I thank the committee for this opportunity to address it on the issue of sustaining community development in the current economic downturn and to answer any questions it may have.
I will outline in brief the background to Pobal in order to set the perspective from which our views on this issue are informed. Pobal, formerly known as Area Development Management, was established in 1992, in similar economic circumstances to those of today, by the Irish Government, in agreement with the European Commission, to manage an EU grant for local development. The organisation is constituted as a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. Members of the board give their time and work on a voluntary basis and are appointed by Government. Our main objective is the delivery and management of programmes on behalf of Government and the European Union, which promote social inclusion, reconciliation and equality through integrated social and economic development within communities. Pobal acts as an agent in the delivery of programmes within the policy framework and funding as determined by the Government.
In 2009, Pobal worked with 4,500 community groups and local agencies across the whole island through managing 16 programmes for seven Departments, various boards and the European Union. These included the Departments of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Health and Children, Transport, Education and Science, and Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the special EU programmes body and the Dormant Accounts Fund.
Our day-to-day work involves assessing grant applications, proposals and plans, managing contracts, distributing funding, monitoring progress and auditing beneficiaries. We provide good practice case studies, evaluations and demographic information that help Departments to make policy decisions. Through our work Pobal supports partnership approaches to planning and decision-making. We also promote good relationships between the community sector, State agencies and other stakeholders. Building and sustaining community capacity is a central focus of all our programmes. The policy context for our work is provided by the national social partnership agreements, the National Development Plan 2007-2016, Towards 2016, and the programme for Government. We are acutely aware of the dramatic shift in economic circumstances impacting Government and communities and its implications for all, including Pobal.
I mentioned earlier the core objective of Pobal as being the promotion of social inclusion, reconciliation and equality through integrated social and economic development. From our experience of managing programmes for Government and the European Union over the past 17 years, we see community development as central to the achievement of this objective. The reasons for this are as follows: community development values the experience and knowledge of disadvantaged communities and as a result leads to more relevant and effective responses to local need; it promotes the targeting of resources towards those most in need; it encourages more holistic responses to problems, because it recognises the interrelated nature of social, economic, cultural and environmental issues; and it mobilises individuals to use their energy and entrepreneurial skills to the benefit of their communities.
Community development as an approach to economic and social development is not new. It has been adopted and espoused by the State since its foundation. Through the Muintir Na Tíre movement in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, the State entered into a partnership with community organisations in funding locally identified projects, for which those organisations in turn provided the voluntary labour and resources. This work provided a range of bottom-up infrastructure and services to communities, including parish halls, group water schemes, sports clubs and vocational and leisure activities. In later years, community development evolved and adapted. In the 1980s the Government of the time built on earlier community work by introducing the community development programme to stimulate and support local capacity.
The challenges faced by the country in the early 1990s and the opportunities presented under the second round of Structural Funds prompted a focus on integrated social and economic development, particularly in disadvantaged communities. Central to this approach was the idea that development could be driven by communities themselves, acting in concert with statutory agencies, employers, farming organisations and trade unions. ADM, as it was then known, was often the vehicle used by the Government to drive this work. This model of support for communities has been the catalyst for rural transport projects, better child care provision, improved health care, local drugs task forces, the development of Traveller and migrant initiatives, and many other developments and responses. Community development is at the core of this work and central to the work of partnerships, RAPID area implementation teams, community services programme projects and others.
I want to give some examples. The community action centres in Limerick city provide a focal point for community development initiatives that directly meet the needs of the housing estates in these areas, which include Moyross, Southill, Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Mary's and St. Munchin's. They provide contact points whereby people can access education, training and employment and where they can develop projects that improve services to the areas.
In Taghmon in Wexford, Wexford Local Development supported the development of an area team that has assisted a range of community initiatives, ranging from child care provision to services and supports for Travellers.
Another example is from County Mayo. Community development is able to lay the foundation for local groups to develop into fully fledged community enterprises. The Lohan Park Group Home, located in Brickens, County Mayo, provides residential care and community services to older people in the local community, including meals on wheels, day care and laundry services.
The great strength of community development is that it emerges from communities. The State, it is fair to say, has invested heavily in it and it now offers us an important resource to draw upon in difficult times. It has provided the country with volunteers and skills which will be invaluable in coming years.
Given the current economic realities, it is neither desirable nor practicable for this work to stand still or depart from tried and tested practices and experiences. There will inevitably be less funding for new and existing community development activities. It is, therefore, crucial to ensure that available funding is targeted at those actions which are of most relevance.
Taking into account the need to achieve more with less and to ensure that community development will endure, I will highlight five points. First, facilitating community development has a proven ability to allow citizens to move closer to second-chance education and pathways into the labour market. An integrated approach within communities whereby there is close collaboration between labour market and community development interventions needs to be copperfastened. An example of this approach is found in Galway City Partnership, which has developed pathways to the labour market for lone parents that recognise and cater for the more complex child care and family needs associated with parenting.
The second point concerns addressing local needs while being efficient and accountable. The community and voluntary sector must be accountable to funders. The principle of accountable autonomy, articulated in recent times by NESC, facilitates a good working relationship where community groups can balance their commitments to the communities that they serve with full accountability to funders. Applying this principle offers the opportunity for needs to be met locally while responding to national policies and priorities. At the same time it maximises impact and minimises waste and duplication.
My third point is on volunteering. Due to the recession, there is now an opportunity to mobilise skilled volunteers who could support community activity and at the same time derive personal benefit from this involvement. This provides an opportunity to bolster existing work and re-examine our models of future service development.
The fourth point is on business and community. There is also an opportunity, building on cross-sector partnership working and examples of existing valuable actions, to encourage the business sector to support community projects. The range of skills and resources available from this source can add a valuable dimension to community development for the benefit of citizens.
My fifth point is on adding value by more effective targeting of resources. Opportunities to streamline planning and delivery of programmes and services at local and national level must be grasped. The community development sector and statutory bodies can collaborate to delineate more clearly their respective roles, responsibilities and actions. This would enable greater coherence of objectives and ensure that resources are more effectively targeted at the people and places that need them most. From this clarity follows the opportunity to change the culture and practice in regard to measuring the impact of programmes and initiatives, and to test their effectiveness and relevance.
I thank the Chairman and members of this committee for this opportunity. We will be happy to answer questions.
