Katherine Zappone (Independent)

I am taking a deep breath. I have a couple of questions for the Leader. I want to take a moment or two to bring myself to them. A recent headline in an Irish newspaper sent a shiver down my spine, even on a warmish day in June. The headline in question read "Civil Service chiefs told to produce radical plans to cut costs". I am aware of the state of our nation's finances. I noted the recent statements by Ministers to the effect that Ireland has lost its economic sovereignty. While I fully support the Government's obligation and duty to its people to regain this sovereignty, I am deeply concerned that in the process, we may lose our social sovereignty and, specifically, the social wealth that has been created over recent years by actors in the social, community, cultural and voluntary sectors. This social wealth has been built by tens of thousands of people throughout our country who are putting their shoulders to the wheel. Many of them are paid for what they do, but many of them are volunteering as well. They are building the capacity of our communities to respond imaginatively to the need to provide health, social, cultural and educational services for our people.

We have been told that the heads of Departments are being charged with, among other things, outlining options to rationalise grant and subsidy schemes to be replaced with single affordable schemes. While I am in favour of such an approach, in theory, I believe leading actors in the social, community and voluntary sectors should be consulted to ensure a balance is maintained between efficiency gains and fairness; and between models of service provision that work and fresh approaches to emerging need, especially for those who are most vulnerable and those who are caught in the trap of intergenerational poverty. People in the social and community sector are professionally competent and well organised. It would not take much effort to develop an efficient form of ascertaining their views on how to design more effective grant and subsidy schemes.

Furthermore, we have been told that heads of Departments should identify services that could be outsourced or transferred to the private sector. There has been some comment on this in the media. If it is helpful to outsource some services, why not consider doing so with those who are building the social not-for-profit sector, as well as people in the private sector? Over the last decade, organisations like Social Entrepreneurs Ireland have been building the capacity and effectiveness of social enterprises. They have discovered exceptionally creative ways of harnessing philanthropic sources to work in partnership with them in building these capacities. The heads of Departments would do well to examine the ongoing potential of social enterprise to contribute to regaining our economic sovereignty. I ask the Leader to raise these issues with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Furthermore, I would like the Leader to invite the Minister to come to the Seanad and thereby give Members an opportunity to inform the comprehensive spending review that is currently taking place.