Kerry Cuskelly
Mental Health Social Worker
SWAN Ireland
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Where does one start...?!
Current political parties in Ireland – Fine Gael, a
conservative right wing party.
In coalition government with the Labour party, a supposed
social democratic party.
In reading Fine Gael’s manifesto for government one can
clearly see their agenda is one of conservatism, very “probusiness”, individualistic and unsurprisingly
conservative/neoliberal in focus.
The minor coalition party Labour, have by all accounts,
completely abandoned their manifesto and have given
themselves fully over to their conservative “leaders”.
So why waste a good crisis...inflict the “shock doctrine” and
privatise public services.
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Privatisation of public services are;
Not in the public interest
Are morally and ethically questionable
Create monopolies
Against structural/critical/radical social work
values (Mullally, 2006)
Fits neoliberal agenda of managerialism,
bureaucracy and centralisation (Mullally, 2006)
Individualises and creates tiered systems that in
turn create systems of oppression, poverty and
structural inequalities
Espouses the dominant ideology of the
oppressors but not of the oppressed
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Only two words are needed in the current
climate:
Cutting costs
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In Ireland the privatisation of public services, and in particular
health and social care services has been common and is set to
increase.
Waste collection
Water
Education
Nursing Homes
Health Care (Universal Health Insurance)
Foster Care Services
Private social work
Children’s residential services
Home care services
Housing
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Privatisation in Ireland has a few different
forms;
Public/Private partnerships (having private
companies build things then the public sector
rents the thing back from the private sector)
A full sale of state assets (like the current push
to sell off Coillte, the state forestry body)
Commercialisation, which transfers all
operations to private operators (like in the
home care and nursing homes sector)
New public management (managing and
running a public service like a private
business).
(Ref: INMO, 2010)
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“There are currently about 600 nursing homes
in the country,150 of which are public nursing
homes and 450 of which are private nursing
homes.” (Who Cares, 2010).
“The information available suggests that the
demand for public nursing home care has, for
quite some time, exceeded the supply of public
places. Despite the shortfall in public places,
there has been a decline in publicly-funded
long-stay beds over the last five decades. This
shortfall is being met by a rapidly expanding
private sector” (Who Cares, 2010).
Year
No. Of public
beds
Beds per
1,000
population
over 65 years
1968
13,594
42
2001
10,067
23
2009
8,250
18
Year
No. Of private nursing
home beds
1997
6,932
2003
14,946
2007
18,883
2009
20,526
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Why might the department of health want to
privatise the health service?
Between 2008 and 2012 cuts in the health
budget amounted to more than €1.8 billion
(€1.75 billion in 2010 and 2011 and 2012 of
€750m). The health budget stood at
€12,237,369 million in 2012, with further cuts
planned for 2013. The HSE deficit was €374
million at the end of September 2012; this led
to the HSE imposing a €130 million cut in the
HSE budget for the remainder of 2012
(Pillinger, 2012)
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Invisible privatisation of this service – e.g. the
state have the statutory obligation to provide
care to all children and young people in the state
but end up farming out this care out to private
companies. The public may not realise this as the
services are “marketed” as being provided by the
public health system.
The services are still thought of and called “public
services” but are in actual fact provided by
private companies.
The majority of foster care providers in the state
are private companies.
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The effects of privatisation are particularly
damaging here.
There are increasing anecdotal reports (from
individuals and organisations) that children who
have been living in residential services and turn
18 years old, are literally being told that their
care is over and they are placed in
accommodation by themselves. This is the case
whether the young person is ready for this
transition, whether they are in full-time
education or whether they actually want this.
This is only happening where the young person is
living in a private residential home, it does not
happen in the public or voluntary homes.
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Makes up relatively small part of the sector
currently.
Typically hired on a freelance basis as GAL’s or
Guardian ad Litem’s.
Private social workers can also be found in
private hospitals and as link social workers for
private foster care agencies.
I am not including social workers in the voluntary
or “third sector” in this area.
Contention around the use of GAL’s for a few
reasons;
1. What they do
2. Price
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In some local councils there is a worrying and
growing trend whereby councils are deliberately not
building/investing in social housing and local
authority housing (citing lack of interest) as the
primary reason for this.
Then a deliberate policy decision at local level is
made to move towards the private-rented sector.
Council’s may be forced onto this trajectory due to
massively decreased budgets, staff cutbacks and
increased pressure to produce better outcomes
with less.
The future of housing looks like massively
increased privatisation.
