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WHEN I WAS 21, I went to a job interview in the community of Bluebell in Dublin.
The role of Community Development Drug Worker was up for grabs and although I knew I was good at my job as a drug worker, I had no idea what community development meant.
Community development is the process by which community members come together to take collective action. Community development workers aim to build stronger and more resilient local communities.
I got the job and my understanding of society from that day on was built on the principles of community development.
The more I worked within the community development framework, the more I realised that community development is a radical approach to inequality based on changing society from the ground up.
But little did I know at the time that I was stepping into the eye of the storm – as community development programmes soon came under attack.
Citizens as agenda shapers
Ahead of a debate this week in the Seanad, I spoke to lots of community development workers to find out what is the state of play in the sector today.
Community development is about profound transformative change and is a sign of a robust, strong democracy.
It aims to create a deep participative democracy rather than the highly centralised one we have today. It asks questions as to what it means to live a good life, to be happy or to flourish.
To be the decision makers and agenda shapers in your own community and your own environment underpins any real inclusive equal society and the framework of community development is central to that objective.
Communities and society as a whole lose out if we don’t have active citizens.
We must understand that not everyone has the same opportunities to follow their dreams. The deck is stacked and this is due to the endemic nature of inequality in Irish society.
Landscape of Inequality
In one important book that examines inequality - Equality: From Theory to Action, by John Baker – the authors introduce the landscape metaphor. This is a good way of looking at the issue because inequality is literally built into the fabric of our towns and cities.
The poor live together and the rich live together and seldom shall the twain meet. The difference is that the poor have little choice.
Powerful groups monopolise privilege and power in various ways. They have control over resources and to a large extent our political and educational institutions, I know this now because I too benefit from the capital that I speak about.
Community development is one part of a broader egalitarian movement that seeks to change those structures, and tip the balance of the scales back a bit in the direction of equality.
I myself am a product of the community development approaches that seek to upskill citizens from disadvantaged communities.
Like me, many of those community development workers and project managers are the products themselves of the once championed approach – but now community development has been systematically dismantled and society is losing its best resource for change.
Systematically dismantled
The community development sector has been the subject of a relentless onslaught in recent years which continues to the present day.
The social researcher Brian Harvey has documented this shift in detail. He estimated that over a third of all funding to the community sector was removed during the austerity period.
The dismantling of the National Community Development Programme and replacing it with the much more narrowly focused Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme was hugely significant and has had profoundly negative consequences.
Eight consecutive austerity budgets gutted the community sector at every level and in every part. Neither the structures nor the money has ever been restored nor is there any indication that they will be.
A strong argument can be made that austerity suited those in political power, offering an excuse to cut projects which could have created sources of dissent or even competition.
The project closures and the programme cuts have become the new normal.
Despite appearances, austerity didn’t end and it continues in the community sector right up to the present. It has just donned a different garb now.
State agencies like the HSE and the City Council are redrawing the landscape in colours that suit them. If we fund you we will tell you what you can do is the unwritten command.
We can see this in the review of Drugs Task Forces currently being carried out by the HSE. The HSE is disregarding the new National Drug and Alcohol Strategy and writing its own set of rules.
These new regimes are being brought in under the seemingly irrefutable logic of ‘good governance’. This manifests itself in ever-increasing demands for quantitative evidence of inputs, outputs and throughputs, performance indicators and logic models.
The focus of these is usually on the isolated individual who appears as if they have emerged from nowhere and can cure all of their own ills through acts of sheer individual will.
This refusal to acknowledge the existence of the economic and social contexts within which lives are lived and how these need to change has become a de facto policy of state agencies.
The focus gets ever narrower and instrumental, therefore it becomes depoliticised.
Community development projects give way to by employment and training projects, it’s as if we are going backwards. The commissioning process ensures that those organisations who bid the lowest win the contract.
If we are ever to change the landscape of deep inequality in Ireland, we must restore the community development organisations that aimed to build strength and resilience in disadvantaged communities.
Only by tackling inequality head-on can we move towards an Ireland where each child has an opportunity to pursue their dreams.
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We can start by citizens being responsible for their own actions and those of their children
@Jayo Breathneach: second last paragraph …….
@Jayo Breathneach: both communities have issues but in general yes children from disadvantaged areas account for most of the juvenile offending (joyriding)committed despite massive funding for initiatives to keep them in school and away from crime .
@Quentin Moriarty: Totally agree. I live on the border of an two areas. One is disadvantaged and the other less so. The local shops are terrorized every day by those from the less privileged community while many of their parents drink in the local pub. That’s a fact, not a myth.
