David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their presentations and for the work they do. I am on the board of the Open Doors Initiative, so I am aware of the work being done in this area. I am also familiar with Business in the Community through its past works. I do not believe that I have met the witnesses from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland before, but they are welcome.

I listened to RTÉ News last night and it was one piece of bad news after another. The negativity was unbelievable. I turned it off in the end because I could not take anymore. There were reports on wars, murders, famines and so on. Yet, I feel that we have a responsibility to highlight the positives, such as the work the witnesses are doing and the points they are making. I often wonder whether enough is known about what the witnesses say and do. I wonder how we can promote what they are doing in a positive way. From listening to the witnesses, I feel that many companies do not realise the work they are doing. We need to find a way to help them reach out to more companies and businesses.

Ms McDonagh spoke about the shift in moving from CSR to CSJ. Can she tell us a bit more about this paradigm shift and what it involves? It seems that it is moving from being reactive to proactive. Ms McDonagh might comment on that.