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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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Social Enterprise has potential to deliver services and employment in a time of crisis
"in a period of crisis, the previously unthinkable can become the solution"

In his presentation to a Round Table event on an initiative to build the social Round table with County Manager Joe Horanenterprise sector in this time of crisis, Dr John Sweeney of NESC, stated that "in a period of crisis, the previously unthinkable" can become the solution.

As corporate sponsorship shrinks and private suppliers of social services in disadvantaged communities come under economic pressure and exit the market, the scope for effective third sector provision will grow and become more urgent.

This is particularly so as rising unemployment is disproportionately affecting people with lower qualification levels: "Unemployment and workforce withdrawal is affecting low skilled workers the most, and lasting longer for them." 

Rising unemployment means that there will be higher levels of demand for public services.  The need will be for greater interventions to maintain people's connection with the labour market: "It is the duration of unemployment, not the level it reaches, that will matter most."

Dr Sweeney also echoed a critical insight from the OECD: "A critical issue for Ireland's social and economic future is whether the labour market will [experience] a full cyclical recovery or return to the persistently depressed conditions of the 1980s and 1990s'" (Grubb et al, 2009, Activation Policies in Ireland, OECD).

The Round Table hosted in the Central Hotel, Dublin, on 24th June last was organised by DEP and Clann Credo. The Round Table was also presented with the basis for a strategy produced on behalf of the organisations by John Everett. The event was attended by over thirty invitees from the social enterprise sector, the private sector, local development organisations, local authorities and other "key actors". A Task Force is now being established to develop a focused campaign around the development of the sector. 

Dublin Employment Pact
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