David Norris (Independent)

I also welcome the Minister of State and compliment him on his speech in which he hit a number of the right notes and which I would like to develop. Although it is part of the Christian tradition to help out one's neighbours, it is not exclusively so. We are far too self-congratulatory and insular if we think we are so wonderful as a Christian country. I have worked with a number of voluntary organisations, Irish and other, here and abroad. Including in a number of the organisations that are specifically Christian, many of their excellent volunteers were devout atheists. However, it did not impact on their capacity to contribute. It is a human trait and not simply a sectional Christian one, although as a Christian, I like to think it is part of our obligation to live out the gospel in this way.

Like many other Senators I have had experience in the voluntary area. Very often it was simply because the authorities were not doing anything at all. Particularly in the area of gay rights, I was involved in the gay rights movement, the National Lesbian and Gay Federation of Ireland and the Hirschfeld Centre. My experience there makes me understand that it is very important for the Government to recognise the value of voluntary input, but not to use it as an excuse to do nothing. We often used to get complimented on what we did with regard to AIDS. The Government simply relaxed with the attitude that we were looking after it ourselves. We did not get a single ha'penny in support and yet we reversed the usual profile of the AIDS infection in this country, which was quite different from what happened in other countries. Wonderful people contributed voluntarily.

All our colleagues here will remember Tom Hyland, an unemployed bus driver from Ballyfermot, who took up the cause of East Timor. He organised ETISC, the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign, from his little corporation house in Ballyfermot. He affected Irish and European policy. He was able to see half the world as his neighbours. I will never forget the day I heard Professor Peter Carey of Oxford saying in his cut-glass tones: "Of course when one considers the downfall of Suharto in Indonesia, one must acknowledge the role played by Tom Hyland of Ballyfermot in Dublin". That is a real David and Goliath story that gives the answer to anybody who says, "Oh, the situation is dreadful, but I can't do anything about it". Of course one can.

I would like to pay tribute to Volunteering Ireland, which is a remarkable organisation, and Voluntary Service Overseas. I must declare an interest as I have recently been appointed to the board of that body. It is a very fine body as is Volunteering Ireland. At least two Members of this House have recently returned, one from Africa and the other from Mongolia -Senator Mark Daly of Fianna Fáil and Senator Dominic Hannigan of the Labour Party. These young people have gone abroad to experience at first hand what it means for Irish volunteers to be able to contribute to and learn from the societies in which they find themselves.

In an age when were told we were not living in a society anymore — society had been abolished and it was just an economy — it is very important to realise there is such a thing as social capital and we need to build it up through the voluntary sector through mutual aid, self-help and people with shared problems. A problem shared is a problem halved by people working together to address these difficulties. Philanthropy is the service to others. In the brief I got from Volunteering Ireland I came across a new word, "philantherapy", which I love. There is a therapeutic quotient to getting involved. I have felt it myself, that when one puts something in one gets it back. Since I have suggested it is not just Christians, I should return to my roots and quote the bible "cast your bread upon the waters and it shall return to you an hundredfold". In other words one gets a return, a quantifiable bounce in one's self-esteem, one's feeling of well being and one's feeling of connection to one's community.

The Minister of State and some of my colleagues mentioned the Irish tradition. We are living in the protection of each other's shadow. Senator Ó Murchú quoted that wonderful Irish proverb. He referred to the meitheal and the community gathering around. I live in the north inner city and I have witnessed that. It has not faded even with the arrival of new communities. Such participation is important and it helps with many emerging problems such as the integration of new communities into our society because these people are often locked into their own ghettos and one way to integrate them into our society is to encourage them to become involved in voluntarism.

Volunteers learn many skills, including advocacy and campaigning, which benefit not only the community but the individuals themselves. I like to pin down the value of voluntarism in economic and social terms. A report on volunteering in Ireland published in 2006 highlighted that 37.1% or 1,570,408 people volunteer for 465,624 hours per year, which is the equivalent of 96,454 full-time workers. I like grand, global figures and, therefore, 1.5 million people volunteer for 500,000 hours, which is the equivalent of 100,000 full-time workers. The financial benefit equates to between €200 million and €600 million. Senator Ó Murchú mentioned an Iar-Taoiseach, Parthalán Ó hEachthairn, who pointed out we would be hard put to afford all the work done by volunteers and, therefore, we should be sensitive when dealing with groups such as the Carers Association. The investment is well worth it. Senator Ó Murchú mentioned the meals on wheels scheme. How many people would be swept over if that did not exist?

This concept has been adopted in a tiny community in the Troodos Mountains in Cyprus. Many members of the community are elderly and they have a community centre. A meal is given to them four days a week and this also provides them with a social outlet.

For every €1.50 invested, a return of between €4.50 and €12 is achieved, which makes economic sense. A total of 72% of people feel volunteers offer something. For example, in the Dublin area alone, 52,000 adults are involved in the organisation of underage football. The GAA is hugely resourced but I do not object to that because it is a voluntary organisation at its core. Mr. Robert Putnam, an American sociologist wrote an interesting book entitled Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. He demonstrated that, as a result of the decline in social capital, people are less trusting and less connected with each other, leading to a lack of interest and trust in politics. It is, therefore, in our interest as well. People do not vote because they feel powerless, disenfranchised and cut off and this leads to a lack of civic involvement. They can be empowered through volunteering and by supporting voluntary organisations. However, such support must be clear. It is well worth doing so in the context of the benefits to society.

I commend the Minister of State on mentioning the White Paper published in 2000. I would like the Government to revisit it and audit the recommendations to ascertain how much has been done by Government; to ensure the voluntary sector is recognised and the support provided to the sector is examined; to ensure joined up thinking and initiatives will create the conditions for civic participation; to mainstream volunteering in Government policy; and to support all volunteering initiatives and consult widely with key stakeholders in the area.

I refer to the my own experience with the Hirschfeld Centre, the Joyce Centre and the North Great Georges Street Preservation Society. The voluntary sector must not be left on its own. Constructive interaction is needed because it is easy for us in public life to be lazy and when something wonderful is done by organisations such as Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, which also gets a fair wallop of cash, we need to make sure we do not relax and say everything is all right and such organisations are looking after it. We must support them, particularly in the current economic climate.