Minister Canney chairs first meeting of National Advisory Group on Volunteering
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From: Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht
- Published on: 29 May 2019
- Last updated on: 11 April 2025
Seán Canney, T.D., Minister of State for Community Development, Natural Resources and Digital Development, today (29 May 2019) chaired the first meeting of the ‘National Advisory Group on Volunteering’.
This follows on from the Call for Input Paper on Volunteering which was launched by Minister Canney last December as a first step in developing a national volunteering strategy. Over 130 submissions were received and these responses have now been collated and were presented at the first meeting of this group.
The Minister said:
"One of my Department’s key objectives, as outlined in our Statement of Strategy, 2017-2020, is the development of a national strategy on volunteering. I recognised the importance of involving stakeholders from the very beginning in this initiative and their responses have provided a wealth of information as we start drafting the strategy. I would like to thank the range of individuals and groups for their comprehensive and insightful responses to the Call for Input exercise.”
The suggestion of forming a ‘National Advisory Group on Volunteering’ to assist the development of the volunteering strategy was overwhelmingly supported in the responses to the Call for Input paper. As a result, this group has now been established, represented by a range of stakeholders. This level of participation is key to the development of the strategy.
The Minister said:
"I am very pleased to chair this inaugural meeting of this ‘National Advisory Group on Volunteering’. It is important that all stakeholders have the opportunity to sit around the table to raise their issues in relation to volunteering and for me, as Minister, to listen to these views. This will ensure that the volunteering strategy which emerges properly captures the range of issues involved and also ensures that the strategy reflects our vision for the future of volunteering. This is key to supporting the work of the volunteering community whom, it must be acknowledged, make an enormous contribution to Irish society.”
The Advisory Group will use the feedback received during the Call for Input exercise to help draft a national strategy on volunteering. When the draft strategy is developed, there will be further opportunity for public consultation, before the strategy is finalised.
ENDS
Notes to editor:
Members of the Advisory Group are as follows: