Volunteer centre lacking vital funds

A CLARE Volunteer Centre servicing over 100 voluntary groups could be forced to close unless the Government more than doubles its annual budget.

Clare, along with Longford, finds itself at the bottom of the national league table for funding, receiving only €32,410 compared to €133,184 for the West Limerick Volunteer Service and €130,861 for the South Tipperary Volunteer Centre.
Clare county councillors are up in arms about the paltry allocation for the Clare Volunteer Centre (CVC), compared to the majority of centres throughout the country.
Councillor Patricia McCarthy has called on the new minister with responsibility for Community Affairs to allocate money to the CVC from other counties who have not used up their full allocation.
Her proposal was backed by Councillor Johnny Flynn, who claimed Clare is being treated very unfairly by the Government, when Carlow’s annual allocation of €118,000 was compared with that of the Banner County.
Councillor PJ Ryan stressed the centre provides very good value for money and needs to be fully supported to safeguard its future.
Set up in 2009 with the support of Clare County Council and the Clare Local Development Company, company chief executive, Doirín Graham stated the centre has become an outstanding success since then, servicing over 100 voluntary groups and 500 registered volunteers in the county.
Ms Graham pointed out the centre operates on a “shoestring budget”, which was provided by the old Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs established by the last government and this only provided enough funding for a part-time co-ordinator.
However, the centre is regarded as one of the leading volunteer centres in the country and achieved a 53% volunteer placement in 2010, well above the national average.
Ms Graham said other volunteer centres established in other areas of the country before Clare were fully resourced by the department. Clare was only partly funded last year, receiving only €32,500 out of a total operating cost of €55,000 and extra LEADER funding was required to help finance a number of CVC volunteering initiatives.
CVC would need a budget of €80,000 to operate on a full-time basis this year and it currently does not meet one of the main national quality standards to provide a full-time service.
Ms Graham said there was an expectation that a review of volunteer centres around the country in 2010 would result in a levelling out of the funding allocations based on value for money, performance/service delivery and population service. However, this did not happen.
“Unless there is a significant increase in the funding allocation to Clare, there is a strong possibility that the centre will be forced to close within months. This will have a huge impact on the volunteers and voluntary organisations around Clare, which it supports.
“We are not looking for a bigger cake, simply a more equitable slice of the cake that is already there,” she said.