Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I draw attention to some training programmes that are ongoing. The Charities Regulator launched its annual report today. The regulator provides a suite of free training options and free guidance that all charities can access. Community Work Ireland funding was provided last year to the All Ireland Endorsement Body for Community Work Education and Training to raise the standards of community development work throughout the country.

Public participation networks, PPNs, are a particularly important on which to focus. I mention these because there is funding available for PPNs. Member groups are often small informal groups to start with but when they come into the PPN structure they get support. We are conducting a root and branch review of PPN structures to figure out the needs of the various organisations so that we can back them up with the training they need. Grassroots and small local groups are where the need for training and support is greatest. That is the area we are focusing on this year.

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