€2.25

SPRING ’08

Changing IrelandChanging IrelandISSUE 24

Morale-booster

in Limerick

Parents

advised to

leave her

behind

5 projects

win awards

The National Newsletter of the COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME - funding 180 CDPs & 10 Support Agencies

INSIDE

This publication and most projects featured inside are part of the COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Getting to gripswith Community

DevelopmentMahon

men makeart

history

2changing ireland aontas is an ngo established in 1969

Published by: ‘Changing Ireland’ is published by the Community DevelopmentNetwork, Moyross, Limited, Limerick, Ireland, with funding from the Departmentof Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.Address: ‘Changing Ireland’, Community Enterprise Centre, Moyross, Limerick. Tel Editor: 061-458011.Tel Administrator: 061-458090.Fax: 061-325300.E-mail: editor@changingireland.ie

admin@changingireland.ieWebsite: www.changingireland.ie

Editor: Allen MeagherEditorial team: Niamh Walsh, Juan Carlos Azzopardi,

Viv Sadd and Allen MeagherDesign: PrintZone, Limerick.Printed by: Walsh Printing Services, Castleisland, Co. Kerry

Cover Photo: The illustrations used on the front cover on domestic violencefeature models and not actual victims.

THANKS TO . . .‘Changing Ireland’ thanks everyone involved in the production of Issue 24.

DISCLAIMERThe views expressed in this newsletter are those of the author concerned. They do not, by any means, necessarily reflect the views of the Editor, the editorial team, the management committee of the Community DevelopmentNetwork, Moyross, Ltd., or the Department of Community, Rural and GaeltachtAffairs.

Oscars forVolunteers

PRODUCED IN MOYROSS

BY THE COMMUNITY

DEVELOPMENT NETWORK

FIVE Community Development Projects in Dublin, Longford,Tipperary, Donegal and Leitrim won awards from nationalorganisations in the past year.

Three projects collected awards this February from Aontas, thenational body for adult education, another CDP won a Mediaand Multiculural Award in November and a fifth was therecipient of an Irish Times award within that past 12 months foreducational work with Travellers.

The latter project – Tallaght Travellers CDP - runs a HomeworkClub which happens to be the only after-schools homework clubfor Travellers in the State and its success has attracted a lot ofattention, though not sadly a lot of funding. Crucially, if it was notfor the volunteers, the Club could not operate at all.

And, recently, Michael O’Donnell, a volunteer from Tallaght,won a national award from Barnardos for his work as a mentorwith Tallaght Travellers CDP’s Club 2000. There are others whosework is deserving of recognition too.

The volunteers and staff in all the award-winning projectsshould be proud of their achievements and it is only right that

their work should be recognised. The significance of theseawards to the Community Development Programme is thatprojects won awards from national bodies and in three separateareas of community work.

No doubt, at local level, even more CDPs, volunteers andprojects they help initiate regularly win awards.

So, perhaps the time has come for a specific NationalVolunteer Awards Scheme within the Programme, or a widerscheme recognising volunteer work in the communitydevelopment sector in general. The scheme could be organisedfrom within the sector. But who would take on the responsibility?

It is not that volunteers are crying out for awards – some liketo do their work quietly, but a volunteer awards scheme wouldserve the dual purpose of providing recognition to everyone whois nominated while also helping to highlight the issues thevolunteers and projects are engaged in.

If one was set up, no doubt that the members of Mahon’s Men’sArt Group, featured on our front cover, would be in line for anaward. Up Cork!

EDITORIAL

Thanks Sharon Browne!A SPECIAL note of thanks to Sharon Browne. Sharon was a member of‘Changing Ireland’s Editorial Team since the magazine was established in2001. We wish her good luck and success in her new post as Co-ordinatorwith the RAPID Programme in Tralee, Co. Kerry.

Thank you from all of us!- Editorial Team members, Allen Meagher, Viv Sadd, Juan Carlos

Azzopardi and Niamh Walsh.

Support Agencies going THE Regional Support Agencies, which provide support across the State toCDPs, will not have their contracts renewed this year by the Department ofCommunity, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. The contracts are due to expire onMay 31st.

‘Changing Ireland’ put two questions to Minister of State Pat Carey on thematter. We asked does he have plans to put something else in place of theSupport Agencies, and asked if there had been a change in policy to moveaway from the independent, integrated support model.

Minister Carey replied: “The arrangements for the provision of supportservices to the Community Development Projects is currently under review.”

“My Department recognises the value of support services to the CDPs andis considering the best way to enable them, at this stage of their development,to access the support services that best meet their needs.”

The Support Agency Network has met to discuss the issue and it will bediscussed by projects at their regional forum meetings.

Volunteers in CDPs require training and support on issues such as companyboard of management procedures, employment practice, company law andaccounting. They also receive support on how to draw up workplans, setstandards, lobby for policy change and implement a community developmentapproach to their work, among other things.

Programme consultation A TOTAL of 110 submissions were made (as was reported in our last issue)for consideration by the Consultative Committee of the CommunityDevelopment Programme.

Dates have yet to be set for regional conferences which are aimed atreaching a consensus on the Programme’s future direction.

The consultative process is aimed at gaining clarity about the role of theProgramme and Projects at the national, regional and local level and to planfor the future.

3changing ireland international women’s day = march 8th

HH II GG HH LL II GG HH TT SSCork men make art historyPages 4-5

5 projects win awardsPages 6-7

Irene Ahern a volunteer since1953Page 9

Morale-booster in SouthillPage 10

Taoiseach launchesreportPage 11

Minister Ó Cuív asks do we takedisadvantage seriouslyPage 12-13

Headaches eased by changes to childcarePage 16

Minister Carey’s volunteering mindPages 14-15

Regeneration in Cork:two viewsPages 17-19

Intercultural Quilting inRoscommonPages 20-21

Honour killingsPage 24

Human rights and disabilityPages 22-23

‘UN Human Rights Declarationclocks 60Page 25

Volunteer View:with Patrick O’SullivanPage 27

4 4000 projects benefited so far from dormant a/cs changing ireland

FOR the first time in Irish modern history,bronze sculptures by non-professionalartists will go on permanent display in apublic place, the new Loughmahon Park inCork City. The work will first go ontemporary display in Cork’s new City Hall.

The work in question is four large piecessculpted by four men from Mahon’s Men’s ArtGroup, Noel Kent, Jim Barrett, DonalO’Regan and Donie Keenan. The sculptureswere a year in the making. Each one is quiteheavy – it takes two men to lift one.

It is the first time in Cork City Council’s 25year history of supporting the arts thatcommunity artists have hit such a high note.

Though they have been asked to do moresculpting work by admirers, none of the menare interested in sculpting or artwork forpersonal profit.

“It would ruin us, it would change us,”commented Noel Kent, the group’sspokesperson.

Mahon CDP has supported the group sincethe outset in 1998 and project co-ordinator,Viv Sadd, says it is “the first time I know ofwhere community artists were used toproduce work for display in a public facility.”

He marvelled at the fact that “this art willbe there forever in the community park.”

