Mr. Ivan Cooper:

With regard to the cost of insurance, we are not aware of any specific organisations receiving a rebate. We are aware that this was an issue for many. In the private sector there were questions as to whether payments will be made in respect of business interruption policies. It may be the case that certain organisations in the community and voluntary sector have made applications for rebates. We do not know. We do not have information in that regard at our fingertips. More generally, we do know that the cost of insurance is a major issue for many organisations, although not for all. The Wheel is a member of the Alliance for Insurance Reform. It is a devilishly complicated policy area that involves a very high degree of policy expertise in the esoteric areas of insurance, the law and so on. In our prebudget submission, we have identified the main areas in which adjustment is needed. Essentially, there needs to be a focus on rebalancing the common duty of care so that occupiers are required to take on a duty of care that is reasonable, practical and proportionate but without personal responsibility being ignored. The alliance is also arguing for a cut in unfair general damages to reflect international norms and to ensure that legitimate minor injuries attract modest damages. We expect that general damages for minor injuries would reduce dramatically if that were to happen. It should also be ensured that An Garda Síochána has the necessary resources to pursue insurance fraud to the fullest extent of the law as a matter of urgency.

With regard to multiannual funding, the question is simple. There is precedent for multiannual funding. The scheme to support national organisations, for example, supports hundreds of national charities and community and voluntary organisations. It is administered by the Department for Rural and Community Development and makes provision for three-year funding agreements with those organisations. There is no public policy obstacle to making multiannual funding the de facto default for all funding relationships between agencies such as the HSE, Tusla, the Department of Education, the education and training boards and the organisations they fund.

We understand that there is some reluctance in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and, perhaps, in the Department of Finance. There seems to be a perception that agreeing to multiannual funding somehow reduces the flexibility line Departments and agencies can apply from year to year and that it reduces their discretion to quickly and rapidly reprioritise funding as it pertains to budgets under their control. We argue that this represents a failure to understand that we should not sacrifice the funding of those services which we have argued are essential but which happen to be provided by voluntary organisations and their employees in one third of cases. The essential budgets of those services should not be seen as discretionary. This is the entire point. We need to see those organisations put on a footing that recognises that they are essential and that therefore considers their funding essential. This would allow the organisations delivering those services to plan adequately and to fully fund those services. A core component of this is rolling agreements of at least three years' duration. This would not preclude annual reviews, which are important to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. It would, however, allow those organisations to plan beyond the end of the current year.

I could go on and talk about how many funded organisations are in fact lurching from one deficit condition in one year to another the following year. Many organisations that provide essential services would not even be deemed going concerns if the funding agency were to withdraw the funding commitment it tacitly, although not explicitly, makes in the terms of a funding agreement. There are many thorny questions involved in this. It again relates back to a new understanding of essential services and the provision of a multiannual funding framework to properly fund those services. I thank the Deputy very much.