Voluntary Sector
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-11
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Erin McGreehan (FF), Louth

I thank the Minister of State. I am glad to hear of the ongoing work and I appreciate he cannot pre-empt the second national strategy. I reiterate that we want to be ambitious about what volunteerism is and can be and to future-proof it. It is not just about standing in a gap, standing collecting money or standing ushering crowds. There are many different skills that we need now, including digital skills for community groups, sports clubs, etc. An incredible amount of intellectual capacity in our communities. If we provide the framework for people to be able to deliver those to community groups, sports clubs, etc., I think we can be hugely successful.
I reiterate the need for an innovation fund, for the KPIs and to ensure staffing stability, including temporary cover when absences arise. When people are out sick, that brings down the volunteering hours, and these things happen in organisations.
I thank the Minister of State for his engagement because this is hugely important. I say this constantly: if the volunteers in Ireland stopped working, the nation would be at a standstill. From Covid to flag days to looking after Ukrainian and other refugees across the country, it is volunteerism that brings us together and raises us up. It is a core pillar of our community life and brings people together. Every single cent is well spent. As I said, 40,000 volunteering hours were contributed in County Louth last year and this was the equivalent of €1.3 million of an investment. I am sure that not even a percentage of that amount was delivered by the Government to volunteering in Louth.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-11