Each of the amateur (in that they do not getpaid) artists chose a theme that related to theword ‘community’ and worked to reflect theirchosen theme in their sculptures. The fourthemes are:

Build + Play + Communicate + Express =Community.

Group member, Jim Barrett, lookedsatisfied with the results, but knew it hadtaken dedication: “Not one person heremissed one night during the year.”

SUSTAINABILITYMr. Kent has been with the group from the

outset: “We got our start from a EuropeanInitiative called ‘Arts Awareness InterventionII’ and have been going since.”

Dozens of men of all ages joined the groupat different times, but as Mr. Kent says, “It’sdifficult to get men to do anything in the arts.We’ve had young lads in the group, but theirinterest drifts.”

However, Mr. Kent and his three steadfastcolleagues show that men can indeed succeedthrough art. Such is the high regard in which

the group are held that 80% of their work sellsout. The group has exhibited in the Sirius ArtsCentre and Gallery in Cobh, Co. Cork, aplace normally only available to professionalartists.

On the community development front, theyare called on from time to time to help othergroups.

“On Tuesday, I’m going up to Glen CDP tohelp them start up a men’s group there,”mentioned Mr. Kent.

At the beginning of this ground-breakingart-work, the men wondered how they couldbecome sculptors. It seemed the domain ofprofessionals, but they had patience,determination and support from the CDP andCity Hall. They also had hidden wells of talentthat sculptor Sean McCarthy worked on for ayear to bring to the surface.

“We spent three months learning to sketch,then three months casting sculptures in claybefore we were ready for working withbronze,” recalled Mr. Kent.

Looking back over a year on, the groupnow realises their talent: Mr. Barrett has beenasked to produce a sculpture for a privatecollector, while Donal O’Regan has sculpted apiece for Holy Cross Church in Mahon inmemory of a deceased parish priest.

“We could also pass on the skills ofsculpting to others,” said Mr. Kent. “We arevery proud of our work.”

No doubt their success will soon bebroadcast far and wide.

Per Cent for Art SchemeTHE Per Cent for Art Scheme was firstintroduced in Ireland in 1988 by theDepartment of Environment. It allows for oneper cent (up to a current maximum of€63,486) on a construction budget, either newbuild or repairs and maintenance to be spenton commissioning art. Funds may be pooled toallow for major commissions and diversity inthe nature of art commissioned under thescheme is encouraged.

New workerMAHON CDP has a new part-timedevelopment worker, Lynda Wakefield, who isresponsible firstly for intergenerational workand, secondly, for organising the volunteerhome visitation service. The position is fundedthrough the Dormant Accounts Fund.

Displaying their ground-breaking bronze-work: Jim Barrett, Donal O’Regan, Donie Keenan and NoelKent of the Men’s Art Group in Mahon, Cork. Second from the right is Viv Sadd, co-ordinator of MahonCDP who support the group.

Mahon Men's Art Group prefab.

Estate residents castyear’s work in bronze- Mahon men make art history

ALLEN MEAGHER reports

Community Arts in Cork

Noel's 'Express' bronzesculpture. The sculptures areall deliberately quite flat, toreduce the risk ofvandalism.

5changing ireland dormant accounts provided €187m in first 4 years

“IT'S a first for our office to commission apermanent piece for public display fromcommunity artists,” admitted a delightedMaeve Dineen, Community Arts Co-ordinatorwith Cork City Council. Her office, along withthe Parks Department, funded Mahon's Men'sArt Group to produce artwork for permanentdisplay in the new Loughmahon Park, due tobe officially opened this coming summer.“Normally, public tenders for artwork are only

open to professional artists.” It was not planned from the beginning like

this, nor did the Mahon group win a tenderingprocess: they were simply in the right place atthe right time with the right approach.

“In terms of national policy, I can't see localauthorities moving away from employingprofessional artists to employing communityartists,” added Ms. Dineen.

“We normally give the Mahon group a smallannual grant but because of their potential weasked them in late 2006 to link up with someprofessional artists. They proposed to learnsculpture, so we called in Sean McCarthy who iswith the National Sculpture Factory (based onAlbert Road, Cork). Six months of workshopsfollowed and Sean came back saying the groupwere suggesting they be given a project. It justso happened that a new green area calledLoughmahon Park was due to open and theParks Department agreed to pay the productioncosts for any sculptures they made for the park.”

Asked why City Hall should support an artgroup with only four fully-dedicated members,she replied: “It's about the quality of theengagement, not about the quantity of this orthat. We support meaningful engagement.”

“If we started out by asking the group toproduce a piece of public art, it would probablynever have materialised. It was better the waythe project developed over time. What worked

about this project was: the pace, the artist was agood communicator, the commitment from thegroup and good timing (the park being due toopen).

“And one key to our success in Mahon hasbeen the CDP. The co-ordinator, Viv Sadd, is avery dynamic person and great to keep peopleinformed and he has supported the group fromthe beginning. He makes the fundingapplications on their behalf which is a hugeresource for them.

“I'm a great believer in giving projects time tobreath. We let the group go at their own paceand it really paid off as a good investment foreveryone concerned.”

“The number one focus of any local authority’s arts policy should be on promoting access to the arts forall citizens and on an equal basis,” says Cork City Community Arts Co-ordinator, Maeve Dineen.

Arts in Cork

Cork projects engaged in artwork“I’VE got good feedback from artists whohave worked with CDPs in Cork City,” reportsCommunity Arts Co-ordinator, Maeve Dineen.

She recalled her first months in the job, whenshe began by calling around to all the CDPs inthe city: “CDPs are brilliant too for young artiststrying to make connections with communities.CDPs are good as a first port of call.”

Links have become strong with individualCDPs around the city, for exampleBallyphehane/Togher CDP.

“There are about three women’s arts groupsin Ballyphehane/Togher and the CDP theresupports a men’s group who also do arts work.The CDP there is very enthusiastic and we haveworked closely with them,” noted Ms. Dineen.

Mahon changing, but disadvantage persistsMAHON was until three decades ago knownas a marshland on the outskirts of Cork City.The local authority acquired the land forhousing and Mahon earned infamy as a placeof social disadvantage where people livedalmost cut off from the rest of Cork.

In recent years, the Celtic Tiger swept by andMahon has become famous as a focal point forshoppers throughout Munster. However,disadvantage persists in the estates and theCommunity Development Project remains avery important centre-point for residents.

Cork needed morecommunity artsEVERY local authority employs at least onearts officer. However, Cork City Council wasthe first to recruit specifically for the positionof Community Arts Co-ordinator/Officer.Maeve Dineen has been in the post for fiveyears now.

“The job was included in the Council’s firstever five-year Arts Plan because it was feltthat for a city of its size there wasn’t enoughcommunity arts happening,” said Ms.Dineen.

While specifically promoting communityart, Ms. Dineen is aware that Dublin CityCouncil employs a Community DevelopmentArts Officer, and in County Roscommonthere is a Youth and Education Arts Officer.

Other local authorities employ arts officerswhose role includes community arts.

