PRESS RELEASE:
Budget 2025: Increased Social Supports Welcome, Strategy Needed for Sustainable Nonprofit/Community and Voluntary Sector
Representative body welcomes increased supports for the community, voluntary, charity, and social enterprise sector, but is disappointed at lack of sector strategy
Dublin, 1 October 2024: The Wheel welcomes the additional supports allocated to the community and voluntary sector in Budget 2025. These include increases to programmes that target the most marginalised and support inclusion, measures to encourage greater philanthropic giving to charitable organisations, and increases in funding for training and development of sector staff.
“We welcome the increase in these key supports, not only for the staff and volunteers working in the sector but as enablers in providing essential services to the people we serve,” said Colette Bennett, Director of Advocacy and Research, The Wheel.
However, The Wheel's key request in its Pre-Budget 2025 submission was the establishment of an Interdepartmental Working Group, working in partnership with the sector, on the future sustainability of the services provided by the sector. These services include health and social care services in the areas of disability, mental health, child and family supports, addiction, and homelessness, delivered in partnership with the State. They also include meals on wheels, social clubs, tidy towns, and arts and literacy programmes that enhance the fabric of society. A sector-wide strategy is needed to ensure a cohesive framework for the sustainable delivery of these services into the future. Such a strategy would include multi-annual funding, insurance supports, the inclusion of an allocation to core costs in funding contracts, and greater investment in the infrastructure of regulation.
“While Budget 2025 has provided support for progress in key areas, it is disappointing that Government has favoured a piecemeal approach to the allocation of funding to such a key sector, rather than a more strategic focus on overall sustainability,” said Colette Bennett. “We will continue to work with our members and the wider sector to build on the progress made.”
ENDS
Colette Bennett, Director of Advocacy and Research, is available for interviews.
About The Wheel:
The Wheel is Ireland’s National Association of Charities, Community Groups and Social Enterprises. Our membership includes over 2,400 nonprofit organisations of all types and sizes, including most of Ireland’s leading charities. As a representative voice, we provide leadership to the charity and community sector and advocate on behalf of our growing community of members. As a supportive resource, we offer advice, training and other opportunities to people working or volunteering in the charity and community sector. See www.wheel.ie
