Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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124. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the future of Development Partnership staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38943/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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There are 50 Local Development Companies (LDCs) contracted, on my Department’s behalf to deliver the Local and Community Development Programme (LCDP), with 35 of those also delivering the LEADER elements of the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 (RDP) throughout the country.

The LDCs are independent companies with their own board of management and memoranda and articles of association. My Department has no role in the internal operations of LDCs and, therefore, does not have a role in relation to staff or employment matters, which are for the Board of each company, as the employer, to manage.

The objective of the LCDP is to tackle poverty and social exclusion through partnership and constructive engagement between Government, and its agencies, and people in disadvantaged communities. It is a key tool of Government in providing supports for the ‘harder to reach’ in the most disadvantaged areas and communities. The funding provided under the LCDP may, however, be used towards statutory redundancy costs in certain circumstances. Also, my Department has made a separate Technical Assistance Budget available on two previous occasions, in 2009 and 2011, to fund statutory redundancy costs arising within the LCDP.

In the context of the RDP each LDC is permitted to spend 20% of its total Programme expenditure on administration and overhead costs including any employment related overheads.

The Government recognises that like all other sectors, the Community and Voluntary Sector has faced financial constraints in recent years, with implications, inter alia, around the capacity of the sector to pay redundancy payments. Discussions between my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform are on-going on the nature of an appropriate response.

I believe that the recommendations on alignment between Local Government and local development made by an expert Steering Group represent a balanced way forward and they recognise the key strengths of LDCs, which will continue to be utilised in partnership with Local Government, to bring greater strategic coherence to the broad range of local and community development supports at local level, for the benefit of our citizens and communities.

Future co-ordination arrangements between Local Government and LDCs are under consideration by an Alignment Working Group, which includes representatives of the Irish Local Development Network as well as the City and County Managers Association and Pobal.