Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)

I agree with everything my colleague Deputy Donnelly said. We have spoken about this matter in the past. The Minister of State knows my feelings on it. Social enterprises are at the heart of rural and community life. They create jobs and roll out services. They foster innovation, but too often they have been treated as an afterthought by the Government. They have not been given priority and have been left without the enabling mechanisms and investment they need to thrive. What is needed is a change in attitude to recognise their role, reward their contribution and invest in their future and I truly hope that this new strategy will come with the enabling criteria that is required.

There is an exciting example in my county, where communities in the Comaraigh area of County Waterford have come together as part of the Comhar Comaraigh initiative. The latter is a holistic network bringing together villages, towns and townlands, including Annestown, Ballylaneen, Ballymacarbry, Ballyduff, Boatstrand, Bunmahon, Carrickbeg, Clonea Power, Dunhill, Faha, Fenor, Fews, Kill, Kilmacthomas, Kilmeaden, Kilrossanty, Modeligo, Mothel, Newtown, Portlaw, Rathgormack, Stradbally, Touraneena and Kilbrien. It is important to mention all of them, not so as I can rattle off a list of villages in my constituency but to show the breadth of what this community group and this new initiative is trying to do. These communities are pooling resources, sharing their experiences and developing common approaches. They are linking existing social enterprises, such as the Dunhilll Multi-education Centre, the Copper Coast geopark, Kilmacthomas Social Enterprise Group, the Bunmahon community development and, pretty much, every GAA, camogie and ladies' Gaelic football club in the region. They are bringing them all together to harness their innovation and collective strength. Once again, however, Government is behind the curve.

Communities are miles ahead. They are building these networks, finding the solutions and creating the opportunities and it seems Government is not even playing catch-up a lot of the time. Earlier this year, I asked I asked the Minister of State's colleague, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, to provide pilot funding for a full-time co-ordinator to support this ground-breaking new initiative. Communities cannot run on goodwill, strategies and platitudes. They need sustainable funding. They need support and they need it in a structured and structural way that they can depend on and plan for. The Minister's reply to that simple request, which would not have cost a lot but which would have had a big impact in the area - and possibly across the State if the model gained currency - was that there was no money this year and there probably will not be any next year.

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