Community Workers Co-Operative Funding Withdrawn

national | rights, freedoms and repression | feature Monday January 24, 2005 19:10 by Pastor Niemoller

Government Silences Alternative Voices (Again)

Funding for the Community Workers Co-Operative (CWC) has been withdrawn. In a brazen and cynical move by Ministers Eamonmn O Cuiv and Noel Ahern, the coalition government have moved into an even more extreme right wing position by silencing this alternative voice which has distinguished itself with its honest and direct analysis of Irish social and economic issues, from a community development perspective.

The Community Workers Co-Operative was founded in the early 1980s by a group of community activists supported by academics who were committed to social change, and who saw little evidence of government commitment to tackle poverty and inequality. This writer joined the organisation at a time when Ireland's action against poverty and inequality had been marked by the first Combat Poverty Programme. Older readers will remember how these projects were dotted around Ireland, and how they challenged local and national structures and practices which perpetuated powerlessness.

Oh, and how the vested interests howled. When a knitting co-op was formed to assist women in Donegal to sell their products direct to retailers, the discommoded middle-man had the staff of the project threatened with losing their jobs. In Kerry, the local CP project started asking questions about how the local national schools, paid for by local contributions, were being taken over by the church-controlled St. Brendan’s Trust, who were selling them to various scouting and other groups, and keeping the cash for diocesan use. Howls of outrage were expressed by T.D.s and others who denounced the staff as communists, which in 1970s Ireland still managed to inspire fear and dark thoughts in the average person. In Knocknaheeny in Cork, the CP staff wondered aloud if it was right that the local Catholic clergy could impose their will on the local people by building a segregated national school when the majority of parents preferred a mixed school. Newspaper headlines and speeches in the Dáil denounced the project as being radical and a threat to social stability, and there were calls for the project, all projects of its kind, to be shut down. The threats were carried out a little later when the government decided "not to extend the programme", a familiar euphemism for axing an unpopular activity.

Fast forward 25 years. The present day version of those projects, albeit a much tamer version, are the Community Development Projects dotted around the country, and the larger single issue national community-of-interest groups such as the One Parent Exchange Network, Pavee Point, Focus Ireland, and others. These organisations operate in a different context, where groups representing the socially excluded have been co-opted into partnership type relationships with state agencies. This co-option took place with the promise of those organisations having an influence on those state policies which they wished to change.

In the early days, figures like Proinsias de Rossa and, believe it or not, Michael Woods of Fianna Fail, supported the principle of communities representing their issues, and receiving state support to buy in the technical expertise to do so. In the years 1989 to 2002 the community and voluntary sector exploded with activity of a type not previously known in this country as the Community Development Programme was established. Many of the community activists who led campaigns in their own communities from the 60s to the 80s found employment in the Programme. The establishment of the Maynooth youth and community development courses afforded many of these working class activists to gain the skills needed to work in the professional roles. These formed the back bone of the Programme, which was supported nationally by the Combat Poverty Agency.

As the CDPs grew in number and size, several projects developed their work around specific issues, and got closer to the ideal of real partnership with the relevant government agencies and local authorities. Issues such as housing, disability, literacy, unemployment, racism, sexism, Traveller rights, xenophobia and others were taken up within the local communities as well as nationally, with the CDPs facilitating actions that were decided locally. These projects were a breath of fresh air at a time when you could get nothing without going through a T.D. Now suddenly you could walk into a local community resource centre and become involved in groups who were able to empower you with information, skills, and collective action.

The development of the CDP was supported hugely by the Community Workers Co-operative, who kept their eye on the broader issues of social justice, and who managed to anchor project staff and management members in the reality of a country which remained socially and economically deeply divided.

The magazine produced by the Co-Op carried articles which did not pull back from hard hitting messages and analysis.

Now it seems, the CWC is no longer going to be given the government resources to continue its work. Between them, Eamonn O Cuiv at (091)562846 and Noel Ahern at (01) 8882581 have apparently decided that the CWC is too hot to handle. In spite of a very positive evaluation study carried out just weeks ago by the government department itself, they have been told that their funding has been withdrawn.

It is reminiscent of the shameful treatment of the Citizen Traveller campaign, who had their funding cut by an irate Minister McDowell, who did not like the direct tone of their message about the injustice of the anti-trespass legislation. He used the excuses that the Citizen Traveller Campaign should not have used the image of the Irish flag in their advertising campaign, and that the campaign should not have called the Irish government racist for adopting the law.

In the case of the CWC, however, the department apparently has not thought of an excuse yet!

It is important that the Taoiseach at (01) 8374129 and the two ministers whose numbers are above, hear from people who object to the withdrawal of funding. Whatever area of social justice work you are involved in, whether funded or not, you must recognise the agenda of this government who have etched even further into a right wing position by cutting this funding. What will go next?