Please see below an Open Letter sent today to Ministers O'Donohoe and McGrath from umbrella organisations representing voluntary service providers.
This is the first time that all organisations, covering HSE, TUSLA and overall state agency service provision have issued a joint warning on the threat to the continuation of service delivery to tens of thousands of families - due to chronic underfunding of their service provision services relative to that of direct state provision.
***
Open letter for the attention of :
Mr Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Finance
Mr Michael McGrath, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Thurs. Sept. 22nd 2022
Dear Ministers Donohoe and McGrath,
Systemic, long-term underfunding of charities and voluntary bodies that deliver essential public services now threatens the very viability of these services to tens of thousands of vulnerable people supported on a daily basis by our organisations.
Cuts imposed following the economic crash of 2008, reversed for virtually all areas except in much of our sector, mean that delivery of a diverse range of HSE, Tusla and homeless services is fast becoming untenable.
This funding starvation means, for example, that an estimated 7,000 people approved for home care remain on waiting lists.
The future sustainability and viability of public services must be addressed now.
Next week’s Budget must provide an additional €100m in urgent funding and be combined with multi-annual funding provision.
The new public sector pay agreement must be applied equitably to support the recruitment and retention of all qualified public service delivery personnel in the voluntary sector.
This issue can no longer be ignored.
The Government has a duty to ensure that essential services for tens of thousands of families are not fatally undermined in the months ahead.
Sincerely,
Suzanne Connolly, CEO of Barnardos
John Dolan, CEO, Disability Federation of Ireland
Deirdre Garvey, CEO, The Wheel (the national association of charities)
Alison Harnett, CEO, National Federation of Voluntary Service Providers
Sharon Harty, Acting CEO, National Voluntary Drug and Alcohol Sector
Fiacre Hensey, CEO, National Community Care Network
Catherine Kenny, Chairperson, Dublin Homeless Network
Wayne Stanley, Head of Policy and Communications, Simon Communities of Ireland
c.c. An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin
An Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar
Minister Eamon Ryan
Minister Stephen Donnelly
Minister Helen McEntee
Minister Roderic O’Gorman
Minister Anne Rabbitte
Fiona O’Connor, Special Advisor
Grant Sweetnam, Special Advisor.
- ENDS-
