Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

I am a strong supporter, along with the Taoiseach, of promoting voluntarism. In my time involved in overseas development when Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, I promoted the concept of voluntarism. We can do it at home and abroad. I am delighted the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, along with the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Conor Lenihan, has moved swiftly on this issue. We can do much to promote voluntarism at local and national level.

The Mo Bhaile project is involved in seven local authorities, South County Dublin, Mayo, Meath, Westmeath, north Tipperary and south Tipperary. The information society fund is involved in financially supporting these projects. It is a pilot project aimed at building the information and communications technology of the community and voluntary sector, targeted at working from the bottom up. Community champions have been employed to encourage engagement with information and communications technology and create a shared sense of purpose in information society development. There are more than 300 community groups on-line in the pilot areas. This is the best way to proceed. I have not set specific targets but we must keep going to achieve maximum reach and connectivity with communities.

The Mo Bhaile projects also focus on promoting awareness, that is, conveying to those who may not otherwise appreciate it the reason the Internet is relevant and how it can benefit them. Having spoken to older people who have started to use technology in recent times, I am convinced of the necessity of the Mo Bhaile initiative and will continue to promote it in any way I can. Government funding must be allocated to the most appropriate areas, one of which is the Mo Bhaile project.

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