Fears over future of community services as LCDP budget slashed

The future of vital community services are in doubt after the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (DCELG) informed fifty Local & Community Development Programme (LCDP) projects that their budgets would be cut by between 7% and 11%. This cut follows the continuing decline in LCDP funding from €84.7 million in 2008 to €49 million in 2013, a cut of 42% in total.

Manus Bree, Community Worker and Chairperson of SIPTU’s Local Development Company Committee said: “LCDP delivers a range of vital supports to vulnerable communities and families who have been hit elsewhere in this budget. Older people, those with disabilities and lone parents rely on LCDP projects and services and for many it is a lifeline. These cuts are also a false economy; early school leaving, drug misuse, family breakdown and mental health problems are just some of the issues to which the LCDP programme responds. The social and economic costs that will be incurred in the future will be far greater than any savings made now.”

The LCDP programme delivers a range of vital services targeted at education, enterprise and employment, particularly in disadvantaged communities. A recent report by POBAL showed that in 2011 the LCDP programme supported 4,110 local communities groups, helped 1,121 people into employment and 5,042 into self-employment and  saw 11,393 participate in education with a further 11,781 participating in labour market training.

SIPTU Sector Organiser Eddie Mullins stated: “There are huge challenges facing community programmes in 2013, not least of which is this disproportionate budget cut and the local industrial relations issues it will cause. If we are to minimise the impact on community services there needs to be a real engagement between workers, employers and the Department.”

SIPTU Community Members at the DCTU Anti Austerity March, 24th November 2012 

Communities To Protest “Slash and Burn” Policies of Government

Thousands of Community Sector workers will play a leading role in this Saturday’s Anti-Austerity March in Dublin. SIPTU’s Communities Against Cuts campaign is mobilising workers from right across the Community sector which has seen cuts of between 35 and 50% in core funding to vital services such as childcare, disability, mental health, youth and environmental work.

Community Employment (CE) Schemes and Local Community Development Partnership Companies (LCDP’s) have been particularly badly hit with many companies struggling to survive.

According to SIPTU’s Community Campaign Co-ordinator Darragh O’Connor  “ LCDP’s created over 6000 new jobs in 2011 at a cost of just €5000 per job  compared to a cost of over €12000 for each job created by Enterprise Ireland. How can it make sense to have their budgets cut again? Many childcare CE projects are on the point of collapse because of changes made to entitlements for lone parents. A continuance of this “slash and burn” approach in this next budget will bring about the closure of many of these companies along with the loss of vital community services.”

Elaine Harvey from the Galway City Partnership explained “We are organising through SIPTU to defend our jobs and our services. On Saturday we will send a strong message to government-if you continue to cut our funding, our communities will take the fight directly to the doorsteps of the politicians who vote for these cuts. There will be no hiding place.”

The Communities Against Cuts Campaign is one of the four main organisations behind Saturdays march alongside The Dublin Council of Trade Unions, The Spectacle of Defiance and Hope and the Campaign against Household and Water Taxes. Marchers will assemble at Parnell Square from 1pm this Saturday 24^th November.