37 Deputy Michael D. Higgins asked the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs the affect the announcement of a 10% cut in funding will have on the services his Department can provide to communities. [46045/10]

63 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs his views on whether the community sector cannot absorb any further cuts because they are already stretched beyond their limits as a result of the disproportionate cuts already imposed and as a result of the increasing demands on them; if he will offer a commitment that there will be no further cuts to the sector and make a statement detailing any discussions that took place on the subject of the community sector between Irish Government representatives and officials from the EU or International Monetary Fund. [46148/10]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 37 and 63 together.

Allocations to most subheads in my Department's Vote will be reduced by varying amounts in the budget, as is the case in all Departments. In the current economic circumstances, we are faced with difficult decisions. The Government has considered a number of measures in the context of the National Recovery Plan 2011-14 to provide the basis for a sustainable approach to the current financial situation. Across the Government, its approach has been to do this in as balanced a way as possible.

Within this context, my primary concern is to make every effort to ensure that the daily front line services that are being provided with funding from my Department are protected, especially those focused on the needs of the most socially deprived communities. In the prevailing financial circumstances, it is clear that objectives must be pursued with fewer resources than previously. However, I will continue to strive to achieve good outcomes and value for money, notwithstanding these constraints.

Every saving that can be made from cutting down on overheads and administration will be pursued. This is to ensure that the range of urban, rural, Gaeltacht and island communities served by my Department will retain, to the greatest extent possible, the services that have been developed in partnership with them over the years.

Additional information not provided on the floor of the House.

My Department will shortly commence a structured dialogue with the community and voluntary sector with the aim, inter alia, of ensuring that the impact of any budgetary adjustments on the services provided by the sector are minimised, as far as possible. To this end, my Department will be working with the sector to achieve greater consolidation, co-ordination and efficiencies among service providers.

As Deputies may be aware, contracts under the scheme to support national organisations in the community and voluntary sector will finish at the end of this year. In this regard, I am pleased to confirm that a new scheme has been developed and will be advertised in the coming weeks. To this end, my Department recently wrote to the organisations funded under the current arrangements to advise them that interim funding will be provided to them for a limited period, that is, to 31 March 2011 at the latest. This will allow for the submission and assessment of applications under the new scheme.

I am not aware of any discussions of the nature referred to with officials from the EU or the IMF.

I will allow supplementary questions now in order to get in two such questions.

As the Minister has stated, obviously the front line services are of greatest concern. While I am sure it is his intention, I ask the Minister to ensure there is no loss of employment or service. In circumstances in which the unknown provides problems in this regard, I ask that the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs should consider individual cases. I do not suggest this should apply to everyone because there have been cutbacks. However, there have been instances in which an unknown development has led to major problems in respect of a particular group. In such circumstances, the door should remain open in respect of considering the provision of funding to avoid the removal or reduction of, or damage to, front line services. In such circumstances, I seek the goodwill of the Minister and the Department. However, the same must be said in respect of the individual groups, namely, it is not simply a case of an open door but that this should be addressed in specific and special cases.

I will be brief although there is much that could be said on this question. Does the Minister agree that the cuts made to the community and voluntary sector during the economic crisis have been grossly disproportionate? Moreover, the culmination of the combined cuts from last year and this year is that there will be quite a high number of job losses in the sector. Does the Minister agree that the estimated value to the economy from this sector is approximately €6.5 billion and that this value represents a return to the State of more than €2 million? This means that one will get a return if one invests in this sector.

In response to Deputy Wall, I would like to think that my Department has a good relationship with his client groups, be it the approximately 480 groups in the drugs sector, the community projects, the Leader companies and so on. The officials have a record of being quite responsive to the needs of communities, including, as I always stress, the need to address emerging needs. It is the known unknowns or the unknown knowns, whichever term one might use.

In response to Deputy Ó Snodaigh, I accept there have been significant reductions in spending in this particular sector in recent years. However, I set out, with some success, in this year's budget to keep to an absolute minimum any reductions in this regard. As I have stated in replies to other questions, any savings that can be made in administration, overheads and so on must be made to protect front line services. A significant amount of resources still are devoted to the community sector and one should not underestimate the impact that such funding has on the ability of those groups to carry out their programmes.

Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.