David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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This concerns funding for the Waterford City Community Forum and the need for the funding not only to be ring-fenced but to return to 2010 levels. The Waterford City Community Forum is one of a number of fora across the State providing a valuable service in bringing together a range of community and voluntary organisations. It is an umbrella organisation with links to Waterford City Council that ensures proper networking and sharing of information between various community and voluntary bodies, State bodies, public representatives and members of the community. At a time when communities are suffering because of cutbacks, the community and voluntary sector is being asked to step into the breach and provide services previously provided by local authorities or State agencies. It is important these organisations and community fora are supported. I can vouch for the Waterford City Community Forum. One of the strengths of the community forum is that the people elected from constituent organisations, of which there are 220 in Waterford, use their representatives to sit on a range of State positions. This includes strategic policy committees, joint policing committees and others. These fora members provide a vocal and necessary community voice for those representing the community and voluntary sector.

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government supplied figures in respect of Waterford. The Waterford City Community Forum received ¤25,925 in 2008, which was reduced to ¤24,344 in 2009 and to ¤21,522 in 2010. In 2011, it was halved to ¤11,696 and in 2012 it will amount to ¤11,213. Following that pattering for the next five years, the forum will end up giving the State money. It is important funding is returned to a realistic level to enable the forum to have a worker doing the necessary work of providing information sharing, dissemination of information, organising meetings and overseeing an important structure. I hope the Minister of State agrees. I impress upon the Minister of State the importance of funding these fora. I can only vouch for the Waterford City Community Forum, which I am familiar with and which has done fantastic work. In view of the proposed amalgamation of Waterford city and county councils, there is concern about how the forum will continue to be funded. During discussions about the merger, the concerns of the Waterford City Community Forum should not be lost. I have concerns about the merger, which may be outside my control, but I hope the voice of the Waterford City Community Forum is heard and that the issues are dealt with.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I am responding to this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan. I agree with the comments of the Senator on community development and community fora and the work they do in the co-ordination of various groups in areas desperately in need of such input. I share the concern that sometimes, when there is a louder argument, the smaller argument gets lost. It is important we do not lose sight of the smaller part of the puzzle.

I will briefly provide the Seanad with some background information on the community and voluntary fora and then discuss the funding provided for the fora by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. Community and voluntary fora were established in each city and county, in association with the establishment of the county and city development boards in 2000. The fora have facilitated the community in making an input into the work of the boards and local government generally, as well as having representation on the local authority strategic policy committees, joint policing committees and many local development companies.

The White Paper on supporting voluntary activity in 2000 provided that funding would be made available through the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to support the fora. The funding is used to support the fora in organising meetings, communicating information and providing capacity building and training for forum members, particularly those representing the socially excluded. In deciding the distribution of funding to the fora, criteria were developed by the Department to ensure counties with smaller populations receive a reasonable amount while also catering for the bigger and more populated counties and cities. As set out in the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014, current economic circumstances mean public expenditure has had to be substantially reduced across Departments, agencies and programmes. As a result, there were competing demands for very scarce resources from a range of genuine interests and difficult decisions had to be made. The priority in these circumstances is to limit, to the greatest extent possible, the impact of expenditure reductions on essential services on those most in need. In this context, a review of the funding made available to the fora from the Department's vote was necessary and unavoidable.

Following the review, a commitment was made that the community and voluntary fora would continue to be supported and a provision of ¤600,000 was provided in the Department's Vote for 2012 to support the fora in each county and city council area. The funding is in addition to the financial support provided by local authorities for the participation by fora representatives on county or city development boards, strategic policy committees and joint policing committees.

Waterford City Community Forum was allocated funding of ¤11,213 by applying the criteria developed by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government which are based on population census results. At this stage the Minister cannot give a commitment to any individual organisation regarding budgets for 2013. He will, however, endeavour to make the best possible use of the resources available.

I am sure the Senator would not have expected any commitment at this point in the budgetary process. The Minister is very much aware of the value of community fora.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I am sure there are the same difficulties throughout the country. Nevertheless, the 220 community and voluntary organisations that make up the Waterford City Community Forum are struggling to keep their own funding. The Minister's response, read by the Minister of State, refers to scarce resources. We all accept that. All organisations are fighting tooth and nail to hold on to their resources. This, however, strengthens the case for an over-arching umbrella group that is properly funded and can ensure maximum sharing of information in order that each organisation does a smaller proportion of the total work. Even this support structure is being undermined. Given that funding went from ¤24,000 to ¤11,000, the only employee the forum has is now working part-time and that, obviously, has an impact.

Will the Minister of State relay to the Minister the importance of providing support for the community and voluntary sector which is struggling? Community and voluntary organisations need a proper support base.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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There is no disagreement. We are agreed on the value of the work done. The difficulty is that as the pot of money has reduced substantially, the amount that can be distributed must equally be reduced. We are not disputing the value of community fora. I will, however, convey the Senator's views to the Minister.