Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 7, between lines 36 and 37, to insert the following:

"(d) the purpose of benefiting the community;".

This is a simple and straightforward amendment. By and large, I support the thrust of the Bill. The section states:

"voluntary work" means any work or other activity that is carried out for any of the following purposes:

(a) a charitable purpose within the meaning of the Charities Act 2009;

(b) without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a), the purpose of providing assistance, advice or care in an emergency or so as to prevent an emergency;

(c) the purpose of sport or recreation;

The amendments provide for a further purpose, which is "the purpose of benefitting the community". Based on statistics from 1999, some 33% of the adult population was engaged in volunteering. I hope the amendment will be accepted. I referred to hill walking on the Sheep's Head Way on Second Stage but, for example, people volunteer to control traffic at agricultural shows, Macra na Feirme outings or local carnivals. They wear jackets and they are assisted by members of Macra na Feirme or the IFA. It is a form of volunteering in the community.

I refer to the definitions of "good Samaritan" and "volunteer" in other countries such as Australia and America. The Minister's predecessor, Dermot Ahern, introduced this Bill and it goes a long way to address a major lacuna for the past number of decades. I urge him to take an extra step to include these amendments to benefit the community as a gesture of respect to all those who work on behalf of the community. The work of volunteers and community spirit have never been needed more because of the difficult economic climate in which we find ourselves. These people work for free on behalf of the community to, for example, police GAA matches, local shows or Macra na Feirme events. People may also be engaged in community work to raise funds for local cancer charities and GAA clubs. If the Minister were to accept the amendment it would bolster the community spirit, the meitheal spirit, so to speak, that is so important in society today. It was probably never more acutely needed than in the current situation. The amendment is a simple one. I will not labour the point at this stage, except to say that the Minister could easily add paragraph (d) as it would bolster the Bill and add greater value to the legislation. I hope the Minister will accede to my earnest request.