@Quentin Moriarty: “massive funding” If you believe your ridiculous words god help you. Funding to any and all such schemes has been decimated as billions funneled to banks and private landlords. If you are going to be honest or at very least educated on facts of the matter you are drooling about
@Quentin Moriarty: “massive funding” If you believe your ridiculous words god help you. Funding to any and all such schemes has been decimated as billions funneled to banks and private landlords. If you are going to be honest or at very least educated on facts of the matter you are drooling about Hey
@Quentin Moriarty: Why would they be responsible for the actions of their children? Aren’t their children their own people? Maybe not exactly what the laws says. But in reality children have their own free will, you can’t really control them (not that you should).
Also why is everyone blaming poor people? Surely they can’t be the biggest cause of this country’s problems when they would have the least power. They more than likely cause themselves more trouble than anyone else with their “joyriding”. Sort of just ignoring the real issue really. Which kind of is the real issue in my opinion.
@sean cooney: “Children have their own free will. You cant really control them”!? Really? A good place to start would be to show them a good example and educate them as to what is the right thing. Lead by example and act like a responsible human being and your kids will follow.
@Quentin Moriarty: Most citizens are – what is your next suggestion?
@Frank Butler: but it’s those who aren’t that cause most grief in society despite being far fewer in numbers
@Brian Conway: in excess of 1.5 million spent last year on the Deis Programme
Hi, Lynn. We should start a campaign encouraging people to make good life decisions. Somebody offers you drugs, say no, good life decision. Somebody proposes to steal something, say no, good life decision. One of your friends is a bit of a liability, cut them out, good life decision. Not enjoying school, stick at it, good life decision. Will I drink cans in a field or stay at home and study, study, good life decision. Should I practice safe sex or take my chances, safe sex, good life decision. I think this is better than encouraging folk to blame everything but themselves for their ailments in life.
@Derek Goulding: ye the say no to drugs line has always worked. Are you Nancy Reagan or did you just lead a really boring life? Seriously have u never ever given in to temptation ?
@Derek Goulding: All purely subjective. Those aren’t all necessarily bad things, or at least not to everyone they aren’t. You can’t just tell people how to live their lives. Maybe if encouragement was all it was, but I don’t have that much faith in people… best case scenario, people are made to feel like dirt for not doing as everyone else does. Which is already the case, no?
Lynn, with all due respects, making generalised, sweeping Statements like ” we need to change society…” does not cut with a lot of people. You may think you – or anyone else- can change the world/country because you hold particular views or have particular experiences, but that may not be the same for everyone. Do what you do by all means, but dont act as though you represent everybody, or everyone ought to follow your objectives. The Journal are obviously giving you massive publicity, not sure why. I have difficulties with some of your views eg prev article around giving 2nd ( = multiple, in reality, because of our courts system) ‘ chance’ to convicted Criminals.
@Margate: Does a improved and more equal society not benefit everyone? Everyone of course except those with a vested interest in the status. Dear o dear
@Brian Conway: sorry, what does ‘ except those with a vested interest in the status” mean??
@Margate: Oh dear. I left out the word quo, status quo is clearly and obviously what I meant. Surely you have the intellect to see that small error. If not should you really be commenting at all?
@Brian Conway: You would have seemed like the intelligent one if you hadn’t gone and left that last comment…
@Brian Conway: improved and more equal.
Well “improve” is by definition beneficial but “more equal” is more complicated. There are many ways you could make society more “equal” that would be to the massive detriment of society as a whole, including those at the bottom.
@Michael Herron: please explain because by definition a more equal society would mean those at the bottom are better off as far as I can see
No lynne, if you make rules, you start at the top and work down
@Noel O’Neill: All the rules come from the Troika… “John Perkins, Former Advisor IMF.
“My job was to identify countries with resources that corporations covert, like oil and then arrange a huge loan to that country from the World Bank or from one of its sister organisations. The money however would not go to the country, it would go to our own corporations who would make huge profits, but the majority of the people would suffer terrible as a result, because money would be diverted from Education, Healthcare and other Social Services to pay interest on the debt.”
What happened when the IMF moved in and the debt couldn’t be repaid?
“We go back into that country and say, since you can’t pay your debt, sell your resource oil or whatever real cheap to our corporations without any environmental restrictions or, or social regulations. Privatise, sell your electric utilities, your water, sewage systems, your schools, your jails, all your public sector businesses to our corporations, and in the few cases where we failed economic hitman, the jackals went in and still do and aah, they either assassinate the leaders of the country or overthrow them in coups.”
