Nicky McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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383. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if a national policy or strategy on volunteering will be developed in order to address barriers to volunteering and to set objectives and goals to ensure that volunteering is measured and valued; to provide for consistent and sustainable nationwide supports for volunteering; if he will provide strategy and direction for the existing volunteering infrastructure to deliver national priorities at a local level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41889/13]

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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401. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will consider the establishment of a national strategy to support volunteering. [42280/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 383 and 401 together.

The Government continues to advance a range of measures that support volunteering and active citizenship. My Department funds a network of twenty two Volunteer Centres. It also provides funding to Volunteer Ireland, the national volunteer development agency. The focus of Volunteer Ireland is to create an enabling environment for volunteering, to develop an ethos of volunteerism across all sectors of society and to be an independent and legitimate voice for volunteering. The 22 Volunteer Centres act as ‘brokers’ between potential volunteers and organisations seeking volunteers. The centres are linked by a common database and a common best practice approach. They also work with organisations to develop their volunteer management capacity and carry out Garda vetting for smaller organisations. My Department intends to review the current policy on Volunteer Centres having regard to the need for a sustainable, nationwide approach to supporting and promoting volunteering. In this regard, my Department currently has under consideration a status report commissioned from Volunteer Ireland on volunteering and volunteering infrastructure in Ireland.