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AS YOU READ these words, tens of thousands of vulnerable children and adults across Ireland are without access to vital services, appropriate care, and disability support. Our community health and social services are at a moment of true structural crisis. This crisis is a direct result of a widening pay gap faced by state-funded organisations, which has today resulted in catastrophic recruitment and retention challenges and understaffed services.
Examples of this crisis abound. As reported recently in The Journal, the recently published Nowhere to Turn report from the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) has found that “The failure of the HSE to implement key systemic recommendations as summarised below is having a detrimental effect on children and families.” The report details cases of children with severe intellectual disabilities, complex behavioural needs, autism and ADHD stranded in hospitals and respite centres, and of families left with no home support services, for months at a time.
Likewise, one of the major addiction services in this country is now unable to accept as many clients as they would have previously. Having lost 40-50% of its staff in the last year alone, they are struggling to find experienced people to replace those who moved on. Less-experienced staff cannot reasonably handle as much work as experienced employees, nor provide care to the same high standard, so the service is forced to reduce the number of individuals it can provide care for or risk a serious falloff in the quality of that care.
In Ireland, our “hybrid model” of providing public services—where the State funds charities to offer certain essential services and supports—is, like those it is supposed to provide for, suffering from a chronic lack of care. An Independent Review Group, appointed by the Government to examine the role of voluntary organisations in publicly funded health and personal social services, found that these organisations deliver approximately one-quarter of publicly funded acute hospital care and around two-thirds of disability services. In fact, these organisations collectively account for more than a quarter of the total health budget each year.
Despite their indispensable role, however, community and voluntary service providers are grappling with a pay and staffing crisis that is blocking access to and affecting the quality of vital services. This crisis stems from the stark pay gap between staff working in these organisations and those in the civil service who perform similar, often identical, roles. Current funding levels provide for salaries that will be, on average, 12% lower than civil-service salaries by October of this year.
The consequences of this crisis extend far beyond the organisations themselves; they jeopardise the delivery of essential services that countless individuals and families rely on. A report published by The Wheel and TASC in June 2023 highlights the dire consequences of pay inequity: “Turnover and vacancies are increasingly forcing organisations to reduce hours and cancel services because they lack the staff to deliver them.” The vulnerability of service users and the risk of burnout among existing staff make this a matter of utmost concern.
Over time, the relationship between the State and the community and voluntary sectors has become increasingly interdependent. The scope and scale of organisations funded to deliver essential services have expanded significantly. The looming collapse of those services has transformed this issue from a pressing internal concern for charities into a full-blown public crisis. Addressing the pay deficit is one of the most serious issues facing our health service today, yet it is rarely if ever, mentioned.
It is clear that these organisations provide services on behalf of the State which are essential to the health and wellbeing of our entire population. As such, they require levels of funding that truly reflect the magnitude of their many contributions. The Government must act now to address the existing pay deficit, which traces its roots back to funding cuts imposed in 2008.
Bringing pay levels in line with public-service agreements is not just a matter of fairness; it’s a matter of maintaining the integrity of our healthcare system.
To effectively address this crisis, we urgently need comprehensive data from the HSE, Tusla, and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage which will enable us to quantify the full extent of the crisis and identify the precise amount needed to bridge these gaps. In the process of resolving this issue, we must also recognise the unique position of sector representatives as employers. While their organisations are contracted to deliver services by the state under specific funding arrangements, they have limited control over salary levels and employment benefits. Simultaneously, they are subject to industrial action from a union perspective. Engagement with relevant bodies must consider this complex interplay of factors.
The growing crisis in health and social care services has the potential to affect us all, from current and future service users to dedicated, hardworking, and underpaid staff members. It is all but a certainty that, at some stage in our lives, we, or one of our loved ones, will need to rely on the support provided by our voluntary health and social care services; unless we address this crisis, we risk the very existence of these vital providers of public wellbeing.
The organisations that provide these essential services deserve our full support, and that includes fair compensation for their employees. The time to act is now. Let’s ensure that these organisations can continue their vital work and that no one in Ireland is left without the care and support they need.
Ivan Cooper is CEO of The Wheel, the National Association of Charities.
Hope the first thing they put in Is a new name
They really need to build a new town or city way outside Dublin. Make some major incentives for businesses and eventually displace thousands of prowl and homes outside the existing cities.
people*
@iohanx: they have three of them.
@Ronan Sexton: then make them cop on
@TonyF: cause Dublin has more people in it….
@iohanx: Portlaoise and Athlone are prime locations for major development and increase in size. Both have good transport infrastructure to most major cities in country. Don’t know why government has never invested heavily in either of these two towns.
@your bustin: at least it’s Irish, remember all those Acorn downs etc built during the “tiger years”
@Ronan Sexton: No, they need to start from scratch similar to a Canberra or Washington DC (but not a requirement for a capital city). A place with no baggage and a new start for tens of thousands. It will eventually suck people in from all over the country freeing up housing in the other populous areas. Build it and they will come as they say.
@Nathan Mawhinney: Dublin took and I repeat “took” around € 400 million strategic EU funding that was given to the rest of the country.
There was proposed to bring in an integrated ticketing service for Dublin allowing Dubs to jump from The Dart to the bus and by the time it came about they could also use The Luas with one ticket. At the time it was proposed The Minister for Transport was Mary O’ Rourke and the cost was supposed to be € 25 million or it could have been punts. By the time The Leap was introduced no doubt the cost has gone up by millions. In the meantime if one of us living outside of Dublin who want to visit we’ll say Saint Vincent’s Hospital you have to go to for instance Galway station buy a ticket to Dublin and then make your way to Connelly or whatever and buy a new ticket for that and buy another ticket to get to Sydney Parade. I am glad that Dublin is more attractive to hoards I would hate rest of the country.