What aboutelsewhere?FOUR patient men, Mahon CDP and CorkCity Council have succeeded in challengingperceptions in Ireland about what can beachieved within communities through art,but what about other parts of the country?

In Ballymun, Dublin, through the ‘PerCent for Arts Scheme’, a lot of collaborativework has taken place between local groupsand professsional artists under the name‘Breaking Ground’, which is the BallymunRegeneration Company’s Per Cent for ArtsProgramme.

Since 2002, Breaking Ground haslaunched many public art projects byworking with individuals, schools,community groups and local businesses.Check out www.breakingground.ie

Cost breakdownThe €15,860 investment by Cork CityCouncil in the Mahon project breaks downas follows:Artists fees €4860 paid by the Arts Office;Production cost €8,000 paid by the Parksdepartment;City hall display costs €1000 (estimate) tobe paid by the Arts Office;Installation costs €2,000 (estimate) to bepaid by the Parks department.

A first forCork CityCouncil

A first forCork CityCouncil

6changing ireland €30m going to communities this year from dormant a/cs

MAMA forAcorn projectin Longford

THE AONTAS Star Awards initiative is now inits second year and this year’s awards werepresented to 11 adult learning projectsaround the country on February 4th.

Three of the awards this year went tolearning projects initiated by CommunityDevelopment Projects. These include NorthLeitrim Womens Centre CDP, (winner in theConnaught Local Category), Letterkenny CDP(winner in the Ulster Local Category) and theParents Support Programme run byKnockanrawley Resource Centre (winner in theMunster Local Category).

Other winning projects attributed the successof their activities to strong partnerships withCDPs based in their areas. Indeed, more thana dozen CDPs featured in the nominations.

The awards were established to highlightteamwork and award recognition to adultlearning projects and this year the number ofprojects nominated rose to 131 - over threetimes the number received in 2007.

Berni Brady, Director of AONTAS, believesthis increase is due to the initiative gainingpopularity within the sector, but also that thereis a broader understanding of what constitutesadult and community education.

“Many of the projects nominated werestarted by Community Development Projectsand these awards give us the opportunity tohighlight the valuable contribution that the

Community Development Programme makes toadult learning.”

“Community development and communityeducation share common principles such ascommunity ownership and management, localdecision making and both have the activeparticipation of local people in all aspects ofthe work. For many CDPs, communityeducation is the process used to understandlocal issues of concern and develop locallybased responses to these issues.

“The Community Development Programmehas played a major role in increasing the levelof adult education initiatives on offer andsupporting adult learners to engage in alearning experience that is based on theirneeds. This is particularly important forlearners who have experienced disadvantagein their lives,” added Ms Brady.

One of last year's winners was Tuam CDPand Loretta Needham summarised howwinning a STAR award benefited their project:

“First of all we raised our profile and gainedmore media coverage. Secondly, I think wewere taken more seriously as a group after wewere given the award. We developed aparticular approach to English classes forimmigrants which was highly successful andwhich has now been replicated by the VEC.Finally it was great for participants in theproject to get the acknowledgement theydeserve. Sometimes we're so swamped herethat we don't get the time to acknowledge thegreat work that goes on.”

The AONTAS STAR Awards ceremonymarked the opening of the AONTAS AdultLearners' Festival which ran from February4th to February 8th.

• Niamh Farren works as CommunicationsOfficer with Aontas. For more information,contact: AONTAS The National Adult LearningOrganisation, 2nd Floor, 83-87 Main Street,Ranelagh, Dublin 6. T: 01-406 8220/1.

F: 01-4068227. E: mail@aontas.com

3 projects scoop awardsat adult education Oscars

ACORN CDP’s chairperson, Peter Clyne,accepted a Metro Eireann Media andMulticultural Award on behalf of his project ata ceremony in Dublin in late November. AcornCDP, based in Longford town, won the awardin the group category for its work inorganising a Multicultural Family Fun Day.

“Our approach was one of partnership. Webrought together the community and voluntarysector and state agencies to address racismand promote interculturalism in CountyLongford,” said Mr. Clyne.

CDP co-ordinator, Josephine Stroker,explained the background to the project:“Ireland is now a multicultural nation and whilethe majority of Irish people recognize this as abenefit to our society and indeed our economythere is unfortunately still a significant numberof people who would prefer to keep Ireland forthe Irish.”

It was with this in mind that Acorn CDP andthe Nigerian Professionals in Diaspora with thesupport of many other agencies decided to runan intercultural family fun day last summer. Thiswas also tied in with National Play Day. Theprogramme brought all the communities living

in Longford and its environs together for afestival of music, arts, food, culture and play forthe children.

“This is just the beginning of many morecollaborative efforts in the future we hope!”added Ms. Stroker.

Jibola, Shantel and Nike at the Intercultural fun day event that won an award for Acorn CDP in Co.Longford.

Breege Newell and Loretta Needham from TuamCDP receive their STAR award from Dr HughBrady during last year's AONTAS Adult Learners'Festival.

Report by: NIAMH FARREN*

An award-winning programme

7changing ireland 167 languages are currently spoken in ireland

Aiming for Psychology“I’M going to Club 2000 since 1st year. It’s great: you mightn’tget the time to do your homework at home, but here you havetime and space,” says Michelle Cassidy (16) of Tallaght.

“The Club is a laugh. We do our homework, have lunch anddo activities – crafts and sports. I’ll be doing my Leaving Certnext year and I want to study psychology in UCD. Why?Because I’m very interested in people.”

Programme’s 3 Aontas award winners

No problem winning awards, but hard to get funding

CDPs play their part in promoting adulteducation, as the following award-winning projects show:

In Letterkenny CDP, volunteers organise anumber of different training courses - fromstress management to cooking on a budget.The project caters particularly to the needs ofdisadvantaged or vulnerable people in thecommunity.

“We also secured funding from theDepartment of Social and Family Affairs toimplement the Good Morning Letterkenny

Programme, which will see a pool ofvolunteers make a daily phone call to olderpeople who cannot leave their homes forreasons of ill-health or infirmity. This supportmakes daily contact with people for a chatand provides emergency support if they needit,” a spokesperson for the project explained.

In Knockanrawley, a parent supportprogramme allows local parents to accesstraining on topics such as 'Managing DifficultBehaviour', to take part in support groups.According to Helen Buckley for the group,“The activities of the programme are as

varied as the needs of parents and includeparent support groups, parents in educationcourses, directed activities for parents andchildren such as summer camps. Over 178parents and children have participated in ouractivities over the past three years.”

North Leitrim Women's Centre offers anumber of training opportunities - anythingfrom feng shui to farm management, whichaddress the employment needs of over twothousand rural women, and the Centre alsoprovides women with the chance to meet upwith other women.

Irish Times Award for country’s only Traveller after-schools clubMARY Cassidy, Community Education Worker forTallaght Travellers CDP is delighted the homeworkclub she runs won an Irish Times award last year.Just as thrilling is the fact that an increasingnumber of young Travellers from the area nowaim for third level education.

