Ms Deirdre Mortell:

I thank Senator Martin Conway for his comment on the meitheal effort. It captures the national giving campaign very well. "Meitheal" may well be a word that will be used when the campaign is finalised. The Senator might be pleased to hear that the intention in terms of financing the campaign is to have a co-funding arrangement between the Government, through the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, and philanthropic interests. We are trying to have all of the initiatives walk the walk rather than talk the talk. We would like all of the initiatives emerging from the forum on philanthropy to involve co-funding involving the State and philanthropic interests.

With regard to philanthropic closures and what could be done, much is being done. What more could be done? From the State's perspective, the forum on philanthropy exits to determine this.

I am a member of the forum on philanthropy and we have worked very hard in the past two years to produce a report that was launched by the Taoiseach last July. We must get behind the recommendation to ensure the momentum builds. The forum comprises different Departments and others, among them the Department of Finance, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of the Taoiseach, and responsibility for it transferred to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan. The people from the different Departments need to do their bit. The Minister, Deputy Hogan, cannot deliver it on his own. It is like a cog in motion. There are many moving parts. Putting the momentum behind it is very important. It might be a good idea to invite the Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising to make a presentation as I think the forum would be very keen to make such a presentation.

As Atlantic Philanthropies and One Foundation bring their grant making to a close, that will remove €40 million to €60 million from the philanthropic funding market by the end of the next three years. It will not finish next year but will be concluded by 2016 or 2017. That is very significant.

We are not seeing new trusts and foundations being set up. There are barriers to the establishment of such bodies which the recommendations of the Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising will address if they are followed through, but we also need the economy to lift. There has been much wealth destruction. We are not seeing the emergence of new big trusts and foundations. We had hoped to hand on the baton to a number of different people whom we had hoped would have set up trusts and foundations and we could then apply to them for funding. We do not see that happening. At the same time there are individuals who can give in a more thoughtful way. Until the economy lifts, we need to see a certain level of wealth lift in order to lift it completely.

I never want to lose track of the fact that we can all play our part by our own giving, by encouraging other people to give and by asking one's friends to whom they give. We are a bit shy about talking about it. It is similar to saying it is one's little secret. Why should it be? I ask my friends that question over dinner. It tells me something about who a person is if I know what he or she supports. I do not know why it would be a secret. It is not something of which to be ashamed. There is a little bit in the culture change about getting the conversation going and having it be part of what a person does. We can take the issue very seriously when it can be very light and uplifting.

Members are probably wondering what the One Foundation is doing in its last year if it is not grant making. We are working with our existing grant recipients to support them through the transition. We are putting in many transition supports and a final round of strategic planning. They are dealing with much cost cutting, both from our exit but also from reduced State support. We help them to formulate strategies to ensure the cost cutting they do means they can grow again very quickly when the money flows. We are putting in many technical supports, CEO mentoring, training and fund-raising to help them to make the transition as easy as it can be. For some it will be done very successfully. For others it will be a struggle.

In response to Senator Jillian van Turnhout's question onState interaction, there are many different ways and places in which the State interacts with social entrepreneurs, whether early or later stage organisations. It is difficult to summarise that into one or two recommendations. I do not have a survey of the criteria the Government follows when commissioning services. It would be very interesting to conduct a survey under the headings of whether there are criteria and how much money actually gets spent in that way on State services. No one knows the answer to that, so there will be stories in the presentations this afternoon in that regard. It would be great if there was a systematic approach by the State to how it spends our money and if the best service for the local area and for the money available was known when commissioning youth, disability or employment services for disadvantaged people. Much of the time we do not have the data. We do not ask the organisation to provide it and if they cannot provide it, the State does not pay for it either.

What is required is a level of clarity on commissioning criteria, because they are largely based on historical relationships. That does not mean they are all bad, and probably many of them are fantastic, but we do not know. What is also needed is to make the criteria focus on delivering outcomes for the group that is being targeted, as well as value for money, something about which we all know. Value for money is not the same as cheapest. These are the main points I would raise.