Voluntary workers save the State as much as €485 million a year in wage bills, an Oireachtas committee report has found.
Replacing the estimated 475,000 volunteers working for charitable organisations would cost the Exchequer a minimum of €205 million and could cost up to €485 million every year, according to the report commissioned by the Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. However, the report found, volunteering is on the decline with organisations finding it more difficult to recruit and retain workers.
The committee, chaired by Fianna Fáil TD Ms Cecilia Keaveney, recommends increasing funding for voluntary organisations. The Dormant Accounts Fund should be used primarily for charities, and newly available funds from the Criminal Assets Bureau should be used specifically in communities affected by crime, she said.
"The idea of channelling Criminal Assets Bureau funds back into the communities from whose backs they were derived is appealing and appropriate," Ms Keaveney said.
While volunteering was a "cost-effective way" of providing a range of services, it was not cost-free, the report said.
"There are substantial costs involved in the recruitment, training and retention of volunteers . . . which is borne by the organisations using volunteers, at around €4 million per year." It recommends a system of State grants specifically for in-service training of volunteers. A system of Garda vetting of volunteers, particularly those working with children or vulnerable adults, should also be implemented, Ms Keaveney said. "Failing such action, the possible consequences are more misery and perhaps even more tribunals."
An incentive system was also needed to encourage more people to do voluntary work.