“Our club, Club 2000, is based in BrookfieldCommunity School where we have 22 youngtravellers attending every night. In February of lastyear, we won the Irish Times award for post-primary education and went on to win the IrishTimes overall award also for post primaryeducation,” says Mary Cassidy, CommunityEducation Worker.

“We had six young Travellers from Club 2000that did their Leaving Cert and four who sat theirJunior Cert. Most importantly, four of the LeavingCert students were young boys. This was the firsttime in Tallaght that we had Traveller boys sittingtheir Leaving Cert. Normally boys drop out in firstyear or after the Junior Cert. So, we are veryproud.

“We also have a young Traveller, MichaelO’Donnell, who is a peer worker in Club 2000 and

he has won a top ‘Helping Hand’ award fromBarnardos. We have become very successful overthe years.

“Club 2000 was set up in 1999 as very low

numbers of pupils were transferring successfullyinto post primary education, they would only go asfar as the first year and then leave school. The Clubruns two afternoons a week from 3-6pm.

“The first hour and a half is home work, then webreak for snack, then we do arts & crafts, sports,competitions, Christmas displays, Masses, or workon projects and most of the activities are keptaround Traveller culture.

“We have great support from parents in Club2000. We have two Traveller parents involved, apost-primary teacher, the young peer worker andmyself.

“Young Travellers come from three areas inTallaght; Jobstown, Brookfield, and Killinarden.The Bus picks young Travellers up and drops themat Brookfield school. At the end of the evening, ourbus driver, Joe O’Donohue who is a Traveller man,drops them home safely at their door.

“The most important thing about our club is thatit is all run by Travellers and we have achievedgreat thing over the years. But, as it happens, thisis the only post-primary after school in the countryfor Travellers,” adds Ms. Cassidy.

MARY Cassidy is employed part-time as aCommunity Education Worker with TallaghtTravellers CDP. She has since 1999 workedvoluntary in Club 2000 and is theirspokesperson. Funding is a continual battle forthe club.

“You’d think the Government would jump atthe chance to fund us. They should be

replicating this homework club around thecountry. We’ve had visits from Traveller groupsin Galway, Tullamore and Clare who want to setup clubs like ours,” reports Mary.

“We have no problem getting awards and ofcourse the CDP is funded, but we find it verydifficult to get funding for the Club,” said Mary.“Apart from €1,500 from the VEC, we don’t

receive a cent from Government and aredependent on private funding. The St. Stephen’sGreen Trust Fund contributed €11,500 this yearand a private donor gave us €10,000.”

Currently, two Traveller parents HelenDonoghue and Bridget O’Donoghue give theirtime voluntarily, while post-primary teacherJoan Tiernan is the club’s paid worker.

Mary Cassidy with the ‘Irish Times’ award.

Michelle Cassidy and CharleneCunningham are members of Club2000, Tallaght Travellers CDP’shomework club.

Bringing people togetherADULT education brings people together. Forsome people, getting involved in adult educationhas resulted in the establishment of locallyorganised interest groups such as historicalsocieties, and has helped others become moretechnically and media literate. Adult educationhas increased the number of active voters andhelped new immigrants to integrate in theircommunities. AONTAS estimates that over300,000 adults participate in formal and nonformal education each year in Ireland?

ning programme

8changing ireland keeping a prisoner in prison costs more than a ministerial salary

Letters Section

Registeringdisappointment

Laccamor,Barntick,

Ballynacally,Ennis,

Co. Clare15 Dec. ‘07

Dear Editor,I write in relation to the most recent edition

of ‘Changing Ireland’. It is very welcome thatthe issue was dedicated to the issue ofDomestic Violence.

However, I wish to register mydisappointment that during the 16 Days ofAction Opposing Violence Against Womenthe issue of violence against men was such aprominent part of the magazine. I am wellaware of the problem of domestic violenceagainst men. However, I question the claim inthe editorial that “There are possibly as manymale victims as female, or perhaps more malevictims.”

The interview with Women’s Aid on page17 appeared to me to be very antagonistictowards an organisation which has carriedout so much excellent work on behalf of themany female victims. It is fair to challengeany organisation with regard to their serviceprovision, however, if this was to be the toneof the interviews why were Amen not askedwhy they are not providing services to thefemale perpetrators?

Domestic Violence against women is acomplex issue related to power and controlwhich frequently but not always, manifests

itself in physical abuse. It is not the same asabuse which happens between mutuallycombative couples. Neither is the samedynamic at play when the victim is male andthe perpetrator female. Treating these as ahomogenous group will not serve male orfemale victims well as the response needed byeach group are very different.

Yours Sincerely,Liz Price

Editor’s Note: The full sentence referred toin the editorial (which can be read atwww.changingireland.ie/Issue23.pdf) reads:“There are possibly as many male victims asfemale, or perhaps more male victims,depending on what study you read.” The factis that some studies have claimed that menmay suffer as much emotional abuse aswomen. One such study was by the NationalCrime Council in Ireland.

On the suggestion that Amen should beasked why they are not providing services tofemale perpetrators, we put the question tothem. Amen spokesperson, Frank McGlynn,replied as follows: “We’re stretched to thelimit as it is. I’m not too sure we would be theright organisation to run a programme forfemale perpetrators, because we deal withmale victims and I don’t know howappropriate it would be for us to also dealwith female perpetrators.” He added that“sometimes” female perpetrators contactAmen and he said it was unfortunate therewas nowhere to refer them to.

South West Donegal CommunitiesPartnership Ltd,

Unit 8, The Carpet Factory, Killybegs,

Co. Donegal .

Good day,Your article on the back cover of Issue

23 details funding approval of €575,000to projects under the CommunityDevelopment Programme for therecruitment of additional workers to 27CDPs.

Can I ask if when you say 'additional'workers - do you mean in addition to thetwo which are funded by the Programmeas standard - (which is one and a half fulltime workers in year one to be increasedto two full time workers in year two) or isit simply referring to the projectsincreasing to two workers in the secondyear of the project?

It would be great to know that there hasbeen a move to enable CDPs recruit athird staff member to enable them deliveron their workplans.

I would be very grateful if you couldclarify that for us . . .

Kind regards,Margaret Doherty

Editor’s Note: The additional projectworkers are going to projects thatemployed less than 2 workers and theDepartment have confirmed that therehas been no change in policy to enableCDPs recruit a third staff member throughthe Programme’s fund.

Issue 23 - one question

Development workers graduate from UCCTWO CDP workers, Thomas McDonagh

and James Maughan graduated recently

from University College Cork with a

Diploma in Youth and Community.

Pictured (left) after the graduation are:

Thomas, who works with Tullamore

Traveller Movement, in Co. Offaly, Breda

Lymer, one of the tutors on the programme

and director of West Training &

Development, and James Maughan,

Parkside Community Development Project,

Ballina, Co. Mayo.

