Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 October 2004
127 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the nature and content of the discussions with members of the British-Irish Council on Social Inclusion in Cardiff in July 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23304/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe British-Irish Council was established under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement to promote positive, practical relationships among its members. The members are the British and Irish Governments, the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. The BIC provides a forum for members drawn from the eight administrations involved to consult and exchange information on a range of issues of mutual interest.
At the meeting of the council in November 2002, it was decided that the initial work of the group should be on the specific theme of financial inclusion. My predecessor as Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Mary Coughlan, attended the ministerial meeting of the social inclusion strand on 16 and 17 July in Cardiff at which this work was received and concluded. Ministers discussed the report, which is aimed at enabling individuals and communities affected by poverty and deprivation to have greater access to appropriate financial products and services.
It was noted that financial inclusion strategies can make a major contribution to improving individual and household income, employability, health and well being. At a community level, financial inclusion programmes can support ownership of assets and the capacity of communities to foster wealth creation and enable local businesses to grow. Ministers recognised that the problems of social and financial exclusion affect all communities. The meeting heard progress reports on the range of strategies on which members are working to tackle these problems. Ireland's experience in developing the Money Advice and Budgeting Service was considered to be particularly valuable.
Ministers reaffirmed the important role that financial inclusion can play in social inclusion and anti-poverty strategies more generally. BIC member administrations will continue to exchange information and ideas and learn from each other's experience. The report of this work will be published shortly on the BIC website.
Ministers agreed that the next topic for work within the council's social inclusion theme would be disability with a specific focus on access to employment, education and training.
The Minister has been in the job only a few days, but can he give any indication as to when he might host a meeting of the British-Irish Council on Social Inclusion? The last meeting took place at Cardiff and I welcome the progress that was made, particularly in terms of the recognition of the importance of financial inclusion and the role it can play in social inclusion and anti-poverty strategies. It is notable that cognisance has been taken of the central role MABS plays. That is something of which the Irish Government can be proud.
The Minister indicated that the next topic for work at the British-Irish Council on Social Inclusion is the theme of disability. When will there be a final report on the work dealing with best practice at national and local level regarding the financial inclusion aspect of the last council meeting?
Ministers have agreed that the next topic for work within the council's social inclusion theme will be disability with a special focus on access to employment, education and training. I do not have a date for that meeting. As soon as I have one I will communicate it to the Deputy.
The work of preparing for this meeting has already commenced. My Department has already submitted a paper to the group outlining information on schemes and benefits targeted towards people with disabilities. Between 1999 and 2004 the council met on five occasions at summit level. The Taoiseach attended all five meetings. It considered a range of subjects including the misuse of drugs, the knowledge economy, social inclusion and minority and lesser used languages.
There have also been nine ministerial meetings on social inclusion, 81 meetings of officials and 14 conferences and seminars. There is much work going on and I will keep the Deputy informed of developments.
