National Volunteering Strategy: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-24
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Maria Byrne (FG), Agricultural Panel

I thank the Minister for State for coming to discuss this all-important topic.
I would like to pay a compliment to all volunteers because right across every city and county, there are volunteers everywhere. They are out on a daily basis. They are out in all types of weather. They are on the side of a pitch. They are involved in community centres. They are involved in so many projects.
With the Tánaiste, I visited St. Munchin's Community Centre last Friday. When the Ukrainian crisis hit, it took in many Ukrainians, gave them accommodation and worked with them in terms of the provision of food and different services, and now those Ukrainians are giving back to the community, many of them on a voluntary basis.
It is not only about the volunteers who are coming from other countries; it is about the people in different parts of our country who are volunteering. For example, the McManus family started the Team Limerick Clean-Up. People are out on a daily basis, including at weekends, cleaning the streets of Limerick.
This led to the Team Limerick Clean-Up on Good Friday every year when thousands of people from across Limerick go out and volunteer to clean up their areas. People do this all year round as well. There is the Redemptorist Perpetual Help Fund consisting of money left by benefactors to the Redemptorists. Not only are they alleviating food poverty, they also provide money to various community centres in terms of education and social inclusion for people. There are many different volunteer groups out there. The Government had its strategy from 2020 to 2025. Both Senator Tully and the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, in his own speech referred to the fact a consultation is currently in process on the upcoming strategy. Will the Minister of State give an indication of when that strategy might be launched? I acknowledge he has been engaging with many volunteering groups throughout the country.
Personally, I volunteered with the Special Olympics not only in Limerick but nationally and took part in the world games over a 15-year period. It benefits a person to work with and to help people. There is love and affection but also the respect that you learn to give people who go out there and participate. It is all about participation. I am involved in the community centre, which would not survive without the many volunteers that come along. While we have people that are paid, many of them working on CE schemes; they are giving back to their community. Community centres would not survive without the volunteers that help out be it working with dementia groups, working with older people or working with children. While there are paid people within the centre we also need the volunteers. I want to see an approach where we support people who are volunteering.
In respect of those volunteering, Garda vetting was referred to. Many of them have to go on training courses and often pay for those training courses out of their own funds because the organisation they are involved in has not got the funding. I want to see a broad approach certainly in terms of volunteering. I was at the Limerick Youth Service centre recently for its awards acknowledging people within the community who were working with youth and helping people to stay on the right road. By working together and with that collaboration piece, I believe that volunteering is certainly to be commended by all. I want us to encourage people to get involved on a voluntary basis whether with the sports club, the youth club or the community centre or working with migrants that come into this country. I compliment the Minister of State and the Department and the Minister, Deputy Calleary, in terms of all they have done with the strategy that has just finished. I look forward to working with them on the new strategy.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:41+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-24