Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

When we discussed this matter previously I did not get a clear reply from the Taoiseach to a question on the White Paper on supporting voluntary activity from 2000 and the Tipping the Balance report from 2002. I accept a great deal of work went into those documents. On foot of their publication, has the Taoiseach produced a written report on which recommendations represent Government policy and will be implemented?

I also previously asked the Taoiseach whether he has taken on board the fact that voluntary groups, which essentially depend on voluntary input, would benefit hugely from one person being paid to do administration. For the sake of a fairly modest investment, this would also help to prevent burnout among the one or two people in an organisation who have these necessary skills. Has this been taken into account as a factor responsible for killing off volunteerism? The Taoiseach stated he is putting resources into this area and I am concerned about the targeting of those resources.

The Taoiseach is familiar with Mr. Putnam and Bowling Alone from Inchydoney days. Will he indicate whether the relationship between commuting distance and community involvement has been taken into consideration by Government in any real sense, given the longer commuting distances which reflect the fact that most of Leinster is essentially a bedroom for Dublin city workers, and that there is very little community activity for this reason? Mr. Putnam pointed out——

See this speech in context