A number of leading charities and community groups - including Respond! Housing Association, Barnardos, European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN), Cork Simon, Galway Simon and Mental Health Ireland- spoke out today in relation to recent speculation that the Combat Poverty Agency may be abolished or subsumed into a Government Department.
The organisations have expressed serious concern about any move by Government that would compromise the independence of the CPA. They believe such a move would completely destroy the vital role the Agency plays in providing independent, evidence-based research to the Government, state agencies and local authorities. This research is crucial if, as a society, we are serious about eliminating poverty, according to the organisations.
Fr Pat Cogan, Chief Executive Officer of Respond! Housing Association, said Combat Poverty has played a vital role in highlighting poverty levels in Ireland.
“Without the work of the Combat Poverty Agency, we would not be aware of the chronic levels of poverty that exist in Irish society,” he said. “More than 300,000 of our citizens live in consistent poverty, with 700,000 at risk of poverty. We are aware of this thanks to Combat Poverty. It is the responsibility of all of us, especially our elected representatives, to help the most vulnerable members of our society.”
“The Combat Poverty Agency is unique in that it is the only organisation with a specific remit to provide evidence-based advice to tackle poverty in Ireland. Since the CPA was founded 22 years ago, it has become the lead organisation in developing and promoting anti-poverty research and awareness. The Agency’s role is even more important in the current economic climate when the number of people at risk of poverty is increasing. It is the most vulnerable members of Irish society who will suffer if the Agency is demolished or robbed of its independence”
Norah Gibbons, Barnardos Director of Advocacy said Combat Poverty’s work on researching and highlighting child poverty has contributed significantly to Barnardos’ work.
“Combat Poverty Agency has consistently provided objective recommendations on solutions which work towards eradicating poverty. One in nine children continue to live in consistent poverty, a statistic likely to increase in the current economic climate. It is vital that Combat Poverty is able to continue to look critically at issues relating to poverty in an independent and objective manner.”
Anna Visser, Director of EAPN Ireland said that it is our most at risk citizens who will be affected by any changes to the role of the agency.
“Ireland has been recognised in Europe as an example of how to establish an infrastructure to support the fight against poverty. This is a time when we need new energy and focus and this will not be achieved by burying the CPA within the civil service. In an economic downturn, it is people experiencing poverty who are most affected, it will be the vulnerable members of Irish society who will suffer by any move to weaken the functions and independence of the CPA.”
According to Respond!, Barnardos, Focus Ireland, the EAPN, Cork Simon, Galway Simon and Mental Health Ireland, Combat Poverty’s policy advice played a vital role in the formation of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS); the development of the first National Anti-Poverty Strategy; the development of the Local Government Programme and various Community Development Programmes nationwide. The emergence of a comprehensive framework to tackle poverty in Ireland, such as the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion, reflects the influence that Combat Poverty has had in ensuring that policies to tackle poverty have been mainstreamed, the organisations said.
