Network Exchange – April 2004
Network Exchange is set up to enable local authorities to exchange
information quickly and effectively on issues dealing with poverty and social
exclusion and to get regular relevant information from the Dail and other
national agencies. Produced monthly, Network Exchange is brief but it relies
on local authorities and relevant agencies submitting information to the Local
Government Anti Poverty Learning Network’s Information consultant, Kate
Ennals at kateennals@eircom.net
Network Exchange is commissioned by the Combat Poverty Agency. The aim
of Combat Poverty is to promote a just and inclusive society by working for
the prevention and elimination of poverty and social exclusion.
March 04
 LGAPLN Meeting Report from Waterford
 Consult… Consult… Consult
 The Work of Social Inclusion Units
 Spatial Distribution of Poverty
 Measuring Performance in Local Government
 Whither the Local Government Anti Poverty Learning network
 Simplicity in Action in South Tipp
 The EU Report on Social Inclusion
 Waterford City Access Video
 Seachtain na Gaeilge in South Dublin
 Information Sources
Local Government Anti-Poverty Learning Network Meeting
Report from Waterford (31st March)
The Work of Social Inclusion Units
A discussion on the work of the Social Inclusion Units, led by the Units
themselves, showed a range of initiatives taking place in the 8 pilot units.
Cork City Council has carried out a ‘Social Inclusion Audit’, which led to
Social Inclusion Actions being identified across all functions of Cork City
Council. These were then signed off on by senior management and elected
representatives within Cork City Council.
Dublin City Council carried out a tenant profile using existing administrative
data available within the City Council. The profile which provided data on
households, rent arrears and family structures gave the City Council good
quality information which enabled them to make better decisions re estate
regeneration, to measure the impact of project delivery, and look at issues of
income generation.
Louth are currently doing a similar social profile across the county.
Limerick conducted a review of its rent scheme and changed to a fixed
percentage rent scheme, which enabled it to be progressive re the ratio of
rents to income. It was easy to understand and administer, and enabled the
council to fulfil its repair and maintenance obligations to tenants more fully.
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown has run a training and social inclusion awareness
programme for elected members across a range of issues such as poverty
proofing and transportation. They produced ‘a stats pack’ which gave the
elected members access to good quality information on poverty and its impact
within Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council area in an easy to access
format.
In South Dublin, senior officers have set up a working group to promote
awareness of social inclusion issues and developed social inclusion
champions in each department.
Waterford has introduced a consultation policy document and the access
video, which highlights access issues for people with a disability in Waterford
City. (See below)
Wicklow have put together an external partnership, which is working together
to identify the needs of dispersed communities in rural areas and to develop
appropriate responses.
The DOE is evaluating the work of the Social Inclusion Units and
decisions on mainstreaming the pilot will be considered in the autumn.
Spatial Distribution of Poverty in Local Authorities
According to Chris Whelan of the ESRI, there are few poverty differentials
related to space. That means that poverty is rarely related to geographic
positioning. Poverty is more related to class, household characteristics and
external factors such as employment and educational achievement.
Chris Whelan provided interesting demographic statistics which will be
available on the Agency website from mid April, but indicated that there north
south divide which can be seen in England does not exist in Ireland. To tackle
poverty in Ireland policy needs to impact on issues such as employment and
educational achievement.
To access the statistical information from Mid April go to
http://www.combatpoverty.ie/act_programme_localmembers.htm
Measuring Performance on Social Inclusion in Local Government
Kathy Walshe, independent consultant, gave a presentation on performance
indicators which was followed by a discussion in a number of workshops. The
presentation focused on what indicators were, where they came from and how
they can be developed. She looked at what social indicators relevant to local
authorities were needed and examined how the 42 indicators published by the
DOE might be amended to incorporate a social inclusion focus.
Suggested amendments:
Housing
link to NAPS objectives. “Number of new local authority starts”
“Tenant satisfaction surveys”
Recreational “number of play grounds in RAPID/CLAR areas”
Roads
“number of kilometres of footpaths dressed/developed in
housing estates”
Waste
“number of waivers of charges issues”
Corp. issues “expenditure on customer care training and development”
Community
Participation “in service delivery, partnership working, in service quality”
Groups at
Risk
“Equal opportunities in contracts for contractors
“Application of local labour clauses.
For further information:
http://www.combatpoverty.ie/act_programme_localmembers.htm
Consult… Consult… Consult
According to Bernadette MacMahon from the Vincentian Partnership for
Social Justice, consultation before, during and after is the key issue for local
people when working with the local authority. The Vincentian Partnership
works closely with disadvantaged communities through their Active
Citizenship Programme. Local people felt that there had been a sea change in
the attitudes of local authorities towards poor communities, and that there was
a positive interest in communities now that hadn’t existed before. However
people also felt that it was important that local officials should treat people
professionally and with respect; that services should be provided which
recognised people’s dignity; that council officials need to follow up on
requests and that some communication practices needed improving.
For further information on Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, contact
vpj@eircom.net
Whither the Local Government Anti Poverty Learning network?
Michael Colreavy, Leitrim councillor and Steering Group member, spoke of
the hugely positive work of local authorities with regard to social inclusion in
the last few years due to the change in local authority thinking. He expressed
reservations that there was sufficient momentum in local authorities to
continue the work of the Local Government Anti Poverty Learning Network.
