Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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There were questions about PPNs and the Charities Regulator. I reassure the Deputy that funding for PPNs has remained the same. The change to the subhead just allows a little more flexibility for community and voluntary sector supports. This is an opportunity to highlight some of the supports we are providing to PPNs. A new handbook for PPNs was published last year, which was the first refresh of it since their establishment. There has been much learning during the initial years of the PPN process and that is reflected in the new handbook. The roll-out of online training courses for PPN stakeholders started in October last year. That will roll on through this year and probably into next year. We also support a database to assist PPNs in their work and their ability to communicate with their member groups. A structural review of PPNs has commenced. We hope that will be completed by the end of the year.

The Deputy has caught me on the hop a little with the figures he quoted about submissions to the Charities Regulator. Can he call the figures out again? I did not catch them as he called them out. It is important to say at the outset that the Charities Regulatory Authority is independent of the Department. I met the board a few months ago but these figures were probably not available at that stage so they did not come to light. I will confirm this later but my suspicion is that if reporting to the Charities Regulator was down last year, it could be to do with some flexibility it provided to community and voluntary organisations during the pandemic to give them a little more time to comply with the requirements. That is my suspicion but I do not know if that is the case. I would appreciate it if the Deputy could call out the figures again.