9changing ireland one language dies on average every fortnight

Irene Aherne is a VoluntaryManagement Committee member of St.Munchin’s Community DevelopmentProject which covers the areas ofThomondgate, Kileely, Ballynanty andbeyond in Limerick city. She was one ofthe founding members of the projectand its first meetings took place inIrene’s kitchen. She was originally fromthe Strand, Thomondgate, Limerick, andhas lived in the same parish all her life.

What are you reading at the moment?A fantastic book by Malachy Martin called

‘Hostage to the Devil’. It’s all aboutpossessions and the exorcisms that priests do.

What’s the last film you watched?I can’t remember, I’m more into Discovery

Channel than anything else. One of myfavourite films is ‘The Sound of Music’.

Person you most admire?The person I most admire in my lifetime was

my father, the late Frank Fitzpatrick. He wasan idealist, a visionary, he loved his countryand fought for it in 1916, in the War ofIndependence and in the Civil War, but he stillsaid it’s better to live for your country than todie for it. He came from the city but was oneof the founder members of the Co-operativeSociety of Ireland which managedcreameries. He was the first co-op managerin Limerick and later Munster.

The top 4 issues in Ireland today?1. The health situation – if we don’t have

health, we can’t work for our country.2. The drugs situation of course, maybe that’s

number one, and the violence that isin society because of drugs.

3. The bitterness andconfrontation in the Dailtoday, everybody is at eachother’s throats.

4. The threat of recession.

We need more . . .People with vision and with the type of

vision that would bring the ordinary,everyday person into the forefront whendecisions are being made.

We need less . . . Strife, especially among politicians, all of

them. Politicians are no longer what they usedto be. And we need less greed, because a lotof people won’t do anything now unless thereis something in it for them.

How long are you working with the CDP?I am one of the CDP’s founder members. I

started in 1953 to get the community to cometogether, first of all to start up a savings clubamong neighbours. Later we started up St.Lelia’s Credit Union. I helped found the CDPbecause I wouldn’t stop until we got it. I gotthe CDP its first office premises.

How and why did you get involved?Because people need to be involved in their

own communities and we need to look our forthe weaker people among us, those with lessresources. At the start, I didn’t know I had atalent for bringing people together, but Ilearnt. If you give people achievable goals,they will work for you. When you achieveyour first goal, you strive for a higher goal,and a higher one again. Step-by-step it goes,community building I call it.

What difference has being involved made to you?

I have got a lot of personal satisfaction andam extremely proud of the CDP. It is one of thethings I am proudest in my lifetime. Right now,we have the strongest committee we ever had.

Have things changed in St. Munchin’s as a result of the Project?

The community centre itself is new, butreally there are many many developments.

What motivates you as a volunteer?Community development motivates me and

community development never stops becausethere are always new challenges croppingup. I am always watchful to see what is goingon and more importantly what is nothappening, for example if a hall is not beingused, I ask why.

Also, there’s no snobbery in the CDP, it’s allabout the people and the wishes of thepeople.

How do you get new volunteers?That’s the big question. An awful lot of

people are too busy nowadays or don’t knowabout the CDP. It’s important to talk to peopleabout what the CDP is doing and to send outnewsletters about your activities, keep theCDP to the forefront.

Volunteering

Volunteer Profile:Irene Ahern

changing ireland there are 6800 languages in the world10

Southill girls performing in the Variety Show at UL.

Morale-booster in Southilldraws 1,500 peopleA MORALE-BOOSTING event that was threemonths in the making and involved close to1500 people was organised by Southill CDP.

Over 100 kids and over 60 adults andschool-teachers worked with Southill CDPstaff and volunteers in Limerick fromSeptember to December to produce aCommunity Variety Show. Support was strongwith many young parents getting involved forthe first time in a community event and 1300tickets were sold.

The show took place in the University ofLimerick Concert Hall and, for many people,it was their first time there.

The event was the brainchild of local drugseducation prevention worker, CarolineKeane, who is employed through the CDP.She won management approval for the ideathree years ago and it was included in theproject’s masterplan.

“It was such a success we might repeat itevery year, it was great for buildingcommunity spirit,” remarked project co-ordinator, Nuala Rennison.

“500 tickets sold on the first night and 800on the second night, almost filling the hall.When you’ve children involved, they’ll allbring their granny. We were also lucky tohave a number of funders,” she added.

In an area facing the bull-dozer anddepressed in recent years by murder andintimidation and scheduled for a majorregeneration, the morale-booster could nothave come at a better time. Across the city inMoyross, newly resident monks also saw thevalue in a dramatic production and held anativity pageant at Christmas which playedout on the street in front of 500 local

residents. Activities that might seem ordinaryin most communities can take on anextraordinary flavour in disadvantagedcommunities.

For Southill’s Variety Show, school-teachersgot their classes to create different elementsfor the show and the High School Musicalwas a central part of the production.

Children were grouped by age, 3-8 year-olds, 8-12 years and 12-14 years. Adultsline-danced and a local dance troupe alsoput on a performance. Carew Park’s DarrenShine ran the comedy spots and MaryFitzpatrick from Kincora Park, also in Southill,was the compere.

John Williams, chairperson of Southill CDP,said, “It was worth the work and time – tobuild morale.” The project hope the Show willbe repeated in the future. Southill used to bevery involved in Siamsa Tire in years past andis bursting with talent the country never hearsabout through the crime-hungry mainstreammedia.

The Southill community are now lookingforward to a major regeneration of the areafollowing the launch of a draft ‘Vision’document by President Mary McAleese onJanuary 21st.

Mr. Williams commented: “We are reallyhappy to see the Vision on paper and it looksrealistic. If everything in it can be developed,Southill will become a better and a safe placeto live. We had an €8 million remedial worksscheme here but it never got off the ground,but this time seems different and we canalready see the extra presence of Gardai onthe ground.”

TaoiseachapplaudsCommunityDevelopmentProgramme“LIKE many of the voluntary andcommunity groups funded under theGovernment’s Community DevelopmentProgramme, Nascadh CDP’s greatstrength is that it is a service developedby local people and run by local peoplefor the benefit of the community.” - Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, in Dublin, atthe launch on January 22nd ofNascadh CDP’s ‘East Wall OlderPersons Needs Analysis Report’.

Dublin maybecome age-friendly city NASCADH CDP put in a submission toDublin Docklands Development Authorityto put ageing on the agenda at theirannual social regeneration conference heldin Killarney.

As a direct result, Dr. AlexandraKalache, who until October was theDirector of the World HealthOrganisation’s programme on ageing andhealth, addressed the conference.

Dr. Kalache outlined what makes for anage-friendly city and he challenged theDublin Docklands Authority to worktowards making the Republic’s capital thefirst age-friendly city in Europe.

Project news

An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, launchedNascadh CDP’s ‘East Wall Older PersonsNeeds Analysis Report’ on January 22nd.

11changing ireland www.ohchr.org = united nations human rights website

NASCADH CDP have published a report thatlists 23 ways in which the lives of olderpeople in East Wall may be improved.

In launching the ‘East Wall Older PersonsNeeds Analysis Report’ on January 22nd, AnTaoiseach, Bertie Ahern, said, “It is veryencouraging to note that the overwhelmingmajority of those surveyed feel happy andsafe living in the area. But I also take from thereport that people are feeling less connectedto their community, which can lead to a senseof isolation and concerns around safety.”

