Déirdre de Búrca (Green Party)

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the important role of volunteering in Irish society. We cannot emphasise often enough the importance of the volunteer. I came across an interesting definition of volunteering which captures its spirit. It states:

Volunteering is the commitment of time and energy for the benefit of society, local communities, individuals outside the immediate family, the environment or other causes. Voluntary activities are undertaken of a person's own free will without payment except for the reimbursement of out of pocket expenses.

Volunteering can cover many different activities, including visiting the elderly or sick, giving blood, doing a sponsored walk, getting involved in local scouting or guiding clubs, assisting a charity with its finances, helping someone to read or write, planting trees and so on In his presentation, the Minister of State talked about the essential services provided by volunteers, such as social care, child care, elder care, health services, environment, sport and cultural activities, etc. When we consider the range of services provided on a voluntary basis and noted by the Minister of State as "essential", the State should be grateful. In taking these services the State has certain responsibilities. It is important that we do not put undue responsibilities on volunteers which probably should be those of the State. We must always keep an eye on what voluntary organisations provide in order that their burden of responsibility is not too great.

We also need to ensure voluntary services continue to be professional and modern. Voluntary services have undergone dramatic change in the past decade or two and a good support infrastructure is in place. The Minister of State referred to the local development and community development programmes, both of which provide the support structures and training required by voluntary services.

Training is extremely important. If we are to have volunteers providing essential services in critical areas such as child care services and care of the elderly, we must be willing to ensure certain standards are upheld. The role of the State is to provide the training and investment in infrastructure that voluntary organisations require to carry out their work. The Minister of State indicated the State spends approximately €5.4 billion on the not-for-profit sector. Given the wide range of services being provided by voluntary organisations, I hope this substantial level of expenditure will be maintained.

The Minister of State referred to the role the Government could play in encouraging philanthropy. The United States has a long tradition of businesses engaging in philanthropy. To achieve an increased level of corporate philanthropy here, we need to encourage a similar philanthropic outlook by businesses.

The Minister of State cited a number of specific voluntary initiatives, including the young social innovators, on which I will focus. Having been involved in this important programme, I am impressed by the manner in which it reaches young people, primarily those in secondary school who are unlikely to have become involved in community groups or local causes, and raises awareness among them of the importance of participation in civic life.

According to the most recent statistics, the level of volunteering is good. A 2006 national survey on volunteering carried out by Volunteering Ireland and entitled The Hidden Landscape indicated that Ireland has more than 1.5 million volunteers, of whom almost 9% are not based in the country. As such, 37.1% of the population is involved in volunteering, a healthy level.

I was surprised to learn that male volunteers outnumber female volunteers by a ratio of more than three to one in the case of Ireland based volunteers. This is an interesting statistic as I would have expected the position to be the reverse. The survey also found that between 17% and 33% of the adult population volunteered on a regular basis, giving on average five to 12 hours per month. The range was, however, wider with some volunteers giving less than one hour, while others gave more than 50 hours.

The estimates on the in kind revenue from volunteering range from €200 million to €600 million per annum. As compared to other European countries, Ireland's volunteering rate was considered to be average and citizens' membership of community and voluntary associations above average, with both rates on the increase, which is good news.

One of the interesting statistics to emerge from the report was that 58% of people get involved in voluntary work because they are asked to do so, while 36% offer their services. The State should become more proactive in supporting voluntary organisations. In the case of the VSI, it is already doing this by engaging in outreach and suggesting to people that they could get involved in voluntary activity.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the issue of volunteering and congratulate the Minister of State on the work his Department does in this area.