Citation
Barnardos. (2003). ChildLinks Issue 3: Children in Disadvantaged Communities. https://knowledge.barnardos.ie/handle/20.500.13085/851
Abstract
As ChildLinks goes to print, the 2004
A Public Spending Estimates have been
announced and the policies which will
be copperfastened in the 2004 Budget are
clear The Government has chosen to
implement cuts in a manner which will have
greatest impact on the weakest and most
vulnerable members of our society. For
example, the sixteen cuts in social welfare
entitlements will have a direct impact on
lone parents, the unemployed and those
who are in receipt of rent allowances and
diet supplements. The Government had
alternative choices: for example, they could
have chosen to widen the tax base to
increase the tax take from corporate tax,
capital gains tax, and property tax and used
this revenue to protect the most marginalised. For many N.G.O.s in the child and family
sector, it is a time of disillusionment and
uncertainty. Many N.G.Os, particularly those
in receipt of Department of Health funding,
have already had to work off reduced
budgets in 2003. Given the reality of rising
staff costs and the need for N.G.Os to retain
competitiveness with the statutory/semistate
employers, reduced statutory funding
means a reduction in programmes and
services. The common message being
articulated across Child and Family Services,
Community Employment schemes, Family
Resource Centres, Youth Services and
Educational Projects, is one of severe
budgetary pressure and service reduction. In addition, contrary to Government policy
as expressed in the White Paper Supporting
Voluntary Activity, many Government
departments and agencies who were
implementing multi-annual funding, have now reverted to annualised funding. This makes
strategic planning for N.G.O.s very difficult to
implement. This external environment is also
very anti-development for N.G.O.s and has
the danger of having a repressive effect on
service development and expansion. What is the impact of public expenditure
retrenchment for disadvantaged communities?
Below inflation increases or no increases are
effective cuts. And the impact of these
cuts will be felt disproportionately in
disadvantaged communities. Longer waiting
lists for Child and Family Support Services,
reduced subsidies for childcare places,
reduction in services dependant on
Community Employment schemes, will
impact directly on the quality of life of people
living in disadvantaged communities So how do the N.G.Oss across the child
and family support sector respond? At
organisational level, many agencies will be
involved in finalising their own budgets for
2004 and dealing with difficult resource
decisions. At an inter-agency level it is
imperative that we proactively respond
through the various alliances and sectoral
groupings to campaign against the cuts,
highlighting the damage which the
Government has inflicted on already
vulnerable communities and arguing that
these services need to receive substantially
increased resources in next year's Estimates
and Budget. The positive outcomes achieved by the Arts
sector, which challenged the 2003 funding
cuts with significant success, should offer
encouragement to us all. We need, as a
sector, to begin to organise now to achieve a
change in Government policy next year: