordinated approach generally, the re-evaluation of the service to the islands from Galway city and the need for formal contracts with enforceable performance clauses. The Department has taken the necessary steps to implement the key recommendations.
It is important to highlight the work undertaken to strengthen financial management in the Department. This work has been especially important following the assimilation of a range of new functions in 2002. Steps taken to strengthen financial management include the implementation of a new financial management system; the reconstitution of the audit committee and the bringing on board of independent external expertise; the advancement of risk management; and the progressing of implementation of the Mullarkey report.
Gabhaim buíochas leatsa, a Chathaoirligh, agus leis an gcoiste as an deis a fháil an ráiteas tosaigh seo a dhéanamh. Beidh an-áthas orm aon cheist atá agat féin nó ag comhaltaí an choiste a fhreagairt ar mo chumais.