Charity sector 'facing collapse' after years of cuts (with case study)
They insisted that a “fiver or tenner” in a struggling person’s pocket would be pointless if the long-term help they needed no longer existed.
The Wheel, the Disability Federation of Ireland, Care Alliance Ireland, Irish Rural Link, the Carmichael Centre for Voluntary Groups and the National Youth Council of Ireland took the joint stand yesterday, warning that six years of cuts had meant that voluntary and charitable services were otherwise facing “absolute collapse”.
At a time when the top-ups scandal continues to hamper public donation drives, and years of recession-enforced cuts has seen state funding for some groups slashed by as much as 77%, director of advocacy at the Wheel, Ivan Cooper, said services must now be restored before untold damage is caused to Ireland’s future recovery.
While acknowledging the political pressure for the wider public to benefit from tax reductions before a likely election next year, the campaigner — whose group acts as an umbrella group for 1,000 separate organisations — said the fact that 36% of charities had been forced to cut services this year due to dwindling funds, despite the fact 67% had seen demand for help rise, shows that hidden difficulties in Irish society must take precedence.
“We’re talking about respite care for families being cut back; the same for home-help services; mental health services; youth services, which are down by a third since 2008 — an absolutely staggering figure — and then of course no money for people with learning disabilities or particular needs.
“It’s just across the board. People need to realise that what’s required now is that, given that two thirds of the ‘adjustments’ — that’s the term the Government uses, from the budget since 2008 have come from the expenditure side, and only one third has come from taxation, what we need to do now is restore those expenditure budgets for public and voluntary services,” Mr Cooper said.
Speaking at the same conference, Disability Federation of Ireland chief executive, John Dolan, said half a decade of cutbacks had meant that services were now in a state of “collapse” or were at the point where people no longer had any faith in them.
Addressing mooted government plans to reduce the top rate of income tax from 41% to 40% in the October 14 Budget, he said a “fiver or tenner” will do nothing to help people if they need support from services which no longer exist.
“Things have gone over the edge and I think every adult now considers themselves vulnerable in some way. If something goes wrong, where are they going to turn to? A fiver in their pocket won’t make a difference.”
The charities also backed a similar call from President Michael D Higgins on Monday, in which he said Ireland was in danger of “drifting” back to the worst excesses of the Celtic Tiger era unless it fully examined alternative, socially-focused economic models.
