David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 297: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if a volunteers' charter or volunteers' code of practice has been developed; the roles and responsibilities of both volunteers and the organisations who use the services of volunteers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45786/09]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department funds a network of 21 Volunteer Centres nationally. It also funds Volunteer Centres Ireland (VCI), the umbrella body responsible for developing best practice within the network. VCI and its member centres encourage all community and voluntary organisations that work with volunteers to have in place a suitable volunteer policy. The development of a volunteer policy is an integral part of the management training currently provided by Volunteer Centres to organisations engaging volunteers. There are a number of charters on volunteering available within the community and voluntary sector. One such charter is the "Charter for Effective Volunteering", developed by Volunteering Ireland, which is widely used in the sector. It is important that each individual community and voluntary organisation adapts a charter to suit the particular needs of its organisation and its overall context.