What budget small change could do for people without a voice

DEAR Minister Cowen, we’re just approaching the start of December, and I know you have to deal with as many demands as Santa Claus.

Indeed, a lot of people this year are starting to look at you as if you were Santa himself. But, I wonder, is Santa Claus a republican? I’ve often heard you speak about republicanism, the sort you believe in and that motivates you in politics. It’s a republicanism that believes in democracy and in greater equality first and foremost. That’s what I’ve heard you say, anyway, and I know you believe it.

So I want to take the liberty of suggesting three areas that urgently need some additional investment. All three are activities that would advance that notion of republicanism that puts democracy and equality first. They are three announcements you could make in your budget in a couple of weeks’ time, and they would make a profound difference.

Not a big splash, mind — the three things I want to suggest don’t have lots of votes attached to them. In quiet and vital ways, they would simply change people’s lives for the better.

And the good news is they would cost almost nothing. Add up all three, and you’ll increase public spending by around 1 million. That might sound like big money, but it is the tiniest fraction — would you believe, it’s about 1/600th of 1% of the total you’ll have to spend next year. A million nowadays will build less than 300 yards of highway. It wouldn’t even be missed.

I don’t want to mislead you either, minister. I want to suggest three modest increases in State support in life-changing activities. But if you want to sustain the impact, you need to make the decision that this extra million will be repeated annually.

I know your department doesn’t have any major problem with once-off spending, and they go nuts when you suggest you want to put something permanent in place, no matter how small. But I promise you, make these three little investments — around €330,000 each — and the return in terms of quality of life will more than repay the effort of persuading the department.

Here’s the first one. You might have read the brilliant series on domestic violence in this newspaper last week. One small item that emerged in the course of that series was that Women’s Aid, the organisation that offers more help and advice to the victims of domestic violence than any other, is unable to afford the staff to ensure that every phone call they got is answered. They do all sorts of fundraising, all the time, and yet 10,000 phone calls went unanswered last year.

Being able to answer the phone doesn’t guarantee that everyone who has been abused will be protected. But being unable to answer the phone guarantees despair for a lot of people. It guarantees they will get the message that there is nowhere to turn in the greatest crisis of their lives.

The number of phone calls received by Women’s Aid went up by 10,000 over the years 2002 to 2005. Their funding was capped in the same period. Domestic violence is increasing all the time, and it affects families of all types and all income groups. Increasingly, it affects children. And on the law of averages, at least one woman who tried to get help through a phone call, and failed, could have been killed in an act of domestic violence. Women’s Aid need about €300,000 extra a year to make sure every call is answered. And you will be introducing your budget right in the middle of their 16 days of action to try to end violence against women. The extra money would make a profound difference.

SECONDLY, I know you’re familiar with the work of Namhi, which is called Inclusion Ireland now. For more than 45 years it has been the independent voice of people with an intellectual disability — raising awareness, representing their concerns in every national forum and enabling more than 160 organisations throughout the country to speak with one voice. But that’s only part of what Inclusion Ireland does. Its tiny number of staff work morning, noon and night to help individuals and families who have encountered serious difficulties in trying to get access to essential services or where, because of lack of choices or decent standards, people with an intellectual disability, or their families, need a lot of support. Because Inclusion Ireland is trusted by its members, its research, publications and advice carry a lot of weight. And in providing advice across the whole lifespan of people with disabilities, Inclusion Ireland does the State a considerable service.

They do all this, and a lot more, on State funding of around €350,000 a year. For years they have struggled to cope with that and have devoted their energies to representing others rather than themselves. But that kind of advocacy, of individuals and of an entire group of disadvantaged people, comes at a price. You will no doubt be advised that an independent organisation like Inclusion Ireland is no longer relevant in these days of complaints mechanisms and appeals systems. Don’t believe it, minister. You invested heavily in your time in services for people with a disability. A tiny additional investment now — an extra one-third of €1 million — would help to make their voices heard. And there’s another organisation, smaller but very active, that gives a voice to parents and siblings of people with an intellectual disability. It’s called the National Parents and Siblings Alliance, and a tiny operating grant would help make a huge difference there, too.

Finally, I’ve written before about the National Institute for Intellectual Disability. Founded within Trinity College, its establishment was supported by some Government money and it’s leading the way in the intellectual disability area in researching and developing best practice and in disseminating information.

Most important of all, it is enabling a group of full-time students — 20 adults with an intellectual disability — to undertake the first course of its kind in Ireland, the Certificate in Contemporary Living. Formally approved by Trinity College, the certificate is taught over two years and has 10 demanding modules in the social sciences and the expressive arts.

CCL students — that’s what they’re called — are full and equal students of Trinity College. It desperately needs core funding. Your colleague, Education Minister Mary Hanafin, who has always been supportive of the institute, knows what the needs are — around one-third of 1 million, once again. She may even have spoken to you about it already because if she can’t find that money among all the other demands made on her, the immediate future of the institute and its ground-breaking programme is bleak.

Three investments, each around one-third of 1 million. Each of them has the capacity to make a profound difference. You know what they have in common, apart from meeting pressing needs. They will each help to promote greater equality where none exists now. And they will each give a voice to people who don’t have one now. Could there be a better investment?

With best wishes...