Partnership is axed in Ballymun

LAST week’s decision to axe the Ballymun-Whitehall Partnership has been described as an

“outright attack

? on local communities.

As reported last month in Northside People, this crushing outcome was widely anticipated as part of the introduction of the Social Inclusion and Activation Programme (SICAP), due to be rolled out on April 1.

SICAP will be financed by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

However, funding for partnerships in Dublin – also known as Local Development Companies (LDC) – is expected to be cut by an estimated

?¬742,000.

The Ballymun-Whitehall and Tolka Area Partnerships were both invited to submit tenders as part of the public procurement process.

Last week, it emerged that the Tolka Area Partnership’s bid had been successful, which has come as a bitter blow to local community groups in the Ballymun area.

The Ballymun-Whitehall Partnership has operated in the area for 24 years and offers a range of services to local disadvantaged groups.

These programmes include childhood development, education, employment, enterprise, as well as economic and community development issues.

Local Independent TD Róisín Shortall described the decision to close the Ballymun-Whitehall Partnership as

“an outright attack on local communities

?.

“Ballymun-Whitehall Partnership has been a key driver of progress before and since the Ballymun regeneration project,

? Deputy Shortall stated.

“It provides absolutely vital services to Ballymun, Santry, Whitehall and parts of Ballygall and has underpinned a lot of the work of several partner community organisations such as the Job Centre, the drugs task force, Young Ballymun and lots more.

“Some of the services now in jeopardy include the Care & Repair service, certain education programmes, certain childcare services and certain employment/enterprise services.

?

She added:

“It just beggars belief that two decent community organisations, both with charitable status, were made to compete against one another to ensure their own survival.

“The whole process has divided communities at a time when they should be coming together to fight for their areas. Now there is huge uncertainty about local jobs and about local community services.

?

Gerard McLoughlin, SIPTU convenor at Ballymun-Whitehall Partnership, said the staff were

“devastated

? by the outcome of the SICAP tendering process.

“As community development professionals we have been involved in the delivery of community based services since 1991,

? Mr McLoughlin told Northside People.

“Within this profession we have played a very intimate role in the life of the community in order to ensure the continued development of our community.

“We will continue to deliver that service until March 31, in difficult circumstances, with a level of dignity and respect that we feel has not been shown to us by officials and de facto policy makers.

“For example, we believe that counterproductive policies have resulted in the stripping of resources from the partnership to the extent that our employers are unable to pay redundancies and we will have to apply to the Department of Social Protection’s emergency redundancy fund.

?

Mr McLoughlin added:

“Irrespective of this, the community of Ballymun, Whitehall and beyond have given us so much within our professions. It has been a real privilege to work within the community and we are truly very grateful.

?

A spokesperson for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Alan Kelly, said the public procurement process was a competitive one that was open to Local Development Companies, other not-for-profit community groups, commercial firms and national organisations that could provide the necessary services for the delivery of the new programme. He insisted it was not, as stated by some community activists, a move to privatise programme delivery.

“The primary focus of the Department must be to ensure that the frontline services being supported, particularly those focused on the needs of the most socially deprived communities, are protected, given the need to ensure best value for the scarce resources available at this time,

? the spokesperson stated.

He confirmed that all SICAP tenderers were notified last week of the outcome of the process, which was still ongoing. He said a 14-day standstill period remained in place and all information was still confidential.

It is expected that a small number of companies that have delivered the LCDP will not secure SICAP contracts.

“It is therefore likely that a small group of employees may face redundancy,

? the spokesperson said.

“My Department has no role in the internal operations of LDCs and, therefore, does not have a role in relation to staff or employment matters, which are for the board of each company, as the employer, to manage.

?

He noted, however, that the Department has, under certain circumstances in the past, supported organisations to ensure that statutory redundancy payments have been made available to cushion the impact of job losses occurring as a result of reductions or cessation in funding for a particular activity or company. Approval has been given for the amendment of the LCDP financial guidelines to allow for certain redundancy costs to be charged to LCDP funding, subject to the written agreement by Pobal on behalf of the Department, to the limits of spend.