@your bustin: why not a bad place to live as I have for the past almost 40 years. Would Developers Envelope be ok or wink and a nod..
Scandalously low density for such a prime site on a major railway line into town. Could fit 40,000 homes here, not 8,000. Build high density apartment blocks and reduce the number of houses and parks. Sick of this Irish obsession with acres of parks in the middle of the city, go out into the countryside if you want to play on grass. We cannot build a well functioning city if we all think we’re entitled to a front and back garden, as well as a park on all sides. Need to grow up.
@Fred Jensen: your vision Fred of no parks sounds like a great place to bring up children
Fred, a big issue is grid locked roads in the area and every home having two cars…the decision to keep the house density low might be wise because of this.
And don’t mention trains…they are too expensive and everyone doesn’t work in the city center which is just about the only major work place they deliver workers near.
@John Power:
Didn’t say no parks, just fewer. Please tell us how they manage to bring up kids in New York, London and Hong Kong.
@Fred Jensen: Is the Hong Kong blueprint the type of environment you want for future generations ?
@Fred Jensen: Grass-hole , have kids you muppet then tell them you have chosen to live in an apartment to alleviate density issues within the planning law . Muppet
@Fred Jensen: The difference between Hong Kong/ New York and Clonburris is the former have some of the best transport networks in the world, where Clon B has nothing, no light rail, no proper Bus service and wait for it, no road system to move 15 to 20000 residents. You must have proper planning before plopping 200000 people in the middle of the Suburbs or else you will have a social time bomb in 20 years time. I say that as a resident and parent living in the locality..
@John Power: that is what they did in Ballymun
@Fred Jensen:
Shut up Fred, you have a problem for every solution.
@Fred Jensen: this is why ballymun didn’t work….
Too many people with no amenities… we’ve learned our lesson I think.
@Fred Jensen: In the app there is a great feature “mute Fred Jensen”. Problem solved nicely!
@Fred Jensen: Yeah make it like China with no pure air to breath.
I’m sure it’ll rival the other great mass development in Dublin: Adamstown. Think of all the services and finished houses and roads they got!
@The Throwaway: it’s right beside Adamstown!!! About 200 metres from the western edge of Clonburris to the eastern edge of Adamstown. God help us all who live in the area. It’s like being a prisoner in your own home at peak times. And it will only get worse because the Council won’t insist on public transport providers providing a minimum level of service. 400 metres from a bus stop is no use if there are no or few buses!
@Kevin Farrell: Is that accurate Kevin?
Adamstown 2.0
@Tommy Roche: what happened to Adamstown? Some of it was built surely. But let me guess stopped half way thru.
The urban sprawl in Dublin needs to stop. We really need to start building up closer to to the city center down along the dock lands.
Before the preserve every pile of rubble brigade chim in. Dublin city centre dose have many beautiful buildings but there is also a many many ugly and derelict buildings that need to be knocked.
@Thomas Maher: I don’t think it’s a decision that particular developer can make.
@Thomas Maher: I walked thru Dublin city centre last night and while there are occasional examples of good design most of the modern buildings in Dublin are nothing more than unimaginative box shaped structures that contribute nothing to a city with so much potential
To all the professional moaners and complainers here, there is a public consultation process to which I’d like to draw your attention, before you run out of ammo here on the Journal..
@psychiatrist: but I want to moan and complain here! Too lazy to go to the consultation.
Step in the right Direction. .
@The Viking: 8000 houses announced. All I read is complaints.” Oh you cant name it this” .” Surely they could build more than 8000 on that land” By the way. The builder never named it. That patch of land has gone by that name for generations.. As i said. A step in the right direction.
They really should push for Adamstown to be finished first.
Couldn’t pay me to move there!
@Paul: where do you live?
@Paul: not since that ridiculous bill was defeated. How it works is you pay the developer to live there.
@DarkHorse: my Rented Dublin property is near 3Arena
@Matt Connolly: well those on the housing list will have it paid for then!
right beside 2 halting sites, No thanks
Looks like a disaster waiting to happen.
A ghetto in the making.
Should ban the parents driving the kids to school seeing as they are so close.
Let’s hope they build some schools to go with the houses. Usually an afterthought.
@Sean @114: did you even read the arrticle?
@Jim: damn contact lenses. They with their ‘post primary’ schools. Whatever happened to ‘secondary’? Nice to see some foresight for a change.
Give the kids plenty of football pitches to play on.
Wonder will sdcc stick to the plans or will they give in to the demands of developers and change at will. Example Adamstown with little or no amenities. Sold an expensive dream; given something completely different.
Still no plan for a subway system or an integrated affordable transport system then?….. or a directly elected mayor with responsibility for representing the wishes of Dubliners?…. but great a new suburb with all the traffic and more congestion
This SDZ is right beside the Adamstown SDZ – about 200 metres from the western edge of Clonburris to the eastern edge of Adamstown! God help us all who live in the area. It’s like being a prisoner in your own home at peak times. And it will only get worse because the Council won’t insist on public transport providers providing a minimum level of service. 400 metres from a bus stop is no use if there are no or few buses! Bus lanes are no use if there are no buses. The Kishoge train station was built years ago at a cost of millions and remains closed to this day.
Paul gogarty .. :)
The answer is not extending Dublin’s sunurbian sprawl but, instead, to limit it by decentralising more Government offices & service delivery centres thereby decluttering
the CBD and accommodating CBD workers.
This is a load of arse
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