Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

In the programme for Government, protecting the most vulnerable is a key priority and working with communities, especially disadvantaged communities, is central to that. In my reply, I outlined the funding for this sector for 2011 and how it has been protected. Nonetheless, there is a 3% decline in funding, but the amount of funding that has been allocated is indicative of the central role that we would expect the community and voluntary sector to play in the immediate future and in the long term as well.

We are protecting and supporting this sector with the reforms that have been brought in. We want to ensure that these programmes survive and we are looking for greater efficiencies. We are looking to take some of the onerous pressures off the management of the community groups by co-ordinating things at a macro level. That is supportive of those groups. In the main, many of them have welcomed it. This means change and that has been difficult for some of the groups. I acknowledge that and I know it from meeting some of the groups. However, once the services and the jobs are being protected, they have welcomed the re-organisation.

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