He felt that it was very important that this work continue – particularly given
the election of new councillors in June. The impact of ending the pilot project
would be huge and that we needed to ensure that the Departments were
willing and able to mainstream the work.
Presentations from the conference are available from mid April on:
http://www.combatpoverty.ie/act_programme_localmembers.htm
Workshop feedback will be provided in May Network Exchange
Simplicity in Action in South Tipp
Simple, achievable actions are being put in place as part of the South
Tipperary County Council Anti-Poverty Plan. Corporate Affairs are focusing on
three areas of action:



To promote and provide accessible information about the Higher
Education Grants
To allow and encourage community groups to attend council meetings
and then to follow up with discussions with officers
To promote a new play policy adopted by the council
Providing support to the Internal Anti Poverty Work Group, Community and
Enterprise last year identified three ‘Issue Watches’
 Safety and Security in the Community
 Early School Leaving
 Council Traveller Accommodation Committee
These three issues were taken up by a cross agency, partnership committee
approach and data collected and action identified. Unemployment and
Disability have been agreed as two further Issue Watch topics for 2004.
The South Tipperary Anti Poverty Working Group aims to identify achievable
actions throughout all the Council departments.
For further information contact pat.holland@southtippcoco.ie
Waterford City Access Video
As part of its commitment to the Barcelona Agreement, Waterford City have
produced a video in conjunction with disability groups to raise awareness of
the challenges faced by people who are poor sighted, have hearing problems
or use wheelchairs when they travel around the city. It points to the difficulties
of wheelchairs accessing buses using ramps when it is raining because of
slippery wheels. It shows how pedestrian electronic push buttons are too far
away from the dish curbs for someone in a wheel chair to reach them. It
shows the problems of poor paving, object d’art, overgrown trees and poor
parking. It highlights the importance of tactile paving, and use of colour in
pedestrian walkways.
For further information contact jcoogan@waterfordcity.ie or
rcody@waterfordcity.ie
The EU Report on Social Inclusion
The European Commission has published the joint Report on Social Inclusion
which is an analysis of the 2003 -05 National Action Plans against Poverty
and Social Exclusion. According to the report, Ireland has the highest rate of
poverty for women and second highest for children. In all EU countries, older
people face high rates of poverty.
The Report commends a number of aspects of the Irish plan: it was strategic,
comprehensive, understood causes of social exclusion, involved consultation,
good on employment, income supports and education and it commended the
Combat Poverty Agency and Equality Authority. It criticised Ireland’s low rates
of social spending, said the plan was weak on housing and regional aspects
of social exclusion and too limited in its response to the rights based
approach. It fails to give particular attention to refugees and asylum seekers
and it criticised the policy of direct provision.
For further information see www.europa.eu.int and do a search for the
Report on Social Inclusion
Seachtain na Gaeilge in South Dublin
Seachtain na Gaeilge, the major Irish language and cultural
festival took place this year in March. The festival is over a
century old and in conjunction with the celebration of South
Dublin County Council’s 10th anniversary, a féile mór was held.
Corporate Services Department in conjunction with the
Libraries, as well as community groups with a special interest
in the Irish language came together to help make this the most
enjoyable Seachtain so far.
The week was formally launched by the Mayor Cllr. Maire
Ardagh. During the course of the week over 35 events took
place in the branch library network. These included bilingual
nature talks and slide show by Éanna Ní Lamhna, tráth na
gceist, Gaeilge for non-nationals, bingo as Gaeilge do na paistí
as well as much more.
Further information contact sbonnie@scdcoco.ie
Information Sources
Housing Poverty and Wealth in Ireland
Seminar launch of Housing, Poverty and Wealth in Ireland, Wednesday 5 th
May 2004, Davenport Hotel, Merrion Square, D2. The study, under taken by
Professor Tony Fahey of the Economic and Social Research Institute,
examines patterns of housing tenure in a historical and comparative context.
Professor Fahey will present the study’s findings, and Professor Christine
Whitehead, Professor of Housing Economics at the London School of
Economics will respond. It assesses the impact of housing costs on poverty
risk and it examines housing as a form of wealth. These inputs will be
followed by a discussion with a wider panel of expert guests and an
invited audience of stakeholders.
Against All Odds – Growing Up In Poverty
- Living with Poverty and Poor Health
- Living in Deprived Communities (What people said about local
authorities)
Three excellent 8 page briefs, colourful and accessible, which provides salient
facts and figures about living in poverty in Ireland
Also New A4 Briefs (Free)
Facts/ Figures/Key Information
What is Poverty?
Measuring Poverty
Child Poverty
Lone Parents and Poverty
Available from Combat Poverty Agency. Contact ebyrne@cpa.ie
Ideas Learning Pool
IDeA Learning Pool is a new e-learning service that brings local UK councils
together to create, share and access targeted e-learning for local
government. This unique service is built on the concept that ‘no one is as
smart as everyone’. By learning from each other, the IDeA Learning Pool
community will support the growth of e-learning content, skills and capacity
in the sector.
Further Information www.knowledge@idea.gov.uk
LGAPLN Members Page
This contains all the Network Meeting presentations etc. The pathway is as
follows. Go to Combat Poverty website. Click on Our Work. Click on Anti
Poverty Programmes. Click on LGAPLN. Click on Members Page. Click on
Presentations. The direct link the LGAPLN Members' Page should be
http://www.combatpoverty.ie/act_programme_localmembers.htm