Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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81. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he shares the concerns of community development workers regarding resourcing of this critically important discipline. [38528/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Baineann mo cheist le hoibrithe forbairt pobail agus na buarthaí atá orthu i dtaobh acmhainní. My question relates to the critical and important role of community development workers and their concerns around resourcing, both pay and conditions, and also resourcing within organisations. The Minister of State will appreciate from his engagement with community development bodies that there are serious concerns now about both pay and conditions and the ability of these organisations to recruit and retain workers in this very important discipline.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter and he is right that it is a recurring theme when we speak to people who are very committed to the work they do. The Government's five-year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector, Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities, was published six years ago. It is a whole-of-government strategy, led by our Department and it has been implemented collaboratively over the last five years in partnership with the sector.

Last week, I announced the commencement of a public consultation process to prepare for the development of a successor strategy, which I expect will reaffirm the Government’s commitment to supporting the community development sector.

I am very much aware of the important role community workers play in the delivery of programmes that are funded through our Department, many of which are based in very disadvantaged areas and provide vital services to communities. I thank the staff and workers for the work they do. They make the lives of all of us better and enhance our local communities every day and week they go out and do their work.

In line with the current strategy, our Department has supported initiatives to strengthen the profession of community development worker. In 2022, funding was provided to establish a two-year bursary fund to support people employed in community organisations to pursue professional community work qualifications. In addition, further funding was approved for the establishment of a one-year pre-professional bursary. Both funds are administered by the all-Ireland endorsement body. The funding will have the effect of expanding the professionally qualified workforce in the community workspace, strengthening the capacity of the workers and their respective organisations to respond to the complex challenges the communities they work in are experiencing.

I look forward to continuing to engage, as does the Minister, Deputy Calleary, with the community development sector in the consultation process for the new strategy and to hearing their views on this important issue.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an gcomhairliúchán sin. It is good that consultation, with a view to arriving at a new strategy, is taking place. However, this comes down to a question of resources and to the level of Government funding. There is a huge amount of training and accreditation going on and the bursaries are very welcome. However, it is about creating a situation and environment where community development workers - people who put time, effort and thought into becoming professionals - enter into that discipline. They are passionate about the communities, understand that process is as important as the task at hand and get the holistic nature of community development work in the result being more than the sum of its part. These people by economic necessity cannot enter that sector or stay in it because the salaries and job security are not there. This really comes down to resourcing, certainty about resourcing and additional money. As we move towards the budgetary process, I ask that this be front and centre of the Minister of State's engagement with the Departments of public expenditure and finance.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I am committed to continuing to provide supports to the community and voluntary sector. I am not absolving us from any role here but our Department does not set terms and conditions of pay. We are very much of the view that it is about supporting the community and voluntary sector. My priority is to create an environment where the sector can thrive, that is enabling and empowering, and that is building capacity and strengthening the sector. I am very much aware of the needs and concerns expressed and the reality some people find themselves in regarding the retention and recruitment of staff.

It is about ensuring we can build resilience, skill-development and capacity among the community and voluntary groups. It is about having a comprehensive training needs assessment specific to the needs of our small community and voluntary organisations, in particular. It is also about ensuring we can put in place multi-annual funding through SICAP, CSP, SSNO and LEADER to help us to create an atmosphere and an opportunity to retain high quality staff. We have high quality staff in the sector and we must acknowledge that and do all we can to ensure that knowledge base is not lost. I would be happy to hear any suggestions the Deputy has and I would be happy to work with him on them.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I think we all acknowledge the skill and the resilience of those working in the sector. Indeed, it is their resilience that got them through and kept them in their jobs when austerity was tearing the very heart out of the sector. Many of our communities are grateful they stayed the course. However, as I said, it is becoming more and more difficult for community organisations to recruit and retrain staff into these. What we need is an extension of the community development programme. We need more money going into these community groups so that community workers can be out on the ground doing the jobs they need to. The model is that Government does not set pay and conditions. However, the Government has to be very conscious of those pay and conditions and the impact lower pay and conditions has on the sector and its ability to do work that benefits society and the State in the long run. That means Government has to step up now and fund and support improvements in terms, pay and conditions for workers in the sector.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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To be fair, we are aware of and are very cognisant of the challenges in the sector. I reiterate that it would be inappropriate for our Department to be involved in the setting of pay and conditions, while recognising the importance of the sector and the brilliant work being done. What we are committed to doing and what we will do is to look into an estimated time to boost the budget for the Department but also recognising that the conditions of employment, the whole issue of training and upskilling is part of what we do in looking to improve the outcomes for people in terms of staff and qualifications. As I said earlier, our Department has been heavily investing in professional bursaries and professional upskilling of the workforce through strengthening capacity of the workers and the different organisations. It is about ensuring the Department takes note of what the Deputy is saying and recognises the importance of the staff and the workers. I will further engage with the sector again on the matter, as he knows.