Mattie McGrath Warns CE and RSS Schemes Are Under Strain

let's dive into the discussions shaping the nation. Regarding the climate schemes and the fact that it is nearly impossible now to retain participants on the schemes, I'm chairman of the scheme myself and I know it's not your remit totally but this has a huge impact on rural organisations, rural communities and the viability and sustainability of the same, if you could make a statement on the matter. Thank you Deputy McGrath and again this is a question that fits across both my roles. The Government recognises and values the many contributions that are being made in temporary by not-for-profit, voluntary and community organisations and indeed I commend your own work in this space. The Department of Rural Community Development supports the community and voluntary sector through a number of various schemes, in particular the community services programme, SCICAP and the scheme to support volunteering. The community services programme supports 428 community-based organisations with a budget in 2025 of 55.4 million. This provides local services through a social enterprise model. In 2023 the majority of CSB funded organisations were awarded five-year contracts which has provided a certainty in terms of operation and employment. In addition and in recognition of the higher costs arising from increases in statutory minimum wage, the contribution towards employment costs for those organisations with medium or high funding needs has increased. SCICAP, as I've said previously, is a national programme delivered in both rural and urban areas by local development companies to help those in greatest need. It aims to reduce poverty, promote social inclusion and equality by supporting disadvantaged communities and individuals. My Department has contributed over £47.4 million in 2024 for SCICAP and committed over £48.9 million for 2025. Finally, Ireland's volunteering structures are recognised as a model of best practice. More than one million people volunteer regularly in Ireland and I am committed to supporting them in this work. Funding from my Department to the Work of the Volunteer sector has increased from £3.1 million in 2020 to £7.3 million in 2025. However, I am very aware that challenges remain, particularly in the schemes referred to by the Deputy and I am working in the Department of Social Protection to make changes to those schemes so that we will be able to attract more participants to them and encourage more people to get involved in their local communities through the fantastic work of CE, RSS and to us. Mr McClure. Mr McClure. I do know that you are hands-on here because you do understand it yourself because you are from a rural community. It is just impossible. It is a sort of strain that the volunteers and the voluntary boards are trying to fill these positions and try to get their work done and keep the whole platter of areas, schemes such as rural transport services, meals on wheels, day care, community centres, tidy towns groups and under enormous strain, and while many other groups receive state support, that is no good if they do not have the workers. And the scheme needs to be tweaked and I know some years ago people were allowed, if they were after three years done and certainly they were left, carry on their work until their retirement age. I think that must be looked at again because it allowed that, because they just made full employment and we are told, it is hard to get participants. But these people and our own CE scheme and the Supervisor Sean Byrne in our own three villages, Bellam and Cadbury, Newcastle and indeed Finn and Billy Bacon. Sorry, Billy Bacon. And that is throughout the two counties. So it is really bringing things together as well. We might be in the holding field last week against Waterford Tipperary, but we work together in the Nathalie Curl and Kayla attitude, and that is the way it is. And I want to compliment all the participants and all the schemes throughout Tipperary and every place else. They do a meaningful job and they do not get a lot of reward or time, but they do excellent work. Despite all our GA talk we had managed to avoid last weekend, up until your intervention there Deputy, I would also point out that we have just made announcements this year under the growing Social Enterprise Fund this week. The Bar of Sillay Community Centre in Tipperary has been awarded 15,000 for solar panel installation. Cannon Hayes Centre, which I know you are very familiar with, has been awarded 11,559. Clock Jordan, 15,000 for Newport Development Association, 3,800. 45,000 for the Millennium Family Resource Centre in Tipperary to assist them in their work. They are the kind of specific interventions that are assisting local groups in your county to continue their work and to grow the expansion of their service. With my Social Protection add-on we are looking at what we can do to enhance the schemes to make them more attractive participants, but a scheme is totally dependent on our supervisors, and I want to acknowledge the amazing work of supervisors on CE, on RSS and on tools right around the country. I am very happy that we have just secured some pay awards recently in that space, and we will continue to grow the impact of the scheme. Mr McGrath. Minister Tim Cooper. cover everything. Tidy towns, GAs, community groups and all the other issues that are involved in Meads and Wheels and indeed community centres. I just haven't got enough staff. I want to thank the people in the department that we did as well, the officials that helped us out and have given us kind of extensions, rolling over extensions to keep the schemes alive because we can't get the participants. The participants are needed so the criteria has to be made easier and especially looking for people that are on there in the late 50s allow them to stay on the scheme until they retire because the possibility of them retraining and going back to work and our own scheme has been very successful in progression and that's part of our problem because we have put people back into self-employment, into jobs and it's been great because it benefits the participants and the community but we need it and I do appreciate it. You are trying to tweak it and you will tweak it. I look forward to a positive outcome and our schemes will continue to develop the work that I do in temporarily. The scheme is superb work and I just compliment you and all the volunteers that run them and that are on the boards. I have the report into the Future of Rural Social Scheme which I am looking at at the moment and we will be making some announcements imminently around that. Again, making it easier for you to get participants. I very much believe and you and I have had this discussion before that our schemes are changed, they are no longer labour market activation schemes totally, there are much more community social support schemes, community support schemes and the changes I am looking at making will reflect the change of that scheme. It is important that we give people a chance to support local communities. It is a matter of pride for them, it is a matter of identity for many people and I think we need to review how we look at the schemes and how we approach the schemes and that is something I am very focused on at the moment. Thank you Minister. 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