Lynn, I would also like to know your views around the ‘ Activists’ that stormed Minister Harris’s private family home today, what is your take on this event?
@Margate: Have you seen the actual photos of the protest? They were quiet, they were orderly, they were on the other side of the road, they had their backs to Simon Harris’ house. There was a Garda presence, and the Gardai had no issue with the behaviour of the protesters. They didn’t storm anyone’s house. I don’t agree necessarily that protesting outside someone’s house is a good idea, but please be factual
@Una Morris: Every persons home is sacrosanct, & should be exempted from public protest actions, no matter what. TDs families are not to be intimidated in any circumstances, the appropriate setting for demonstrations are the place of work. Those involved would object to any similar outside their homes, & probably seek Garda attention.
@Una Morris: so if a group of people who were not happy with your decisions (or lack of) at work, decide to stand around with banners outside your private family home, on a sunday, you wouldnt mind as long as it was “peaceful”!!
This woman grates on me. Why do the journal give her so much air time??
This “disadvantage” chip she has is getting old and boring. She goes on about being from a disadvantaged area, drugs lack of opportunity etc. She is a woman in her 30s, who chose to leave school young, chose to have children young….who happened to live in tallaght. But she had a supportive family, transport links to colleges, extra financial support for third level and for childcare. She has used her education, all the money from taxpayers to work for the senate…again paid by tax payers. She is part of the elite now she gives out about.
Whats new in this article, as one working in the field words dont mean action
Does she not know or believe that prior to so called austerity (not new to the poor) funding was squandered in hair raising ways on inept schemes and individuals. Does she not also know that great many who somehow came up through so called community development will net look back at where they came from, does she not realise that before and during the austerity shop keepers and other Gombeens in small towns held/hold their rural clients in total disdain.. that goodness for Aldi and Lidil because these blighted rurals shop in both, not to suffer disdain from quality street Belmullet for example, it is laughable to an outsider, if it weren’t so pernicious. You can smell the quality’s stink as you approach the pearl of the west..the bay is clogged with their effluence. Attitudes have to change, the so called have nots must value themselves and their contributions to keeping small town’s alive, they must demand better service, better pricing, partake in decision making locally, and not brown their noses in so doing.
We need more people like Lynn in government tbh.
Communist in a nuttshell
Counterpoint: seldom in history has ‘radical change’ to an entire society not resulted in widespread death and destruction.
@Patrick Swan: It took the EU 40 years…
May I suggest supporting the development of technology to empower citizens to hold polluters and governments accountable to eradicate pollution by democratizing access to data and information which can change human and institutional behaviour by allowing unrestricted access to scientific investigation? #LitterWorldCup
“We must understand that not everyone has the same opportunities to follow their dreams”.
I am sick of our culturing changing to follow the culture of the US. We begin by blindly following everything they do even down to how they use their language but language is the gateway to adopting a foreign culture. Following dreams is an American excuse to not to look after the poor as the American dream being sold is to become rich, to walk on others, to work long hours for little pay and then sell this as a way to get to the American Dream. It isn’t a dream but a social nightmare.
The biggest lie in Ireland is that we have a democracy, we don’t even have a currency of our own. It is this that caused austerity that caused the Troika to turn bank debt into tax payers debt and it seems major policies here are controlled by the IMF in all the major areas of life through the government. If we had democracy here then we would have an opposition but we don’t even have our own sovereignty or our own currency. https://web.archive.org/web/20170512205649/https://www.fiannafail.ie/speech-by-ff-leader-micheal-martin-at-dail-seanad-session-with-michel-barnier/
“We want nothing to do with a backward-looking idea of sovereignty.
We remain absolutely committed to the ideals of the European Union.
We see the Union for what it is – the most successful international organisation in world history.”
We can’t tackle inequality head-on when our governments policies are those created by the IMF as seen with austerity, Job Path, Property tax, water charges etc etc. Look at nurses pay, doctors pay, mortgage rates, price of food and bills. None of that can be hidden by dreams or can the homeless?
There is NO democracy in Ireland, we are the Vichy state of the EU AND we don’t have any opposition in the Dail either…
Lyn well said.
I was voluntaryCommunity activist for forty years and at one point there were over one hundred community groups in Ballymun and ngo agencies to support.
Now there’s not even a handful.
Check my book which highlights just how powerful community acting together is.
Here’s link to book It’s Written in Concrete.
http://www.themanuscriptpublisher.com/bookshop/its-written-in-concrete-by-seamus-kelly
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