Written Answers. - Combat Poverty Agency.
Seamus Kirk
Question:
39
Mr. Kirk
asked the
Minister for Social Welfare
the annual budget for the Combat Poverty Agency for each of the last three years; the areas in which the money was spent; his views on whether those who are poor and destitute in society derive tangible benefits from the agency; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[1318/96]
Details of the annual budgets for the Combat Poverty Agency which the Deputy is seeking are provided in the published Estimates each year. In addition, the accounts and annual report of the agency are laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas each year. A breakdown of the allocation for the three years in question is provided beneath:
Allocation for Combat Poverty Agency
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
|
£
|
£
|
£
|
|
Accommodation/Administration
|
120,000
|
137,000
|
216,095
|
|
Board/Staff
|
361,000
|
368,000
|
455,500
|
|
Information/Education
|
110,000
|
119,000
|
331,935
|
|
Research
|
115,000
|
123,000
|
214,510
|
|
Projects
|
774,000
|
865,000
|
904,183
|
|
Total
|
1,480,000
|
1,612,000
|
2,122,223
|
(Includes Exchequer and non-Exchequer funds).
I consider the Combat Poverty Agency to be a strategic national resource in the fight against poverty and social exclusion. The agency plays a very significant role in advising on policies that impact on poverty. It promotes research into the causes and effects of poverty. It raises public awareness of policy issues and it supports pilot projects to tackle poverty. In all of these ways, the work of the agency has in my view brought tangible benefits for disadvantaged sectors in our society.
The agency has helped ensure that poverty remains high on the national policy agenda. The agency has placed much emphasis, supported by research, on the importance of addressing child poverty. It has supported pilot projects for disadvantaged youth and has put forward proposals relating to reducing educational disadvantage at preschool and primary level. It has played a key role in creating a debate on the changing nature of the family in Ireland and the implications of this for poverty and social policy here.
The development of North-South exchanges between groups and individuals involved in community development is a very important initiative in which the agency is centrally involved. Cross-Border links between community groups have been in existence for some time now and an anti-poverty exchange programme will serve to consolidate and increase these links in the context of the peace process.
A key role is being played by the agency in the development of a national anti-poverty strategy. As the Deputy is aware, the Government approved the development of a national anti-poverty strategy in April last year. This strategy places poverty and inequality issues firmly at the heart of national policy-making with the aim of developing a more inclusive and just society. Considerable progress has already been achieved in the development of this strategy such as the preparation of a number of draft reports including an Overview Paper on Poverty in Ireland, and the holding of seminars in a number of locations. The agency has been very actively involved in this process.
Research undertaken by the agency had a pivotal role in the Department's money advice and budgeting service (MABS) initiative. There are now over 30 MABS projects throughout the country. An important element of the approach is the targeting of families who have been identified as having particular problems with debt and moneylending.
The agency has had a major role in the community development sector since its inception. It has assisted the growth of community development and has encouraged the growth and development of locally based groups. It has provided a source of continuous support to groups wishing to commence projects and has provided specific funding to community groups for training, development and evaluation purposes. The agency has also provided substantial support for projects funded under the EU poverty programmes.
While I have highlighted some of the issues in which the agency has played a fundamental role over the last number of years these are in no way exhaustive and I have no doubt but that the agency will continue to play a key role in the effort to eliminate poverty and social exclusion in this country.
As there have been many significant changes in the years since the agency was set up, including the development of a national anti-poverty strategy and considerable developments at EU level, I commissioned a review of the Combat Poverty Agency in 1995. The purpose of the review is to identify and describe the full range of the agency's activities to date and to identify priority objectives for the agency in the light of the changed environment in which it now operates. The report will be published shortly and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.