Using Direct Action –
Home Care Package campaign in
the last quarter of 2012. PCSW
and MHSW worked together to
mobilise SW’s in Dublin. Also,
mobilised as many service users,
families and home help staff as
possible. Collected over 300
signatures for petition. Handed
these in with the 10,000 other
signatures collected. Marched
with home help staff, SU’s and
families in national anti-austerity
demonstration. Campaign
succeeded in getting home help
hours reinstated to Jan 2012
levels.
Photo by
Sandra O Hara
Photo by Paula
Campbell
Photo by Nigel
Hanlon
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The privatisation of public services in Ireland seems to be
promoting common themes:
Money, being the prime driving force behind this trend.
Specifically, the drive to cut costs at all costs.
An almost cult-like presumption that there is “no alternative” to
any of this, apart from privatisation of everything.
The complete disregard for balanced debate, meaningful
discussion or meaningful inclusion of the relevant communities,
people or stakeholders, before significant changes are made to
public services.
A clandestine atmosphere surrounding the management of our
public services (public servants in management having the
attitude that they are managing private businesses and are
therefore not accountable to, and have no obligation to, the
public).
The demonisation and vilification of people working (on the
frontline/lower paid) in the public sector.
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Challenging the language of privatisation!
Continuing to build alliances with service
users, families, service user groups around
this issue (home help staff and more
recently disability activists)
Using trade unions to fight for a better
alternative.
Informal organising within our workplaces
Attempting to open up a rational and
balanced discussion on the issue.
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To contact me please email:
kerry.cuskelly@gmail.com
Check out the SWAN Ireland facebook page on:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/swan.ireland.3?fref
=ts
Check out the SWAN Ireland page on the main
SWAN website:
http://www.socialworkfuture.org/aboutswan/regional-swan/ireland
Email SWAN Ireland at:
socialworkactionnetworkireland@gmail.com
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Department of Health, Ireland, (2012), “Future Health”.
http://www.dohc.ie/publications/pdf/Future_Health.pdf?direct=1
Doublethink image accessed here:
http://rebeccaharkinscross.com/2011/10/21/review-double-think/
Dr. Jane Pillinger, (IMPACT Trade Union), (2012), “The Future of health
Care in Ireland”.
http://www.impact.ie/files/healthpdf/reform/FutureofHealthcare.pdf
Fine Gael Health Policy, (2011), “Fair Care”.
http://www.simoncoveney.ie/arc/media/pdf/FairCare.pdf
Home and Community Care Ireland, (2012), “The Business Case for the
Outsourcing of Home Care Provision and a More Efficient Use of Fair Deal
Funds”. http://www.hcci.ie/_pdf/EPS-Report-March-2013.pdf
http://www.ibec.ie/Sectors/IWMA/IWMA.nsf/vPages/About_Us~Sector_pr
ofile~household-waste-collection?OpenDocument
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/james-reilly-faces-new-cash-quizover-15m-clinic-26875022.html
http://www.ombudsman.gov.ie/en/Publications/InvestigationReports/HSE-Nursing-Homes/Who-Cares/Executive-Summary.html
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http://www.ombudsman.gov.ie/en/Publications/Investigation-Reports/LocalAuthorities/Investigation-into-the-operation-by-Local-Authorities-of-WaiverSchemes-for-Refuse-Collection-Charges/Conclusions.html
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0720/133580-hse_elderly/
http://www.thejournal.ie/water-privatisation-protest-838664-Mar2013/
INMO, (2010), The Privatisation of the Irish Health Care System. Position Paper.
http://www.inmo.ie/tempDocs/INMO%20Privatisation%20Of%20The%20Irish%20He
althcare%20System%20Position%20Paper%20(3).pdf
Peadar O'Grady, (2012), “Economic Crisis: Austerity and Privatisation in Healthcare
in Ireland” in Irish Marxist Review. Vol.1 No. 2.
People Before Profit Health Policy, (2012)
http://www.peoplebeforeprofit.ie/files/PBPA%20Health%20Policy.pdf
Social Justice Ireland (2013), “What Would a Real recovery Look Like”?
http://www.socialjustice.ie/sites/default/files/file/SER/2013--04-02%20%20Socio%20Economic%20Review%202013%20-%20FULL%20BOOK%20%20FINAL.pdf
The pictures were taken by: Paula Campbell, Sandra O Hara, Nigel Hanlon
The posters pictured were made by People Before Profit.
All website addresses were last accessed on 11/04/13.