He praised Nascadh’s 60-page report as“a very practical and successful model ofconsultation and engagement and it couldusefully be replicated in other communitiesacross the country.”

“The Government is convinced of the value,and indeed necessity, of involving older

people - in common with all other sectors insociety - in discussions, debates and decisionson the design, delivery and monitoring ofservices which we provide on their behalf.We are committed to ensuring that they arefully empowered and facilitated to do so,”added An Taoiseach.

The launch took place, unusually, in StoreStreet Garda Station, where a number ofCommunity Gardaí who work in the East Wallare based.

Nascadh CDP chairperson, Fran Laycock,is hopeful that all the recommendations willbe acted on over the next few years. Betterpublic transport was, for instance, one of themore important recommendations.

He said the motivation for the research“emerged from a genuine fear and concern

that not enough attention was being given tothe needs of older people living in East Wall.”

“There was a feeling that the voice of olderpeople was rarely heard in discussions anddebates about ways in which their lives mightbe improved.”

Stephen Rourke, who compiled the report,said, “Many older people in East Wall are notcoming out, are not turning up at communityactivities and are removed from the rest of thelocal community in East Wall. The keychallenge is to identify the types of activitieswhich will attract the active interest of olderpeople and, then, to encourage the moreisolated and vulnerable older people toparticipate in these activities.”

He also noted that older people werepleased to be consulted.

ct news

Taoiseach launches reporton ways to a better life

Kathleen talking to Owen Binchy, Nascadh CDP co-ordinator, during a meeting about older people’sneeds in East Wall, Dublin.

Denis on his rounds delivering meals on wheels inEast Wall.

The report says:The ‘East Wall Older Persons Needs Analysis Report’ states:• 97.5% of older people like living in the East Wall area. • 90.1% of older people in East Wall said that they feel safe

living in the area, although a significant number of olderpeople said they do not go out at all during the evening ornight-time.

• The best things about life in East Wall are good neighboursand friends, being close to local amenities and being close tothe city centre of Dublin.

• The litter and rubbish in public spaces, anti-social behaviourand the poor public bus service are the worst things aboutliving in East Wall.

• Nearly half of the older people in East Wall (49.2%) live bythemselves.

• For 23.5% of older people in East Wall there are days duringevery week when they do not meet any other person. Thisfigure rises to 47.9% of the older people who live bythemselves.

Overall 242 questionnaires were filled in for the research.

Bertie describes‘phantom’ bus serviceTHE Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern,reports Nascadh CDP co-ordinator, Owen Binchy,“highlighted the need to roll outprimary health care units like inBallymun across Ireland,including of course Dublin’sNorth Inner City. He spoke ofhow the new community centrewould provide many of theservices that older people in EastWall need. He also spoke of the

importance of it being properlyfunded and commended thegood work being done by theCDP’s voluntary managementcommittee.”

“He spoke in detail aboutwhat he called 'the phantom 53bus service' and he questionedthe logic and economics of usingdouble decker buses, throughnarrow streets and with arelatively small population.”

changing ireland www.knowyourrights2008.org12

“I KEEP getting labelled ‘rural, rural,rural’” complains Minister Éamon ÓCuív, “when there is a real need toeveryday highlight the blight ofdeprivation and particularly urbandeprivation.”

“The greatest inequity, particularly for ouryoung people, is in urban deprivedcommunities. It’s amazing that the one thingyou cannot get society in general excitedabout, unless there are shootings, is abouttackling once and for all urban deprivation.Unless we have a shootings, you can’t get adebate.”

“Do we as a society take disadvantageseriously? I think the Government do, but dowe as a society do so? And how committedare we to dealing with urban deprivation?”

It is unlikely the Minister is for a momentsaying everyone should move to thecountryside, but he strongly believes a ruraldweller has better life-chances.

“I’ve tried and tried and tried for the lastfive years to point out that in social terms,rural houses give extraordinary goodoutcomes for young families, with 70% goingon to further (third-level) education.”

URBAN PLANNING DISASTERHe said urban planning was a “big

disaster” where we create urban communities“where only one in a hundred children haveany real expectations of getting to a thirdlevel college, where we create the type ofsituations we find ourselves in Limerick -where we virtually have to knock down halfthe city and rebuild it.”

“It amazed me that some of the majorshakers and movers in Irish society couldn’tsee that the biggest planning scandal inIreland has been in urban planning - thesocial segregation is costing us millions insocial problems, in prison populations. And it

is causing huge socialmisery at the humanlevel.”

He said it was not a caseof putting more money intomore CDPs, that theproblem needed much morethan that.

He welcomed theregeneration schemes thatare starting up in Limerick. In1989, he first visited Southill,on a Senate canvass with afriend.

MINISTER WANTED TO LEAVE SOUTHILL

“I never saw in all of my lifeanywhere like it. I’ve been to a lot of places,”said the Minister, mentioning the Short Strandand Ballymurphy in Belfast, the infamousGarvaghy Road, and Ballymun and FatimaMansions in Dublin.

“But Southill was one place I wanted to getout of fast. All the boarded up houses and soon just gave me that feeling.”

“Southill was always on my mind after thatand I raised the issue of urban renewalrelating to Southill and what I was told was‘Unless the Limerick people came with a planto deal with the social issues, there was nopoint in knocking down the houses andbuilding new ones.’ And what has maderegeneration in Fatima Mansions andBallymun different is that it has come from theinside. To a point, you had to wait until thepenny dropped with people themselves orotherwise you were coming in from theoutside and doing it and you wouldn’t get theresults right.

“For some reason, Limerick City has by farthe highest number of local authority housing(43%) of any city in Ireland.

BLIGHT OF SOCIALSEGREGATION

“In the last 8 years, anawful lot of the really blackspots around the countryhave been knocked downand rebuilt and there hasbeen a genuine attemptthis time to build them ascommunities and to mixpublic and privatedevelopment.”

While the buildingboom has slowedconsiderably, Minister ÓCuív would go to PaddyPower’s to bet thatcommentators in the

future will say that ‘PartV of the Planning and Development Act2000’ was “one of the best decisions made”by government.

He said the new law will only start takingeffect now because planning permissionshold for five years, so it will apply to all newbuilding applications from now on.

‘Part V’ allows local authorities to obtainup to 20% of land zoned for housingdevelopment for the delivery of social andaffordable housing. There is a buy-outoption, if Councils agree, wherebydevelopers can pay cash in lieu of providingreduced-price housing.

“So long as the local authorities use thebuy-out option sparingly, I believe that, in 20to 30 years time, it will be seen as one of thebest decisions made to avoid the blight ofsocial segregation which has caused so manyof the problems we are now trying to dealwith, Limerick probably being the biggest lastarea needing a mega clean-up.”

“But I don’t think it’s fair either to say thatnothing was done for the last ten years.Ballymun and Fatima Mansions and otherareas have seen change.”

