Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 111: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the role his Department plays in the policy direction of the social inclusion units at local authority level; and if there is to be an expansion of these units nationwide. [23002/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has overall responsibility for co-ordinating the National Action Plan against Poverty and Social Exclusion (NAP/inclusion) which represents the Government's strategic multi-faceted approach to tackling poverty. The Office for Social Inclusion, based in my Department, co-ordinates the process mainly at national level, working closely with relevant Departments and the social partners.

Specific responsibility for coordinating the development of social inclusion at local authority level rests with the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. This includes the policy direction and roll out of the Local Authority Social Inclusion units which have already made a valuable contribution to developing a strategic response to promoting social inclusion at local level. The Office for Social Inclusion works closely with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government on social inclusion issues, including in particular the ongoing development of more effective structures for implementing the National Action Plan on social inclusion at local level.

As part of this involvement, the Office is represented on the Social Inclusion Steering Group which co-ordinates the development and implementation of the Local Government Anti-Poverty Learning Network, with which the Combat Poverty Agency also has a strong involvement. This Network has already contributed significantly to the promotion of a strong local anti-poverty focus within the reformed system of local government, providing a forum in which local authorities can share experiences and best practice and consider how to make the maximum contribution to policies to tackle poverty and social exclusion. Representatives of the Local Authority Social Inclusion units are members of this learning network. In addition, the Office for Social Inclusion and the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government recently organised a consultation seminar for local authority staff working in the area of social inclusion. The purpose of this seminar was to inform the development of the next NAP/inclusion, currently being prepared by the Office to cover the period 2006-2008.

The issue of whether there should be an expansion of the social inclusion units and the extent of any such expansion is a matter for the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government, his Department and the Local Authorities concerned. Given the success of these Units to date, any such expansion would have my full support.