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

The programme for Government recognises the importance of regular and open engagement with all sectors of society. In this regard, I work with the community and voluntary sector through the cross-sectoral group, CSG, in implementing Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities, the five-year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector. The community and voluntary pillar, of which Community Platform is a member, is represented on the CSG. The Department of Rural and Community Development has worked collaboratively with the sector through the CSG to create and agree a document setting out values and principles for collaboration and partnership working with the community and voluntary sector, which was approved by the Government recently.

Another key action in the strategy is the establishment of a civic forum for formal dialogue between the community and voluntary sector and local and central government. My Department is working on the design of this forum, which will take place later this year. The forum will be developed in collaboration with community and voluntary stakeholders and its work will be underpinned by the recently agreed values and principles.

In my capacity as Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection, I host an annual social inclusion forum, which provides people affected by poverty and social exclusion, as well as the community organisations representing them, with the opportunity to come together with officials from relevant Departments to discuss poverty and social inclusion policy. One of the workshops at this year's forum, to be held in June, will be on income adequacy and the cost of living.

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