CHILDCARE SCHEMEThe question was put: The Government, in

the run-up to Christmas, performed a u-turnon the Childcare Scheme. People are sayingit wouldn’t have happened this way if therehad been consultation. Your commentsMinister?

“I think Brendan Smith (Minister forChildren) did a fantastic job and the endresult is a very good scheme. There’s noshame in tweaking a scheme becausesomeone makes a few good points toyou….When we change something we areaccused of a u-turn, when we don’t changesomething we’re accused of being arrogant.I’d rather any day to be accused of a u-turnthan being called ‘arrogant’.”

ISLAND CDPsThe Minister was asked will CDPs on

English-speaking islands be moved from theProgramme to be administered by Údarásna Gaeltachta? He had mooted the idea inthe past.

“I made no decision made on it. There wassome legal advice which had to do withÚdarás na Gaeltachta operating outside theGaeltacht. It’s not top of the agenda.”

FULL COVER BY PARTNERSHIPS“You are going to see Partnership

companies covering all of the country thisyear. I hope to see the Cohesion Processcompleted in the very near future. It’s been along haul and there were issues for staffmembers and for boards, but I think that in afew years time, a lot of people will see thebenefits of what we are doing.

“One of the ideas of the Cohesion Processis to reduce the number of layers, so we willhave the County Development Boards, thePartnerships and the CDPs and I hope for amuch closer synergy between all of these, sowe get a coherent view of how we’re going totackle disadvantage.

“The most important thing is that itimproves people’s lives by delivering betterservices. I’m not one for changing structuresfor the sake of it. I passionately believe inwhat we’re doing here and I’m delighted withthe chance to see it through.”

NEW PROJECTS AND NEW WORKERSThe Minister’s Department will from now on

use Small Area Statistics, produced by theCentral Statistics Office, to help point toresourcing needs within communities. TheMinister is committed to reaching newcommunities through the variety ofprogrammes within his remit.

Also, the limit of two Programme-fundedworkers per CDP could be removed orchanged in the future. (More on thesematters in our next issue).

THE BROAD VISION“In the next year or two, people will

suddenly see that we had quite a broad visionof where we were going, though at timespeople might not have appreciated the littleparts of what we were doing.

“I think we’re going to be able to do amuch better job in the future than we did inthe past. It will be much easier to understand,will lead to better services and because therewill be 100% cover by the Partnerships, wewon’t have to keep setting up neworganisations to run new schemes. As theState wants to introduce new initiatives, it justlooks to the Partnerships and gives them thejob to do. From the public’s point of view, thePartnerships will be a much wider one-stop-shop and a more accessible one. Complexityreduces accessibility.

“I hope when I go out the door I’ll have lefta fair legacy after me,” added the Minister.

Mespil Road Interviews

Briefly• CCoohheessiioonn – this year will

see the fruits of the workbecome visible.

• NNeeww CCDDPPss may be set upin the future. The initiativeswill be based on datacoming from the CSO’sSmall Area Statistics.

• CDPs on iissllaannddss – nochange.

• When relations betweenCDPs and llooccaallaauutthhoorriittiieess break down –call the Department, and ifthere is no improvement, calleither Minister.

• LLiimmeerriicckk’’ss rreeggeenneerraattiioonn

was never going to workuntil the local people cameup with a plan themselvesand saw the need forchange clearly.

• Highlight the blight ofuurrbbaann ddeepprriivvaattiioonn..

• CChhiillddccaarree SScchheemmeechanges were not a u-turn.– Minister

IInncclluuddee mmaallee vviiccttiimmss iinn CCooddee oonn domestic violence - MinistersTHE Code of Conduct recommended to CDPs and Family ResourceCentres (FRCs) on the issue of domestic violence should be widened toinclude reaching out to male victims, according to Minister forCommunity, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív.

“My gut would be it should cover all domestic violence victims. Iaccept that violence against men is not as frequent but it does happen.(The Code of Conduct) should deal with domestic violence for men,” hesaid.

Minister of State Pat Carey agreed: “Instead of having a code ofconduct on domestic violence against men or women, it should be oneaddressing domestic violence against adults.”

The Code of Conduct was adopted to guide CDPs and FRCs on theissue of domestic violence. Such groups, notes the Code, have aprimary role “to enable individuals in the community to acccessrelevant services and to promote the development of a community-based response.” However, the Code was criticised from within the

Programme by the Men’s Development Network and from outside byAmen on account of the fact that it did not deal with male victims.

“Women’s Aid has been set up for women and they probably takethe view that there is more than enough work for them,” said MinisterCarey. “In the interim maybe further work is needed in the area ofviolence against men and maybe the CDP’s role might be to enable theemergence of best practice in this area.”

He pointed out that there may well be issues around domestic

violence involving “women against women and men against men. Weare very much inclined to talk about heterosexual violence – menagainst women, and women against men. I’m sure there’s a level ofviolence in the gay community as well which needs to be addressed.”

“I have just been looking at the latest Garda statistics and they showthat the vast majority of brutal attacks are in the home,” addedMinister Carey.

The cover of ‘Changing Ireland’ when

Minister Éamon Ó Cuív announced his plans

to make a range of Government-backed

community programmes easier to understand

for ordinary members of the public.

Do we take disadvantage seriously?- asks Minister Ó Cuív

13changing ireland www.stopgenocidenow.org

BLIGHT OF SOCIALSEGREGATION

“In the last 8 years, anawful lot of the really blackspots around the countryhave been knocked downand rebuilt and there hasbeen a genuine attemptthis time to build them ascommunities and to mixpublic and privatedevelopment.”

While the buildingboom has slowedconsiderably, Minister ÓCuív would go to PaddyPower’s to bet thatcommentators in the

future will say that ‘PartV of the Planning and Development Act2000’ was “one of the best decisions made”by government.

He said the new law will only start takingeffect now because planning permissionshold for five years, so it will apply to all newbuilding applications from now on.

‘Part V’ allows local authorities to obtainup to 20% of land zoned for housingdevelopment for the delivery of social andaffordable housing. There is a buy-outoption, if Councils agree, wherebydevelopers can pay cash in lieu of providingreduced-price housing.

“So long as the local authorities use thebuy-out option sparingly, I believe that, in 20to 30 years time, it will be seen as one of thebest decisions made to avoid the blight ofsocial segregation which has caused so manyof the problems we are now trying to dealwith, Limerick probably being the biggest lastarea needing a mega clean-up.”

“But I don’t think it’s fair either to say thatnothing was done for the last ten years.Ballymun and Fatima Mansions and otherareas have seen change.”

CHILDCARE SCHEMEThe question was put: The Government, in

the run-up to Christmas, performed a u-turnon the Childcare Scheme. People are sayingit wouldn’t have happened this way if therehad been consultation. Your commentsMinister?

“I think Brendan Smith (Minister forChildren) did a fantastic job and the endresult is a very good scheme. There’s noshame in tweaking a scheme becausesomeone makes a few good points toyou….When we change something we areaccused of a u-turn, when we don’t changesomething we’re accused of being arrogant.I’d rather any day to be accused of a u-turnthan being called ‘arrogant’.”

