Vol. 554 No. 5
431 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Finance if, in line with the Government White Paper, Supporting Voluntary Activity, he has appointed a voluntary activity unit responsible for his Department's co-operation with voluntary and community organisations; if so, the unit's personnel, activities and work to date; if not, the reason therefor; and the personnel in his Department responsible for co-operation with voluntary and community organisations. [16740/02]
As the Deputy will be aware, the Government White Paper, Supporting Voluntary Activity, provided for the establishment of voluntary activity units in Departments which have significant contact with the community and voluntary sector. In relation to my Department, I do not intend establishing a full-time voluntary activity unit. I con sider that a more effective approach is to appoint senior personnel from this Department, with responsibility for formulating policy advice on public expenditure in the relevant areas to work with interdepartmental and voluntary groups set up to implement national agreed policies, that is, the National Anti-Poverty Strategy. This ensures a more integrated and informed approach to funding.
For example, the assistant secretary in public expenditure division who advises me in relation to social welfare, education and health expenditure, is a member of the Senior Officials Group on Social Inclusion, and attends meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion. It is very important that senior staff who are involved in decisions on the provision of funding for voluntary and publicly funded programmes participate in groups and committees such as these in order to further strengthen the relationship between the State and the community and voluntary sector.
