"Government cuts could signal the end for community development initiatives"

This is a short, unpublished story about the impact which the December 2010 Irish budget is likely to have on community-based services and activities in the State.  It is written in broadsheet style and would have been suitable for publication just before the budget was announced.

CHRISTMAS meals for Bluebell pensioners could be a thing of the past if government budget cuts force redundancies in local Community Development Projects (CDPs).

“Funding is a major challenge for us,” confirmed Tommy Coombes, Co-ordinator at the Bluebell CDP, “any more cuts to CDP budgets will mean redundancies.”

Even before the 7 December announcement that the Developing Communities budget would be cut by a further 6%, the Bluebell CDP had been forced into fundraising to find the €800 needed to lay on the annual 24 December event.

Such fundraising efforts, however, could be made even more difficult if key administrative staff is sacrificed and the remaining team members are unable to cover the work.

The CDPs are involved in many vital initiatives designed to help residents in disadvantaged communities, with free computer training, chair aerobics and advice about paying bills representing just a small sample of the services the Bluebell team offers.

Barra Ó Nualláin from the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, which has responsibility for the country’s CDPs, clarified their position on the cuts today.

Ó Nualláin confirmed that from January 2011, the Local and Community Development Programme (LCDP), which the CDPs are a part of, “. . . will be delivered through an integrated delivery structure in each area resulting in a reduced number of structures [local offices] nationally.

“The new structural arrangements will continue to ensure that key front-line services and supports, including worthwhile community development activity, are maintained, through reduced administration and ancillary costs and the elimination of duplication and overlap.”

Tommy Coombes, however, is not convinced that the already-stretched CDP teams will be able maintain their existing service delivery in the face of the proposed efficiency savings.

 “They are insistent that ‘front-line services’ don’t get affected by it, so it would be the likes of the administrators – the backup staff – that would be cut,” said Coombes.

“For us [the administrators are important] because if we haven’t got good administrators backing us up then it will be very difficult for us [to provide an effective service].”