Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

I will try not to make a Second Stage speech, but I have a couple of questions on this very interesting topic. I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Carey, is in charge of it because he is one Minister who cares, while many of his colleagues do not. We must endeavour to get some real change in this area. A 2003 initiative on volunteering that gave rise to a Green Paper and a White Paper came before the House, but got nowhere. It just disappeared, so hopefully this will deliver results and real change. On that note, I am glad to see that Ms Mary Nally from County Meath, who has done excellent work, is on the body, along with many others whose names I do not know. What type of powers will the body have to implement or enforce its ideas on change across various Departments?

The use of schools at weekends and so on has been recommended. However, when a developer or a builder approaches the Department of Education and Science to talk about building new schools and having community facilities as part of the same complex, they do not get an open door. We have not really changed our thinking in that regard. Will the Minister of State's group be able to address that aspect so that buildings can be erected that will encompass both education and the wider community for the future? I would welcome the Minister of State's thoughts in that regard.

Does the use of schools extend to the use of school buses? It is fine having these facilities for young people but we cannot get them there. If the travel cost is too high, or someone is needed to take them, it defeats the purpose. We have plenty of school buses that remain parked most nights and at weekends, and during the day as well, and this is a shame. We are not getting good value for money across the board and I would welcome his comments in that regard. I accept he cannot give me all the answers today, but perhaps he could include them in his replies to future questions.

Is the group insurance scheme widely available to all groups? If it is, does the Minister of State believe it is working well or does it need to be changed? Can the group recommend that we provide grants for the day-to-day running of various groups and organisations? It is all very well providing buildings, putting structures in place and giving grants to start-ups but running costs are an issue for many groups of all ages. Can the Minister of State recommend tax breaks for people who want to fund community facilities or for the day-to-day running costs of different groups?

We are talking here about the education of young people in regard to the political system through the schools. That is all very well and I accept great inroads have been made in that area by the Houses of the Oireachtas and by the Department of Education and Science for those still in school. However, a large number of people who have left school received no education on how politics works or on how the system works, whether at local, national or European levels. We all have a duty to sort this. That will lead on to active involvement, active citizenship and active voting in our democracy. That has not really been discussed.

I presume the Minister of State's group will hone in on that area because we must try to address that, whether we have political information centres in all our communities. I suggest using the libraries or post offices and using existing staff to do this. We must get the message out about how politics works and why certain decisions are made. We can bring people along with us on tough decisions if they understand why and how they are made and who makes them but not everyone understands. We are lucky we are in the system so we have been educated as a result. However, for those looking in, it is not that easy for them to figure it out.

This is not only about community and volunteering, although that is a key part of it. We need to get people involved in the community and in volunteering and young people need that help. I presume there is a recognition of the pressures on people which might prevent them from getting involved and volunteering. With time pressures, being stuck in traffic, work commitments and so on, we must realise we need to do much more to give people of all ages time to get involved.

We really need to get people who have more time involved. We will see such people out marching today. Those people have many talents which need to be encouraged and put to better use. I hope the group the Minister of State announced this morning will do that. There are many other areas to which I will return.

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