2026-02-05

12. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to provide an update on the development of the new strategy to support the community and voluntary sector in Ireland for 2026-2030 and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8241/26]

Could the Minister provide an update on the development of the new strategy to support the community and voluntary sector 2026 to 2030? When we talk about the community and voluntary sector, that takes in a whole range of things. I am talking about everything from Muirhevnamor Community Centre through to the family resource centre, FRC, that was set up in Dundalk Counselling Centre. I hope another one will be set up in the Redeemer Centre. We know the work that is done and the support that is necessary.

Gabhaim buíochas leis Teachta Ó Murchú. As the Deputy knows, the process of the development of a new strategy to support community and voluntary sector as a successor to Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities is well under way. It is being informed by an extensive public and stakeholder consultation process. This process has included an in-person consultation event, which took place in Tullamore last July and which I attended. I can tell the House it was a very well-attended event. There was strong, robust and positive engagement. This was followed by a very in-depth online public consultation together with bilateral consultation with stakeholder groups and written submissions from across Government Departments. The Minister and I are very anxious that this partnership in collaboration with the voluntary and community sector is continued. There has been a lot of engagement in the consultation process. Almost 250 submissions were received in the online consultation, which took place over a six-week period in August. The new strategy will be a whole-of-government strategy led by our Department and will reflect the ambition of the Minister and I to work in partnership with the sector. It will be implemented collaboratively with the community and voluntary sector and will be overseen by a cross-sectoral group on local and community development. It is our intention and our ambition that the new strategy will be a four-year one for 2026 to 2030. It will build on the existing structures, strategic objectives and achievements of the previous strategy while also taking account of new context challenges and priorities for the community and voluntary sector. Our aim is to strengthen further the relationship and the partnership between the whole-of-government and the community and voluntary sector, which has developed significantly over the past couple of years. A further round of consultations with key stakeholders has recently concluded. It is my expectation that the finalised document will be submitted for our Department's approval in the coming weeks with a tentative publication date of quarter 2 of this year.

I appreciate the timeline with the caveats the Minister of State provided. The element of engagement with the stakeholders is all very well and good but it is a matter of actually putting a plan in place and then operating it. Like any plan, it will be up for and will need review. We were talking about sustainability. We have all dealt with individual projects from time to time when the pressure is on. I had a meeting with Social Enterprise Republic of Ireland, SERI, which represents social enterprises. It would talk about the fact that sometimes social enterprises can fall by the wayside. We know we need to make sure that those operating, particularly in what would have been called RAPID or DEIS areas, are given support. We know about for family resource centres. I would have heard about the issues when we talk of whole-of-government. The idea would be that certain grant aid could be provided by enterprise, which is not necessarily available to social enterprises. I think they would speak about a number of milestones in relation to them that are needed but have not happened yet. Will the Minister of State comment on that?

The new strategy will take into account the new challenges facing the community and voluntary sector. It is evolving and changing and we are not oblivious to that. Richard Bruton, in the social enterprise space, will certainly drive and hold us to account. The previous strategy delivered significant progress in terms of a variety of metrics. Our future direction, policy and decision-making will be a reflection of our engagement but also of lived experience. The Minister and I live in communities involved in the sector and we know the sector. It is about those values and principles of partnership and collaboration but also about recognising that we must build an inclusive society. For the Minister and I, it is about ensuring the five pillars are there and that we look at them and see how we can deliver for people in an evolving and changing situation, recognising that we have made significant progress.

We all engage with the community and voluntary sector on a daily basis. Generally that is on the basis that these people can deal with some of the issues that sometimes one cannot get deal with the State agencies, particularly when we are dealing with more complex issues in communities - everything from addiction to mental health services and the supports that are required. I mention the likes of The House, the Redeemer Centre, Muirhevnamor Community Centre and Cuidigh Linn but I would also mention Creative Spark, Kilcurry Resource Centre and Haggardstown and Blackrock Community Centre. Some of these centres face incredible difficulties surviving. They fit into different brackets. When we talk about this policy and implementation, it is good to see there is a timeline but when we talk about the social enterprise policy, as I stated, there have been a number of milestones that have been missed and that needs to be looked at. With regard to the national procurement strategy that is being looked at, there might be the possibility there of something that can be somewhat more sustainable. There is that idea of seed funding that makes social enterprises sustainable. I know that is only one small part but it is just on the basis that I spoke to Social Enterprise Republic of Ireland, SERI, lately.

The important point where we have shared commonality is that the Government is committed to supporting the implementation of a new strategy. The community and voluntary sector is an important pillar and we look forward to working continually to ensure that relationship is not just strengthened but that it is a partnership between the Government and the sector. I could list the Deputy a whole raft of projects, which I will not do, in his county that we have funded. I do not agree we have missed milestones. If we speak about social enterprise, it has been a success story and it has shown empowerment, innovation and employment and the opportunity presented to people. That is something we can come back to. What the Department, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I are anxious to do is to provide significant seed capital and significant investment to further support and enhance-----

That is what we need.

Yes. We will continue to do that but we must also recognise that we have seen a 6% increase in the budget. We have seen an increase in terms of the community service programme, which reflects that we are in an evolving and changing world and as needs change challenges must be met. This is not something we are oblivious to. We have an open-door policy. There is engagement. We are not living in an ivory tower. If the Deputy wants to come back to me one-to-one, I am happy to sit down and chat to him about some of the issues we need to address.