When the Combat Poverty Agency started work 20 years ago, unemployment was at 17 per cent and 28,000 people left Ireland annually. We've come a long way, writes Helen Johnston
A significant milestone in meeting the challenge of ensuring that Ireland is free from poverty will be achieved this week when the Combat Poverty Agency celebrates its 20th year in existence.
The occasion is a proud one for me personally as director and also for our board members and staff - present and past. Together, we have been at the heart of formulating and influencing policies that have improved the lives of people living in poverty.
This week, we are not only looking back with pride at what we have achieved over the past two decades but also looking forward with confidence to playing a continuing central role in shaping economic and social policies that can tackle poverty in Ireland.
The Ireland of today is a much different place to the Ireland of 1986 when the Combat Poverty Agency was founded. In that year, 17 per cent of Ireland's workforce was unemployed, emigration had reached 28,000 annually and almost 16 per cent of people were living in consistent poverty.
The continuing vibrancy of Ireland's economic growth makes it easy to forget how much circumstances have changed and the extent to which Ireland has progressed economically and socially.
But not even this economic transformation has changed the fact that many people in Ireland continue to experience poverty.
For example, a study published in 1989 found that, while shortage of money was a factor, issues such as illiteracy, the quality of healthcare, the stigma attached to poverty, public housing policy and the additional burden on women were all prominent. Many of these factors remain today.
Employment continues to be the best route out of poverty. The fact that unemployment has been reduced to 4.4 per cent and that the economic boom has attracted an estimated 50,000 people each year to live and work in our country makes it easy to gloss over the reality that poverty continues to exist. But not everyone can take up a job.
Carers, pensioners, lone parents and people with disabilities may not be in a position to access employment. In fact our research shows 7 per cent of the population are living on incomes of less than €185 per week and are deprived of basic items such as heating, balanced meals, new clothes, strong shoes or waterproof coats because they can not afford them.
Combat Poverty has conducted extensive research and analysis of poverty in Ireland over the past 20 years. The advice and policy proposals that we have presented to successive governments has been informed by this research and also by evaluations of the innovative projects that we established.
From its very inception, the Combat Poverty Agency has positioned itself as a driving force for change - piloting, supporting and evaluating initiatives which were subsequently adopted as part of the mainstream.
We have, for example, introduced programmes which have supported individuals and groups experiencing poverty to work together to bring about positive changes in their lives and the lives of their communities.
The Local Government Programme that we set up in 1999 put anti-poverty and social inclusion work at the heart of local Government. It created a strong foundation for integrated local anti-poverty initiatives and facilitated the roll-out and implementation of the National Anti-Poverty Strategy at local level.
Since 1994 we have also played a central role in promoting social inclusion and building peace, through the EU-funded Peace Programme in the Border region.
The huge volume of research that Combat Poverty has conducted over the years provides an insight into and understanding of all the issues relevant to the lives of people living in poverty. This research has been the basis of a wide range of policy reforms - and one of the reasons why Combat Poverty played such an integral role in the development of the National Anti-Poverty Strategy. Ireland was one of the first countries in Europe to have such a strategy.
The launch of the strategy in 1997 represented one of the most significant developments to have taken place in Ireland over the past 20 years. Combat Poverty has continued to support and monitor the strategy and to advise the Government on measures to improve its implementation and delivery.
We have long held the view that the causes of poverty are structural and that there is a role to play for most Government departments in tackling them. Factors such as poor health, disability, lack of education, unemployment and lack of affordable childcare prevent people from being able to access an adequate income and cause poverty.
Our most recent research shows that one in five people in Ireland are at risk of poverty. We have also determined that the cost of putting a nutritious and well-balanced meal on the table can account for between 40 and 80 per cent of the weekly income of families living on social welfare.
Another point that people often fail to appreciate is that poverty is much more than simply having no money. For children, it could mean not being able to afford to attend birthday parties or school trips. For adults, it could mean not being able to afford to have friends over for a meal. This causes people to feel excluded and ashamed.
The Combat Poverty Agency has been especially conscious of the important role that people in poverty can themselves play in bringing about social change and in informing anti-poverty policies. Policies for tackling poverty work better if people in poverty are consulted in their design and implementation.
There is no denying the seismic shift that has taken place in Ireland's economic fortunes and this success presents many new challenges for the Combat Poverty Agency. Access to services, the geographic factors that cause poverty and the importance of responding to challenges presented by our new multicultural society are all issues that will be examined by the Combat Poverty Agency as we move forward.
The coming year promises to be an exciting one. Highlights of the programme that we have put in place to mark our 20th anniversary include the publication of a book on welfare reform and the launch of a comprehensive photographic exhibition depicting the changing face of poverty in Ireland over the past two decades. We also look forward to a board and staff reunion and to meeting friends old and new.
Helen Johnston is the director of Combat Poverty