Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 17: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he is satisfied with the level of voluntarism here; his plans to address the levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2591/09]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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The Government has made significant progress in advancing measures in support of objectives on Volunteering and Active Citizenship. The Task Force on Active Citizenship recommended that a network of volunteer centres be funded across the country. My Department now provides annual funding of over €2.5m to twenty such centres. In 2008, these centres registered over 7,500 volunteers and over 950 volunteer-involving organisations. It should also be noted that 56% of registered volunteers had never volunteered before and 70% were aged 35 years and under. My Department also provides core funding for Volunteering Centres Ireland which acts as a national organisation and plays a proactive central role in facilitating and supporting the development of the network of local volunteer centres.

In addition, a range of other activities are being supported. In this context, the Deputy should note that last Wednesday, in Downpatrick, Minister Margaret Ritchie, the Minister for Social Development in Northern Ireland, and I jointly launched a cross-border volunteering initiative, involving three groups — the GAA, Voluntary Arts Ireland and the Church of Ireland. The rationale behind the project is that these organisations, which have a strong network of local volunteers across Ireland, can use this network for the benefit of the whole community, and especially marginalised and disadvantaged groups on both sides of the border.

Other relevant activities supported by my Department include:

The Young Social Innovators Initiative — this involves transition year students at secondary school level from all over Ireland identifying social needs and developing strategies to address them, requiring their engagement with local, community and statutory organisations. The key objective is to develop volunteering among young people and grow a cadre of volunteers for the future;

For the past three years, my Department has supported the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) Community Learning Programme. This programme, 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;

Funding for Focus Ireland to support 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; and

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