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Editor's Notes
McCarthy proposals will break social contract with disadvantaged communities
by Philip O'Connor


Philip O'Connor
The McCarthy proposals will break the 18-year social contract with disadvantaged communities. The Government has not, as yet, endorsed the proposals in the McCarthy Report (Bord Snip Nua) for radical cuts across all areas of social spending.

Given the composition and "secretariat" of the group that produced the McCarthy Report, it can be seen as the wish list of the Department of Finance.  But, as The Irish Times commented, the report "presents a menu of financial options to Government without any reference to the social policy of the state" (Editorial, 17th July). And that is the core issue.

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Employer Forum
Community Sector Employers campaign against funding cuts

Part of the large crowd which attended the community sector protest rally at the Department of Finance, organised by SIPTU with the support of Impact and the CSEF, 3rd June.
The Community Sector Employers Forum (CSEF) has called on community organisations to support the campaign against cuts in services and jobs across the sector. The campaign was launched by SIPTU at a rally attended by 2,000 workers at Liberty Hall on 3rd June. The campaign is set to heat up in the autumn and is also supported by IMPACT.

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Trafficking initiative lays ground for radical policy change

Denise Charlton (ICI) and Linda Latham (Women's Health Project) with Grainne Healey and Philip O'Connor at the launch of 'Dignity'The joint DEP-Immigrant Council 'Dignity Project', funded under the EU Daphne Programme, is developing a model for an integrated services approach to tackle trafficking into Ireland for the "sex industry".

Women (and men) trapped in the trafficking industry currently face deportation and re-trafficking when "caught" by the authorities. The project is developing a model of Government-NGO supports to enable people to exit this wretched "industry" through providing safe accommodation, a legally safe and secure "reflection" period, and integration or return supports to a new life.

Click here to listen to Dignity Project interview on Pat Kenny radio show.

The Dignity Project is a collaborative project of DEP, the Immigrant Council of Ireland, the Baggot St. Women's Health Project, Sonas, the Garda Immigration Bureau and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Department of Justice. It is working with partner organisations in Glasgow, Madrid and Klaipeda (Lithuania) to develop a 'model' intervention model that will provide supports to victims of trafficking.

The knowledge base of the project is provided by the organisations involved in the project partnership and by the ground breaking research undertaken by the Immigrant Council of Ireland. The project runs to the end of 2010 and its interim findings will be presented at a major conference in Dublin in November.

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