Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak on this important motion. At a time of Government-sponsored economic austerity the community and voluntary sector is the last line of defence for many communities. In many cases it provides the glue that keeps families, communities and society together, often providing the services which the State and private sector cannot or will not provide. The community and voluntary sector has a long and proud history of providing services and employment in some of the most marginalised sectors of our society. In some parts of this city it is the largest employer.

I was interested to see the polish the Minister of State tried to put on the situation. Brian Harvey, an independent social policy analyst, has estimated that at its height in 2008, the community and voluntary sector employed some 53,000 people. That number has fallen in recent years and Mr. Harvey has projected it will fall by a further 5,000 by the end of this year as a result of Government cuts. That is the equivalent of ten TalkTalks being shut down, not because of foreign competition but because of a Government decision which is the individual responsibility of all Government Members.

The Government may feel justified in blaming Fianna Fáil for this, but it must make the decisions now and its fingerprints will be all over the outcome for the sector, be it its growth and development or its destruction. The Government should, as a matter of urgency in these straitened times, prioritise the community and voluntary sector and ensure services are restored to pre-2008 levels. Services should be expanded to meet needs. This can be done by immediately reversing the budget cuts and desisting from putting State money into the pockets of private bondholders. It can be done, for example, through the expansion of FÁS's community employment scheme. There are many great examples of the good work being done throughout the State, particularly under the "special" CE scheme which employs 1,000 people who are in recovery from drug addiction and has played an invaluable role in the national drugs strategy and the national drugs rehabilitation strategy. Based on these successes, we call on the Government to expand the number of "special" CE places to 1,500.

The response from the Government to long-term unemployment has been wholly unacceptable. The introduction of Tús as some type of community-based employment initiative is deeply concerning. It does not offer genuine training opportunities in many instances and those employed through the scheme are open to abuse. Several cases have been reported to trade unions and are currently being investigated. Instead, the focus should be on increasing CE places from 22,000 to 40,000 in order to provide training and access to education and to facilitate the staffing of community crèches, youth projects, senior citizen services and community development projects. The Government must take the decision to support individuals who have been marginalised for years and are most vulnerable to cuts.

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government must respond positively to the Labour Relations Court finding which recommended that the State has a responsibility to those employed in the community and voluntary sector. Directly linked to this is the right of employees in the sector to collective bargaining. It is a travesty that nearly 50,000 workers are being denied this basic human right. Moreover, it is in direct contravention of the UN Charter of Fundamental Rights.

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