Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am very happy to support the motion moved by my colleague, Deputy willie O'Dea. I reiterate that significant and essential work that is carried out by MABS and the Citizens Information service.

Voluntarism is at the core of the services that MABS and the CIS provide. They are embedded at grassroots level within communities. The three citizens information centres in County Waterford play a major role in supporting people by offering advice on their statutory entitlements. There are currently 48 volunteers in the city and a further 15 in the Dungarvan area. These, together with six part-time staff, one manager and 16 new volunteers currently in recruitment, are the driving force behind this organisation. It is regrettable that the Minister has left the Chamber because I wanted to point out to him that in 2016 these 63 volunteers and six part-time staff dealt with 13,699 people to offer advice, information and advocacy. They dealt with 21,038 queries. This was made possible by those 63 voluntary staff.

I am troubled by the very real concerns that have been voiced by the staff and volunteers, many of whom I have spoken to in the past few weeks. They are worried about how the restructuring will affect their involvement. They do not want to become another statistic. There is a danger that what is proposed will fragment the whole organisation under a regional chairman appointed by the Minister. The current community-based model works. Why does the Minister need to change it?

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