Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The volunteering sector is allocated €2 million from the Exchequer annually. Is it logical to consider that if one has a policy with no extra money, one can expand Volunteer Ireland's ambit to every county?

In urban or rural communities, most people who use their leisure or family time to volunteer, generally speaking, are involved in the GAA, soccer, rugby, athletics or the swimming club. The quota of voluntary time is more limited because in our own communities we all grow up in various organisations, including the GAA and others. In my case, my volunteer hours were spent on the sports field. Is Volunteer Ireland trying to draw in people who are not already involved or is it trying to divide the time of those who are already involved? If so, is that a difficulty?

My last question concerns public awareness of Volunteer Ireland. It is operational in Tipperary where I come from. I made inquiries prior to this meeting and was surprised by the linkages between organisations and individual volunteers. I attend various events and, to my mind, there is no great awareness of Volunteer Ireland. The bigger question is whether Volunteer Ireland is trying to grab people who are not already involved in other volunteering pursuits - that is, with the mainstream organisations. I know that is a mouthful but perhaps Ms McKenna can try to answer it.