Greetings from the
Irish Delegation
Joanne McCabe,
Focus Ireland
Anne O’Connor,
Longford
Community
Resources
Mariaam Bhatti,
Migrant Right
Centre Ireland
Annette Patton,
Donegal
Community
Workers Co-op
Robin Hanan,
Group coordinator
www.focusireland.ie
www.lcrl.ie
www.mrci.ie
www.cwc.ie
www.eapn.ie
Message of Support from the President of Ireland
As President of Ireland, I am delighted to express my support for the Irish
delegation to the 13th European Meeting of People Experiencing Poverty
and my solidarity with the delegations from all members States represented
at this important event.
Europe is currently facing a crisis which is not merely economic or fiscal in
nature. There is also a profound crisis of democracy in Europe which is
grounded in the alienation of so many people, across many generations but particularly young
people, from the political institutions and the decisions that affect their lives. The economic and
financial forces that shape their lives are frequently described as forces not amenable to
accountability; they are speculative forces, neither accountable or ethically sourced.
Parliaments are increasingly perceived as institutions from which power and democratic
accountability has been leeched. Essential social goods and needs such as housing, healthcare,
employment and education are increasingly considered as commodities to be calculated and traded
on the speculative market. In the face of a dominant economic model which has proved so
destructive, the challenge we face is to craft a public discourse in Europe in which all citizens – not
just the most expert, or the most mobile among them – will be facilitated, supported and
empowered to take part.
What is needed is a discourse that would let the experience of the poor and the unemployed of
Europe be articulated, and begin the process of making government and the markets amenable to
the tribunal of everyday justificatory debate and decision-making. Your meeting will, I hope,
contribute greatly to the construction of this new pluralist and open discourse and I wish you my
heartfelt support and good wishes in your important considerations.
Michael D. Higgins, President of Ireland
Case Study – Structural Funds – Donegal Community Workers Co-op
Case Study on use of EU Structural
Funds
Border region of Donegal in Republic
of Ireland and Northern Ireland
Northern
Ireland
For the workshop on Funding the Fight
Against Poverty, Tuesday Morning
Annette Patton, Donegal Community Workers Co-op
1. Introduction
The role of Community Work is to focus on, and work in solidarity with, those who experience
marginalisation, exclusion or discrimination and to address the power inequalities and structural
causes of these. Because it is about challenging power relationships that lead to social injustice
and redistributing that power in favour of the most excluded, community work often meets
resistance from those who currently hold that power.
This always has been and continues to be a key challenge for community workers.
Under EU Structural Funds, community development became an integral part of local
development strategies for the creation of community capacity upon which other social and
economic initiatives could be built.
Donegal is a very large county (4th largest in the state) with pockets that are relatively densely
populated and large areas where the population is very sparse. The population of Donegal is
161,137 (C.S.O. 2011). The county is diverse socially, economically, culturally and politically. Some
areas have recorded the highest unemployment black spots in the E.U.
2. The Project
Phase 1: ‘Tools for Change’ Community Development Course including the development of
Equality module in collaboration with Partnership agency and Education Board.
Outcomes: 7 courses/92 participants completed the course with a recognised qualification.
Publication of resource guide: ‘Community Work approach to Peace Building’
Phase 2: ‘Social Analysis’ Course
Purpose: To equip participants with the knowledge, understanding and skills to utilise the tools of
social analysis as an aid to the development and implementation of effective community
development actions; to develop a personal understanding of Social Analysis and relate it to their
experiences and to critically reflect on familiar situations of exclusion and inequality.
Target group: religious, social, and ethnic minority groups/ victims of the conflict in Northern
Ireland/displaced persons/Asylum seekers/Refugees/Travellers/exprisoners/unemployed/underemployed and individuals with direct experience of poverty, racism
or discrimination.
