Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 86: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the recent policy developments in relation to the voluntary sector; the progress made to date on delivering Towards 2016 commitments on volunteering; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40848/08]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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In recent years, the Government has sought to actively encourage and support the community & voluntary sector and has prioritised significant resources in pursuit of this objective. This funding supports valued services that community & voluntary groups provide to Irish society on a not-for-profit basis. In addition, the role of the sector has been reflected in the evolution of social partnership over recent years.

The Government has also made significant progress in pursuing a more supportive environment for the non-profit sector, as articulated in Towards 2016. In this context, the Deputy should note that the Charities Bill 2007 was passed by Dáil Éireann on 5 November last and is expected to commence its passage through the Seanad in the coming weeks. I am confident that the Bill will help to secure accountability and to protect against abuse of charitable status and fraud, thus enhancing public confidence in the charities sector.

In relation to volunteering, my Department is providing annual funding of nearly €2.5 million to twenty volunteer centres located across the country. So far this year, these centres have registered over 5,660 volunteers and over 800 volunteer-involving organisations. It is also worth noting that 56% of registered volunteers had never volunteered before and 70% are aged 35 years and under. To date 2,300 volunteers have been placed by the Volunteer Centres, which will generate over 151,000 volunteering hours this year alone.

In addition, a range of other activities to encourage greater active citizenship are being supported by my Department. These include:

The Young Social Innovators Initiative which involves transition year students identifying social needs and in developing strategies to address them;

The Dublin Institute of Technology's Community Learning Programme. This promotes community- based learning by integrating classroom theory with practical application in projects for community and voluntary bodies. Examples of projects include computing science students designing web pages for voluntary bodies, or food science students providing health and safety audits in community kitchens;

Focus Ireland which supports the placement of social science graduates within the organisation, who wish to gain experience and to develop skills in working with people who are marginalised;

Support for Boardmatch, an organisation which supports the development of the voluntary and community sector in Ireland by strengthening boards of management and management committees of non-profit organisations; and

A cross-border volunteering initiative with the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland, which will pilot action research into how recruitment of volunteers can be encouraged and how volunteers recruited within different spheres can provide the catalyst for wider community involvement and the development of active communities.

I would also like to draw the Deputy's attention to the work of the Forum on Philanthropy. Developments since the establishment of the Forum include Government approval of flagship projects with the private sector to the value of €51 million; the publication of Philanthropy Ireland's Guide to Giving; the endorsement of increased philanthropic activity by the Task Force on Active Citizenship and the establishment of the Social Finance Foundation. The work of the Forum is on-going.

Finally, it should be noted that my Department also provides funding to the community & voluntary sector for training in relation to capacity building in governance and compliance, strategic development, and services to communities, through a range of different programmes. Details of these are available on my Department's website — www.pobail.ie.