Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This is a topic we understand and support and in which we are all involved to some degree. When I say volunteering should be voluntary, I mean we do not need over-prescription or legislation. Neither do we need a plethora of groups and organisations that prescribe how to be a volunteer. Volunteering and voluntary work should come from the heart and soul.

It is appropriate that we are having this discussion on the day the Minister for Finance must produce in the Dáil a financial response to what in the eyes of many would be seen as the excess of the Celtic tiger. Part of the Minister's responsibility is to encourage restraint and a sense of responsibility, something which has gone out the door. Over the past 20 years, we have lived in a country awash with money where there was a price on everything but a value on nothing. Volunteerism and voluntary work are the opposite. People value voluntary work and in the majority of cases do not put a price on the work they do.

I am sure colleagues on the Government side, including Senator Butler, have played their part in the voluntary sector. I am sure that before Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú became an official of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, he spent years working voluntarily with the organisation changing the lives of people throughout the country. I do not know Senator Cannon as well, but I am aware of his work with handicapped people and invalids. This is the type of voluntary work that comes from the heart. Legislation, grants for volunteering bodies and prescribing how people can become volunteers do not always produce the results we would like. Therefore, when I say volunteering should be voluntary, the House will understand what I mean.

The Minister of State spoke about the ethos and culture of the people, which stems in most cases from their Christian ethos. Volunteering, voluntary work and neighbourliness were at their height when the country was at its lowest economically. Society changed, mostly for the good, but the idea of voluntary work, helping neighbours and involving oneself in one's community went out the door. This is regrettable and is something we must try to address. The question is how to address it.

The Minister of State spoke of the Government continuing to develop an enabling environment to encourage volunteering and active citizenship. While this is a valid aspiration, it may not work. It is artificial to instruct people to volunteer and tell them how to become volunteers. We must start in the home, in families and in communities. Schools too have a role to play, although it sometimes appears we believe all society's problems can be solved at transition year level and that these pupils can carry out all sorts of projects. At second level, where the focus is geared towards gaining points, we should try to involve students in voluntary work. Older primary school pupils could also be involved. Residents in hundreds of nursing homes and patients in dozens of hospitals never have visitors. The thousands of pupils within walking distance of most of these homes and hospitals should be encouraged to visit these people. This small step would be practical volunteering and would produce a positive result for the elderly and the lonely.

Traditionally, the elderly were looked after in their homes and benefited from significant amounts of voluntary work, not just on the part of their sons, daughters and grandchildren, but from neighbours dropping in and bringing them the news of the community. This was genuine voluntary work. Nowadays, people who call to a neighbour's house are seen as nosey. This practice is no longer deemed acceptable, another excess of the Celtic tiger, but it is to be hoped we can redress this.

The Minister of State mentioned a community and voluntary forum. I saw an advertisement in the Irish Examiner today advising groups to register as community and voluntary bodies. While this may be necessary from an administrative perspective, it demonstrates how volunteerism and voluntary work are almost being turned into an agency, department or quango. This should not be the case. Volunteering should be something natural and should not require all these rules and regulations. However, I welcome those groups that have come together in a formal structure. While that may be necessary, we must try to reach beyond the formality.

I appreciate that the Government is investing funds in the area, although the Minister of State is restrained with regard to the amount. I read about some of the initiatives such as Give it a Swirl Day and similar projects. While these are welcome, they should not be seen as the total solution. That must come from homes, families and communities. We must spread the message that people must look after their neighbours. They must be made aware that they, their neighbours and parish are all part of the one community and that they should involve themselves at that level.

Recently, I attended a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food at which the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs made a presentation on Leader and community funding. During his presentation he made an interesting point about the success of the GAA, which stems not from money but from the parish ethos working at its best and people looking after their clubs and parishes. The majority are involved without ever receiving a grant or a penny from anyone. We do not have Croke Park in every parish, but we have volunteer workers.