Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 76: To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the recent study by the Trinity College Dublin School of Business Studies which showed that voluntary organisations here get only 1.4 percent of their funding in donations from the business community; if the social finance fund announced in Budget 2006 will include measures to encourage the wider involvement of the business community in community organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24952/06]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 85: To ask the Minister for Finance further to the Government's Social Finance Fund, the way in which applicants will be assessed when applying for a loan from the fund; if community projects with limited or no direct income from clients will be eligible for loans from this fund; if there will be a mentoring or skill transfer programme provided by the banks to reduce the numbers of community projects that failing to meet repayments; if the banks have agreed on an acceptable level of non-repayment to reflect the higher risk category of the community projects, in view of the fact that they are unable to access loans in the normal way; if there will be more flexible repayment structures than would usually be available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24953/06]

Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 96: To ask the Minister for Finance the banks which have agreed to provide €25 million seed capital for the social finance fund; and the security expected to be required by community and voluntary groups wishing to avail of this financial assistance. [24804/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 76, 85 and 96 together.

A delivery model for the social finance initiative is currently being developed. This will involve the creation of a social investment vehicle that will essentially perform the role of a wholesale supplier of social finance funding. As far as the on-lending of the funds for individual projects is concerned, the idea is, as far as possible, to use existing agencies and established networks of social finance providers. The banks have indicated a willingness to contribute both seed funding of €25 million and their expertise to support the practical delivery of this initiative. My Department is conducting its discussions with the banks through their representative body, the Irish Bankers Federation, who are coordinating arrangements for participation by the banks.

Relative to the current scale of social finance provision nationwide, €25m represents a very significant volume of resources. This level of funding is aligned to what is expected to be appropriate to the next phase of the evolution of social finance provision. My priority is to ensure that the available resources are applied carefully in a focused way with clear objectives, avoiding bureaucracy, and with a view to market testing options for the further development of social finance. In my Budget speech, I indicated that I was keeping the door open to other contributors.

I am aware of the recent study referred to by Deputy Costello. The Deputy may wish to note that under the new social partnership agreement "Towards 2016", the Government will examine ways to progress the investment of capital in social finance providers by charities, private individuals and businesses, as well as explore ways to facilitate philanthropic work, strengthen and deepen a culture of philanthropy in Ireland, and maximise the contribution of philanthropy to the common good. This will complement existing initiatives such as pilot funding for Philanthropy Ireland and funding support for Chambers Ireland's 2006 Corporate Social Responsibility Programme which is focused on promoting CSR in SMEs.

My Department is continuing to consult with the Office of the Attorney General in relation to a number of legal issues relating to the pilot implementation of the Social Finance initiative. With a view to developing an effective model my Department has, to date, also consulted with a number of public, private and voluntary bodies currently involved or with interests in this area, in addition to its discussions with the banking community. These consultations will inform the policies and procedures governing the implementation of the initiative.