Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 117: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the progress made to date in regard to the development of community and social connection in Irish society since the establishment of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10808/06]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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When announcing the decision to establish this new Department in 2002, the Taoiseach stressed the need for Government to address issues of regional and social balance in a more effective way as well as securing economic development. He explained that the new Department was being set up to produce a more co-ordinated engagement by the State with communities around the country as they pursue their own development. It is now acknowledged that the setting up of the Department marked a new focus on the importance of community and social connections in Irish society.

In the period since, the key principle underlying the Department's activities has been the provision of support that enables communities themselves to identify and address issues in their own areas. That support takes the form of programmes and measures which, individually and collectively, focus on communities, particularly those that are vulnerable or under threat. Those communities may be in rural or inner city settings, grappling with difficulties caused by a range of factors, including declining populations, unemployment, language issues, social disadvantage or drug misuse. As well as communities that can be defined in terms of geographic location, the Department also supports communities that are defined on the basis of a common focus on a particular issue.

My Department's purpose is to provide support to communities in the most appropriate way as they work to shape their own futures, address their common goals and achieve their full potential. To be effective in this vital work, the Department has sought to provide a co-ordinated approach not only across the range of programmes and measures for which it has direct responsibility but also with other Departments and State agencies.

In the relatively short period since 2002, significant progress has been made and is recorded in the Department's annual reports. We have adapted and improved some of the programmes we inherited, we have introduced new programmes, we have taken steps to ensure cohesion between programmes and we have secured more resources for investment in key areas such as community development, rural development, supports for volunteering and for the formation of social capital and tackling the problem of drugs misuse. The results of that can be seen in communities right around the country. We have also taken a series of measures to ensure that what we invest is targeted on areas of real need.

The new approach taken in 2002 is working and is delivering results and it is my intention that we will continue with that approach.