Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I can only provide the information the Deputies seek if they permit me to speak.

When inviting tenders, the report of the task force on active citizenship was identified as a context within which the study is being undertaken to take forward the commitment in the programme for Government. They key elements of the study are: an overview of the current arrangements for electoral administration; an examination of relevant models of electoral commissions in other countries, taking into account relevant international research; identification, assessment and ranking of options for an electoral commission, including scoping of structure, functions and relationships with other bodies involved in electoral policy and administration; and recommendations concerning approaches to the modernisation and consolidation of legislation in the context of the establishment of the electoral commission and the phasing in of its operations. The outcome of the study will indicate the options in terms of moving forward on the issue.

Regarding the schools programme I referred to earlier, a new parliamentary education programme was launched in October 2007 by the Ceann Comhairle. The programme is being delivered to second level students in schools around the country by Oireachtas personnel. The Ceann Comhairle is visiting schools throughout the country to raise awareness about politics and the importance of voting. Dáil and Seanad Members in the relevant constituencies are invited to join the Ceann Comhairle when he visits schools in each county, and I have no doubt Deputy Stagg has participated in these occasions in his constituency.

The new second level schools programme has been developed in conjunction with CSPE, comprising curriculum representatives from the Department of Education and Science. An initial pilot project will be put in place throughout the country and will be reviewed and expanded. Outreach officers from the Houses of the Oireachtas are presenting this programme and it will be in all schools by next September. By the time of the election to the 31st Dáil, young voters will have received an education about the workings of the Oireachtas which has not been available to any previous generation. The Ceann Comhairle will take the opportunity to speak at conferences and other public events to promote participation in politics and the important work that goes on every day in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

An award winning website, www.oireachtas.ie, contains 3 million pages, every document since the foundation of the State. This important resource will be made more user friendly to further encourage public interest. An enhanced press relations unit will help to better inform the media. The e-democracy programme will foster greater connectivity to the Parliament, accessing information sources on-line and leading to greater understanding and engagement with the parliamentary process. The public can make submissions on matters before Parliament etc. More people will be encouraged to visit Leinster House. At present, some 80,000 people visit Leinster House annually.

The recently published OECD report on the public service includes a full chapter on customer services towards a citizen-centred approach. This includes recommendations on how Ireland's public service might be better integrated and related to the active citizen perspective, and how to make it more user friendly and citizen focused. In this regard, the OECD stressed the importance of making the public service more open to feedback on service policy, planning and delivery. The objective is to match service provision, including delivery channels and service standards, with citizen expectations and needs and to position the public service so that it is able to embrace and utilise the input of citizens. Consultation with customers is the first of the four stages of the customer charter initiatives, the others being commitment, evaluation and reporting.

The issue of consultation with the public and the customers is promoted by the public service management division of the Department of the Taoiseach on an ongoing basis in other ways. In addition to addressing citizens' needs through the various elements of the quality customer service initiative, the better regulation of the Department of the Taoiseach is addressed in a document, Reaching Out: Guidelines and Consultation for Public Sector Bodies. Another recommendation of the task force was that the group insurance scheme open to members of local community and voluntary forums should be promoted widely among relevant organisational groups.

For the benefit of Deputy Stagg, the update in this regard is that the Irish National Community and Voluntary Forum, INCVF, has renewed the group insurance scheme with the existing insurance broker and there is no change to premiums or the level of cover as previously provided. Previously, INCVF published information packs regarding the scheme and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has supported, via local authorities, the dissemination of the information in electronic format.

The next recommendation was an initiative to help community and voluntary organisations meet compliance costs. As regards that matter, as I said earlier, the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs provides funding towards the cost of compliance with company law and other relevant legislation to a broad range of organisations in the community and voluntary sector. These include partnership and Leader companies, as well as the community development projects. Provision is also made for compliance costs through grants funded by the Dormant Accounts Fund. Under the new training grants scheme, funding will be available for training in governance, improved accountability, reporting and so on. The Department is also increasing funding to volunteer centres and now funds centres located in Donegal, Galway, Sligo, Limerick, Limerick city, Kerry, Wicklow, Kildare, Carlow, Dublin city south, Tallaght, Cork, Westmeath, Drogheda, Fingal, Dublin city north, west Limerick, south Tipperary and Mayo. The Department is in discussion with the relevant organisations seeking funding for volunteer centres in four other counties. In rolling out funding for these addition centres, the Department is prioritising areas with larger populations having regard to demands for this type of service.

The next recommendation was that funding schemes be strengthened to support capacity development among community and voluntary organisations in the area of training at both national and local levels. The progress on that issue is that the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs supports capacity development and training within the community employment sector through a range of grant supports. For example, the local development programme provides training and education grants through local partnership companies. These companies provide training in community development, capacity building, IT or any other priorities identified by the local community. The community development programme provides premises, development workers and capacity building projects to disadvantaged communities in more than 180 locations throughout the country. These projects are primarily in the most disadvantaged communities. They play a significant role in building community infrastructure and enhancing the capacity of their communities. The Department will shortly advertise a training grant scheme for national and locally based organisations in the community and voluntary sectors. It is anticipated that in excess of €2 million will be made available through this scheme.

The next recommendation was that a programme be introduced in the public service to promote community engagement — Deputy Stagg has the rest of the text of that recommendation. The Civil Service provides special leave, paid and unpaid, in a variety of circumstances, subject to business needs. Special leave is available for specific purposes, such as service with charitable organisations, training with the Defence Forces or call out with voluntary search and rescue organisations and for study for examinations. Opportunities for special needs leave are provided for employees who have been selected to represent their county in various sports. Leave is also provided for volunteer work abroad. In responding to the recommendations of the task force on active citizenship, the Department of Finance determined that the granting of special leave to employees during working hours would require specific regulation. Existing special leave arrangements are subject to formal verification and these criteria also apply to any expansion of the existing programmes.

In terms of recruitment policies and evaluations of job performances, Departments determine the criteria for selection of staff, while the Public Appointments Service undertakes recruitment for the Civil Service in the codes of practice. Central agreements are in place to link the performance management and development system with assessment for promotion.

See this speech in context