Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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806. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to provide a comprehensive list of all non-governmental organisations operating within the State under the aegis of his Department, focusing particularly on those that may overlap in their mission and areas of operation (details supplied). [23822/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department does not have any non-governmental organisations under its aegis.

My Department does provide funding to a number of voluntary / non-governmental organisations, who provide information and wider social research on social welfare services and social policy in Ireland.

The current recipients of funding are:

Community Law and Mediation (CLM).

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU).

Vincentian MESL Research Centre (MESL).

It is important to note that these organisations do not fall under the aegis of my Department, rather my Department provides grant funding to these organisations.

CLM

The CLM funding is used as core funding for staff salaries to support CLM’s provision of legal information and advice, as well as education and mediation services, in disadvantaged communities in Dublin. More information on their work can be found on their website:.

INOU

The INOU funding is used as core funding for staff salaries to support INOU's work with, and on behalf of, unemployed people, including development of the annual ‘Working for Work’ publication, and training and research on unemployed people’s experiences. More information on their work can be found on their website: www.inou.ie/information/.

MESL

My Department provides funds to the Vincentian MESL Research Centre, wholly and exclusively in support of the MESL research workplan. The MESL research plan provides for the maintenance and dissemination of ‘Minimum Essential Standard of Living’ social policy research, which is an important evidence-base which informs social policy development in Ireland. More information on their work can be found on their website: www.budgeting.ie.

My Department also funds the Citizens Information Board, the statutory body with responsibility for the provision of independent information, advice and advocacy on a range of public services.

Whilst not an non-governmental organisation itself, CIB does in turn fund 22 independent companies to provide services on its behalf and these companies limited by guarantee (CLGs). The funding provided to these companies is outlined in CIB’s Annual Reports, available to view on its website at www.citizensinformationboard.ie/en/about/annual_report/.

The offices and statutory bodies under the aegis of my Department are as follows::

The Pensions Authority of Ireland;

The Pensions Council;

The Citizens Information Board;

The Social Welfare Tribunal;

The General Registrars Office; and

The Social Welfare Appeals Office.

More information on the work of my Department and the agencies under its aegis can be found in our latest annual report for 2023, published on gov.ie: .

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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807. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection for each non-governmental organisation under the aegis of his Department, to provide a detailed breakdown of its core activities, geographical areas of operation, target demographics, and the specific services or programs they provide (details supplied). [23840/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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808. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to specify the total amount of funding allocated to each of the identified non-governmental organisations (NGOs) under his Department’s aegis over the past five years, broken down by State funding directly administered through central government agencies, departments, or any other public bodies; grants provided by local authorities or regional entities; additional financial support from public sources, including any specific allocations through schemes designed to support NGOs, charities, and community organisations; any external or private funding that NGOs may have received, specifically indicating where state funding is used to leverage additional private or philanthropic donations. [23858/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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809. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to provide a breakdown of the number of non-governmental organisations under his Department’s aegis that charge fees for their services, including membership fees, participation fees, or any other forms of charge to the public; to specify which of these organisations charge fees while also receiving public funding, and how this practice is monitored to ensure that taxpayer money is not indirectly supporting fee-based services. [23876/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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810. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to identify any existing oversight mechanisms or audits that are conducted to assess the effectiveness of funding allocated to non-governmental organisations under the aegis of his Department (details supplied). [23895/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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811. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to state whether any review or audit has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness, redundancy, and administrative costs of state funding for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) under the aegis of his Department; if such a review has not yet been conducted, to request a detailed timeline and plan for implementing a comprehensive review of NGO funding under the aegis of the Department. [23913/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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812. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to provide a summary of any specific steps taken to streamline non-governmental organisations under the aegis of his Department, eliminate redundancies, and prevent the duplication of services where organisations may be competing for similar grants or operating in the same areas with little coordination (details supplied). [23931/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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813. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to outline the total administrative costs associated with non-governmental organisations under the aegis of his Department, including the overhead costs related to compliance, reporting, and auditing requirements; and to compare these costs to the overall financial aid allocated to the organisations, identifying whether the administrative expenses are in proportion to the benefits delivered to the public. [23949/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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814. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to provide a full and detailed explanation of how his Department monitors and ensures transparency in the use of public funds by non-governmental organisations under his aegis. (details supplied). [23967/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 807, 808, 809, 810, 811, 812, 813 and 814 together.

My Department does not have any non-governmental organisations under its aegis. 

My Department does provide funding to a number of voluntary / non-governmental organisations, who provide information and wider social research on social welfare services and social policy in Ireland.

The current recipients of funding are:

Community Law and Mediation (CLM);

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU); and

Vincentian MESL Research Centre (MESL).

The Pensions Authority of Ireland;

The Pensions Council;

The Citizens Information Board;

The Social Welfare Tribunal;

The General Registrars Office; and

The Social Welfare Appeals Office.