Written Answers. - Disadvantaged Status.
Seán Crowe
Question:
290
Mr. Crowe
asked the
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
the exact official definition used by his Department of the terms "disadvantage", "disadvantaged area" and "disadvantaged community"; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[17023/03]
The definition of "disadvantage" denotes being without the advantages of a socially secure and economically stable home-community life. Being without those attributes of living that permit participation in society and being able to avail of normal opportunities is to be disadvantaged. In this sense, the term is very close to the definition of poverty as used in the national anti-poverty strategy:
People are living in poverty if their income and resources (material, cultural and social) are so inadequate as to preclude them from having a standard of living which is regarded as acceptable by Irish society generally. As a result of inadequate income and resources, people may be excluded from participating in activities which are considered the norm for other people in society.
The concept of disadvantage is also similar to that of social exclusion and marginalisation. The National Development Plan 2000-2006, refers to "urban and rural black spots"– par. 2.2, p. 33 – and to "pockets of poverty and disadvantage that are evident throughout both Regions"– par. 3.12, p. 41. It concludes that "offenders, both male and female, generally come from the most disadvantaged groups in society", and they "therefore experience multiple disadvantages which accumulate leading to economic and social exclusion and to an extreme form of marginalisation from the labour market"– par. 10.26, p. 194. As the probation and welfare service operates a number of sub-measures with the national development plan, it adopts and implements this conceptual framework.
The actual determination of disadvantaged areas and communities is not a matter for criminal justice alone. Other bodies, such as national anti-poverty strategy, NAPS, and the Combat Poverty Agency have produced studies documenting levels and degrees of disadvantage. The 25 areas chosen under the RAPID, revitalising areas by planning, investment and development, 1 programme, and further trenches in RAPID 2 and CLÁR, for the location of new service facilities or projects operating under the aegis of the service are univocally high crime areas, also almost by definition a RAPID or CLÁR, Ceantair Laga Árd-Riachtanais, area. As only limited funds are available, some facilities are sited in central locations that can serve two or more disadvantaged areas. In these ways, social inclusion is promoted, marginalisation is reduced, and the incidence of repeat offending cut back, all in the same process.
Under the remit of my Department, garda youth diversion projects target young people aged between ten and 18 years of age who are likely to drop out of the educational system prematurely with high quality intervention programmes in areas of acute social disadvantage. Members of the target group are likely to be from families where there is a history of early school leaving; have poor literacy skills; be disadvantaged socially often as a result of alcoholism, drug addiction, and poor parenting skills; have little or no scope of entering regular skilled employment; be unable to access mainstream education and training programmes; and be at risk of becoming chronically unemployable, with inevitable entry into vandalism, crime, drugs and finally prison.
As part of the National Development Plan 2000-2006, the equal opportunities child care programme 2000-06 assesses grant applications based on recognised socio-economic indicators. It also takes cognisance of the socio-economic and demographic profile of the area in which the proposed service is located and the social groupings which the service will support. Particular attention is paid to those services based in identified RAPID and CLÁR areas.
Area Development Management Limited, which administers the equal opportunities childcare programme in partnership with my Department, carries out a technical assessment of each application which includes an analysis of the degree of disadvantage in each case.
A portion of the funding under the equality for women measure of the national development plan is targeted at disadvantaged women. These are broadly defined as women who are in poverty or experiencing social exclusion and who belong to one or more of the following target groups: lone parents, women who have experienced domestic violence, women drug mis-users, women involved in street prostitution, women with disability, Traveller women and ethnic minority women.
