Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

Consequently every euro spent from the fund is regarded in counting terms as potential Government liability. In the current fiscal climate our priority, therefore, must be to ensure that funding is targeted on a needs basis and spent efficiently and effectively. This is the Government's intention in the context of the dormant accounts disbursements and in the case of supports for the community and voluntary sector more generally.

This Government has made significant progress since taking office in working to improve the infrastructure for the community and voluntary sector. We are fully aware that these are unprecedented economic times and have set out to ensure that every euro we spend is spent wisely.

Each Department is examining its budget to ensure that the public gets good value for money, and with initiatives such as the alignment process my Department is working to ensure that while budgets may be more constrained, services will be maintained to the greatest possible extent.

Across Government as a whole, we are taking a number of difficult decisions, but our approach is to do this in as balanced a way as possible. As Members will appreciate ongoing funding for my Department's programmes is being considered in the context of the expenditure review process which is ongoing. No area is immune to cost reduction measures in the current economic environment.

The Government is acutely aware of the concerns of community and voluntary groups in this regard and that is why our primary concern has been and will continue to be the protection of front line services delivering vital programmes and initiatives, especially those focused on the needs of the most socially deprived communities.

The Government will continue to work with the community and voluntary sector with a view to its continued effective operation; this will involve reducing duplication of service where it exists and ensuring that all State funding to the sector is managed with optimum efficiency.

The current economic crisis has presented an opportunity to pursue social and community development in a more co-operative, creative and innovative manner across the country. We know that State resources will be tight over the next few years, and that we will need to draw more from the ingenuity and resourcefulness that exists within our own communities to get things done. By giving communities the opportunity to have a greater say at a local level, I believe that they will emerge stronger and more sustainable as we begin to recover from our current difficulties, and create new opportunities for the future.

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