Case Study – Structural Funds – Donegal Community Workers Co-op
3. Outcomes
5 course/ 72 participants
The project encouraged participants to engage in open conversations about power and
inequalities, and explore the view that a society can be changed for the better through
constructive dialogue and collective action.
Participants shared a number of personal motivations for participating in the training ranging from
‘wanting to make a difference for my children’ to a ‘quest for knowledge’ and a desire to ‘change
self to change the world’. Other participants undertook the training to ‘learn new skills’, ‘learn
about funding’ and a ‘pathway to further education’. Despite the differing motivations participants
unanimously agreed that they had been profoundly impacted as a result of the training and the
skills, knowledge, self-awareness and networks acquired.
‘It has significantly increased my understanding of the impact of intersecting areas of personal and
group marginalisation and its lifelong impact on me and others’.
‘This course has changed my life...I realise I need to do more to make change happen… and feel
empowered to do this’. (Course participant)
‘It re-ignited my passion to make changes regarding inequality’.
Having identified individual impacts and learning, participants were asked to agree upon a
collective ‘significant’ impact from the training courses using the Most Significant Change (MSC)
Technique, a participatory form of monitoring and evaluation, developed by Rik Davies and Jess
Hart.
The most significant impact of the project, as identified by representatives of all 5 training courses,
was the sense of EMPOWERMENT gained through participation.
Those present highlighted the fact they felt ‘empowered’ by the respect they received and shared
from other group members, by the confidence they gained, the skills and knowledge acquired and
the passion to make a collective difference which had been ignited.
‘This course has changed my life…..I realise I need to do more to make change happen…and feel
empowered to do this.’ (Course participant)
Course Participants
Course participants receiving Certificates
Full report and toolkit available as pdfs on EAPN Ireland website www.eapn.ie
Case Study – Structural Funds – Donegal Community Workers Co-op
4. Conclusions: Strengths and Weaknesses of EU Structural funds
Strengths (in relation to Peace Building specifically)
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EU money focussed on capacity building and awareness from the beginning
Led by grass root groups (local NGO’s)
Experience and learning carried into subsequent projects (on a limited basis)
The understanding of the impact of different jurisdictions, different cultures, and different
ways of doing things proved a challenge but mutually beneficial
Challenge of measuring impact now embedded in practice
Employment creation (on a short term basis)
Governance standards
Weaknesses
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Displacing other funds that would normally be available from Government agencies
Bureaucracy deterring (and sometimes excluding) smaller NGO groups from seeking
funding and those who are successful in securing funding are faced with cash flow issues
and huge bank charges that are difficult to repay
Not enough opportunities for cross learning from other countries
Limitations of working to funders goals with local communities often trying to fit size 6 feet
into size 4 shoes!
Skilled experienced staff who develop exciting projects with positive social impacts are
suddenly unemployed with no guarantee of being re-employed in subsequent projects
No long term opportunity to develop projects into mainstreaming bodies because of
overemphasis on ‘INNOVATION’ and a requirement to present a completely ‘DIFFERENT’
project proposal
Irish Government not taking an interest or seeing the potential application of peace
building to other areas of the country as a transferable approach for other community
contexts
Sometimes forced or not obvious partnerships rather than organic collaboration??
Opposite true too?? Can lead to new partnerships
Changes/Recommendations
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Local NGO’s should be recognised for their contribution to addressing social exclusion
and peace building through more long term funding streams to ensure continuity of
learning and practice
Local NGO’s who have a proven track record in making significant changes in local and
regional areas be supported in accessing structural funds directly e.g. low interest loan
system for paying back advances throughout the life of the project Reduce level of bureaucracy to encourage local NGO groups to source funds more
easily
Civic & Leadership aspects of the next phase of PEACE funding (PEACE IV) should be
channelled directly to local NGO organisations who have a proven track record area
Outputs measurements....SEUPB itself measuring against these in the overall
programme
Showcase shared learning
Avoid gaps between funding to ensure development and continuity of expertise