1. Community Work in Ireland Context Trends and Challenges Rachel Doyle

2. Why a Community Work Approach  Better and more effective policies, better programmes better outcomes  Builds strong and resilient communities  Creates the conditions where agencies (including local authorities, Government depts. and others can engage meaningfully and directly with communities  Cost effective  Builds social cohesion (sense of belonging, sense of shared ownership and responsibility to others)

3. The Government White Paper on a Framework for Supporting Voluntary Activity and for Developing the Relationship between the State and the Community and Voluntary Sector  published in 2000 continues to be the primary policy for supporting the community and the voluntary sectors in Ireland.  acknowledges the role and potential of the C&V sectors in;  Helping create vibrant civil and active society in which individuals are encouraged and enabled to participate fully  Responding to pressing social needs quickly, directly and effectively;  Pioneering new approaches to service provision and local and community development  Identifying needs and appropriate responses  Offering new solutions  Enabling people who are excluded to become involved in the regeneration process in their own communities and society

4. The Government White Paper on a Framework for Supporting Voluntary Activity and for Developing the Relationship between the State and the Community and Voluntary Sector  “This Government is making it clear by publication of the White Paper that we have moved far beyond the attitude that statutory agencies fund voluntary organisations merely for utilitarian reasons, i.e. to provide services that the State cannot or will not deliver directly itself because of resource constraints.  We see the Community and Voluntary sector as essential partners in economic and social development. Democracy is … also about participating in society and making one's own personal contribution to social life, to the development of local communities, or to the welfare of society as a whole or particular disadvantaged groups within it.

5. Context  Global wealth is increasingly being concentrated in the hands of a small wealthy elite with the richest 1% of people in the world owning 48% of global wealth in 2014 and the richest 20% seeing an accumulated increase in their wealth of 15% or $150bn between 2013 and 2014.  In Ireland the gap between rich and poor continues to grow with percentage of Irish people living in consistent poverty in 2014 being 8%, up from 4.2% in 2008.  Communities such as Travellers, Roma, people with disabilities, disadvantaged women, older people, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees continue to face the daily reality of poverty, social exclusion, discrimination and inequality.

6. Context  In 2009 the Local and Community Development Programme was introduced – to ‘provide seamless social inclusion services to the most needy in Irish society’.  integration/amalgamation of approximately 140 autonomous Community Development Projects funded under CDP with Local Partnership Companies.  the greatest slashing of the community and voluntary sector in recent years, the undermining of autonomy and voice from the sector and from communities and the dismantling of a relatively strong infrastructure enabling critical community work throughout Ireland.

7. Context – Local Government Reform  The alignment of local Government, Local development and Community development as set out in the policy document Putting People First and enshrined in legislation in the Local Government Reform Act 2014  Community Work Ireland and others argue have added further, to the demise of the sector and of community development  The establishment of LCDCS and a coordination role for all community development activity assigned to Local Authorities represents a determined shift away from the promotion of autonomous critical community development, towards more centralised control in programme and policy planning and implementation.

8. Context SICAP  Arguably the biggest social inclusion programme in the country.  Aim to tackle poverty, social exclusion and long-term unemployment through local engagement and partnership between disadvantaged individuals, community organisations and public sector agencies.

9. Context SICAP Horizontal themes  Promoting an equality framework with a particular focus on gender equality and anti-discrimination practices;  Applying community development approaches to achieve the participation of disadvantaged and marginalised communities in the wider local development context;  Developing collaborative approaches to improve how mainstream policies and programmes are delivered so that they have a more positive impact on the socially excluded,

10. CWI Members on SICAP  “SICAP is a targeted activation programme that does not enable effective community work to take place especially at a time when the impact of austerity policies are manifesting themselves for those most affected by poverty in our community and civil society”  “We are driven to deliver high targets and long-term community development work does not gain these”  “The reality is that most of the people we work with need a flexible approach, aimed at encouraging their participation, empowering them and getting them involved in addressing issues which are of relevance to them, their families and communities”.

11. Context continued  Competetive tendering  Our Communities A Framework Policy for Local and Community Development in Ireland as an “ overarching, high level vision for the State’s engagement with the local and community development sectors. It serves as the foundation upon which the range of State policies, programmes and interventions for local and community development will be developed and implemented ”.

12. Community Work Standards Designed to act as a guiding mechanism in  the design, development, monitoring and review of relevant programmes, policies including community engagement community participation and social inclusion initiatives  the development of community work education and training  the recruitment and employment of community workers and personnel with a remit in using a community development approach

13. The Standards  Set out values, knowledge, skills and qualities that underpin:  community work practice;  education and training for that practice;  community work policy at national and local levels;  design and implementation of relevant programmes with associated funding.

14. Core Values  Collectivity;  Community Empowerment;  Social Justice and Sustainable Development;  Human Rights, Equality and Anti-discrimination;  Participation.  A developmental activity comprised of both a task and a process. The task is social change to achieve equality, social justice and human rights, and the process is the application of principles of participation, empowerment and collective decision making in a structured and co-ordinated way’ Recognised as such in Ireland, Europe and Globally.

15. Some Challenges  Respond to existing, new and emerging issues inside and outside of the frames of Government programmes and initiatives (the drugs crisis, increasing violence in communities in Dublin and also throughout the country, flooding, climate change and the need for climate justice and the refugee crisis.  Continue to make the case for and maintain our autonomy as opposed to allowing ourselves to be reduced to service delivery agents on behalf of the state  Maintain our voice and our commitment to collective action for social change  Build solidarity re women’s rights and minority rights – including Travellers, Roma, LGBTI, Older people, Young people, people with disability, migrants.

16. Some Challenges  Recognise the importance of education to work with the complex situations of diverse groups and communities and meet funders requirements  Name the real fears that are there of negative consequences when we are critical of state policy or programmes  Discuss, describe, promote and analyse community work in the context of human rights and engage in human rights fora, discussion and dialogue particularly in relation to the new Public Sector Positive Duty and the Sustainable Development Goals.

17. What we need: recognition, resourcing and validation for;  The legitimacy of community work as a professional, inclusive and empowering approach to addressing poverty, social exclusion and inequality and as a means to bring about positive social change.  An appropriately autonomous and independent community development infrastructure, supported by a broad range of programmes and resources.  The importance of mainstreaming gender equality in representative structures and in all community work interventions in recognition of the persistent inequalities experienced by women  The cultural diversity that is now and always has been a part of Irish society and the need for this diversity to be targeted and mainstreamed in all community development initiatives and associated policy frameworks.

18. What we need: recognition, resourcing and validation for;  The fact that the role of community work and community workers will inevitably from time to time bring community workers into debate, including with key decision makers.  The need to acknowledge the importance for democracy of critical constructive dissent.  The need to prevent and reverse the reduction of the role of community work to that of merely service provision (recognising that some important services are in initiated by community development organisations).  The fact that community work requires a particular set of professional skills experience knowledge and professional education and training  A recognition of the All Ireland Standards for Community Work and embedding of the Standards in all relevant programmes and policies.