Dáil debates

Thursday, 16 June 2011

5:00 pm

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Question 6: To ask the Minister for the Environment; Community and Local Government if he will not decrease the level of funding provided by him to support the community and voluntary fora across the State. [15623/11]

Photo of Phil HoganPhil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The community and voluntary fora carry out valuable work on behalf of their communities. They provide an important input to the work of local authorities, particularly in the context of their membership of local authority structures such as the strategic policy committees, joint policing committees and county and city development boards.

I recently approved allocations totalling €587,000 to the fora to support their work. Such funding is in addition to any other supports provided by individual local authorities including meeting the expenses of community representatives on the aforementioned local authority structures. On 2 June last I approved a further €55,000 per annum to the Irish National Community and Voluntary Forum for the next two and half years, subject to annual budgetary review. This is on top of the €19,000 already allocated to this body as part of the overall fora allocation. The National Community and Voluntary Forum is the representative body of the fora. I recognise that my Department's allocation to the fora in 2011 represents a 50% reduction in the amount available last year, arising from decisions on the 2011 Estimates. This decision arose against the background of our current economic circumstances, which require that public expenditure has had to be substantially reduced.

The priority in these circumstances is to limit to the greatest extent possible the impact of expenditure reductions on essential services and on those most in need. These considerations continue to hold. Therefore, while I have no plans at present to alter the current level of funding available to the fora, final decisions in this context will have to be made as part of the determination of the 2012 Estimates. The Government recognises the value of the work carried out by community and voluntary organisations, including the community and voluntary fora, which complements State endeavours in the community area.

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Can the Minister confirm if funding for and oversight of the Family Support Agency will be subsumed into the local partnerships? Is he examining this matter at the moment? Will the Family Support Agency be brought under the umbrella of local authorities or existing local partnerships? I ask this question in the context of the review of quangos and State agencies.

Photo of Phil HoganPhil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Does this question refer to the Family Support Agency or the family resource centres? Are they linked?

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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They are the same bodies. The Family Support Agency funds the family resource centres.

Photo of Phil HoganPhil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, has a role and responsibility in that area.

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Is the Minister involved in discussion about local authorities or local partnerships taking over?

Photo of Phil HoganPhil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Yes, that is a separate issue. I have been engaging with the community section, which was subsumed into my Department. We are examining where services are provided across a range of Departments and agencies. We want to eliminate duplication and triplication, which is unsustainable. We want to ensure that core funding for these community organisations being assessed at the moment is provided on a county basis. Each county has built up an enormous number of agencies and organisations. The community sector is telling me that it wants certainty, streamlining and responsive delivery of services. I do not want to see the money I am allocating creating administrative posts. I want to see the money allocated on the ground for use on services for which the community has applied. We are engaging with local government and the community sector in order to have synergy between the objectives of the community sector and local government.