ISLAND CDPsThe Minister was asked will CDPs on

English-speaking islands be moved from theProgramme to be administered by Údarásna Gaeltachta? He had mooted the idea inthe past.

“I made no decision made on it. There wassome legal advice which had to do withÚdarás na Gaeltachta operating outside theGaeltacht. It’s not top of the agenda.”

FULL COVER BY PARTNERSHIPS“You are going to see Partnership

companies covering all of the country thisyear. I hope to see the Cohesion Processcompleted in the very near future. It’s been along haul and there were issues for staffmembers and for boards, but I think that in afew years time, a lot of people will see thebenefits of what we are doing.

“One of the ideas of the Cohesion Processis to reduce the number of layers, so we willhave the County Development Boards, thePartnerships and the CDPs and I hope for amuch closer synergy between all of these, sowe get a coherent view of how we’re going totackle disadvantage.

“The most important thing is that itimproves people’s lives by delivering betterservices. I’m not one for changing structuresfor the sake of it. I passionately believe inwhat we’re doing here and I’m delighted withthe chance to see it through.”

NEW PROJECTS AND NEW WORKERSThe Minister’s Department will from now on

use Small Area Statistics, produced by theCentral Statistics Office, to help point toresourcing needs within communities. TheMinister is committed to reaching newcommunities through the variety ofprogrammes within his remit.

Also, the limit of two Programme-fundedworkers per CDP could be removed orchanged in the future. (More on thesematters in our next issue).

THE BROAD VISION“In the next year or two, people will

suddenly see that we had quite a broad visionof where we were going, though at timespeople might not have appreciated the littleparts of what we were doing.

“I think we’re going to be able to do amuch better job in the future than we did inthe past. It will be much easier to understand,will lead to better services and because therewill be 100% cover by the Partnerships, wewon’t have to keep setting up neworganisations to run new schemes. As theState wants to introduce new initiatives, it justlooks to the Partnerships and gives them thejob to do. From the public’s point of view, thePartnerships will be a much wider one-stop-shop and a more accessible one. Complexityreduces accessibility.

“I hope when I go out the door I’ll have lefta fair legacy after me,” added the Minister.

ad Interviews

oonn ddoommeessttiicc vviioolleennccee -- MMiinniisstteerrssProgramme by the Men’s Development Network and from outside byAmen on account of the fact that it did not deal with male victims.

“Women’s Aid has been set up for women and they probably takethe view that there is more than enough work for them,” said MinisterCarey. “In the interim maybe further work is needed in the area ofviolence against men and maybe the CDP’s role might be to enable theemergence of best practice in this area.”

He pointed out that there may well be issues around domestic

violence involving “women against women and men against men. Weare very much inclined to talk about heterosexual violence – menagainst women, and women against men. I’m sure there’s a level ofviolence in the gay community as well which needs to be addressed.”

“I have just been looking at the latest Garda statistics and they showthat the vast majority of brutal attacks are in the home,” addedMinister Carey.

The cover of ‘Changing Ireland’ when

Minister Éamon Ó Cuív announced his plans

to make a range of Government-backed

community programmes easier to understand

for ordinary members of the public.

dvantage seriously?

changing ireland simplify your life14

Mespil Road Interviews

Department of Craggy has “enormous” reachTHE Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs wasestablished by Government in June 2002 and has some 240 staff in 6locations. It provides support to up to 3000 local and national bodiesaround the country. The Department is often referred to verbally as‘Craggy’, from its abbreviation DCRGA.

Minister of State, Pat Carey, says the Department has an “enormous”reach. His senior, Minister Éamon Ó Cuív describes the work as“incredibly exciting”. The Department was set up to bring together arange of Government-funded programmes effecting communities underone roof and one of the main challenges the Ministers are engaged inis encouraging greater co-operation and cohesiveness ‘on the ground’

among local groups and agencies. The Department has specific responsibility for:

• Community Development Programme.• Local Development.• the RAPID Programme.• Coordination of the National Drugs Strategy.• Volunteering.• Rural Development initiatives including CLÁR, LEADER, INTERREG and

a number of measures under the EU Programme for Peace andReconciliation.The Department also retains the responsibilities previously held by

the former Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands for:

• the Irish language.• the Gaeltacht.• the development of Ireland's inhabited off-shore islands.

Finally, the following State Boards and agencies discharge specificresponsibilities in the community, rural, Gaeltacht and islands sectorsunder the aegis of the Department:• Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland.• Dormant Accounts Board.• Western Development Commission.• Údarás na Gaeltachta.• Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge.• An Coimisiún Logainmneacha (the Placenames Commission).

• Pobal (formerly ADM), a company established by the IrishGovernment, in agreement with the European Commission, topromote social inclusion, reconciliation and equality through localsocial and economic development. It administers the LocalDevelopment Social Inclusion Programme, (LDSIP), RAPID and PEACEII Programmes on behalf of the Department.

• Two cross-border implementation bodies - An Foras Teanga(comprising Foras na Gaeilge and Tha Boord o Ulster-Scotch) andWaterways Ireland.

To find out more about the Department of Community, Rural andGaeltacht Affairs, or Craggy, visit: www.pobail.ie

Minister of State Careyhas a volunteering mindKERRY-BORN Pat Carey could have beensitting under a baobab tree at this verymoment. He half-expected to spend thisyear in Africa as a volunteer. It was a back-up plan he had if Plan A – getting re-electedin last year’s Dail elections – fell through.

He quite relished the idea of volunteeringabroad, having worked as a teacher formany years and having served as a politicianon a foreign affairs committee that hadregular meetings about African issues.

However, volunteering will have to wait foranother day as he retained his seat in Juneand was appointed Minister of State withspecial responsibility for Drugs Strategy andCommunity Affairs at the Department ofCommunity, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

“Yes, this landed on my lap instead,” quipsMinister Carey.

* * * * *

He is well-known and indeed respectedwithin the Community and Voluntary Sectorand was considered a good choice by many.Now, he shares responsibility for aDepartment that provides funding support toan incredibly diverse range of communityorganisations and services. He is viewed assomeone who understands the needs ofvolunteers and of the Sector.

* * * * *

“I spent most of my working life in Finglasin what would be termed an infill housingdevelopment of 2000 or so houses built in the1970s at a time when building standardswere poor. They had no chimneys and when

gas and electricity prices went up, chimneysand fireplaces were the first things peoplecampaigned for. There were no communityfacilities at all. The school I worked in servedas more than just as a school – I used say itwas a community centre that doubled as aschool, but out of it we delivered the best typeof education possible, because the parentswere forever in and out of the place. There isa great community spirit there, but there wasquite a degree of poverty in the place in thebeginning and there are still pockets ofdeprivation and disadvantage.”

Naturally, as former Vice Principal of St.Finian's School, Finglas, he saw the schoolsas having the greatest development impacton Finglas, but said the CDPs also did “hugework” there, particularly when they startedup.

“And I see that a lot of the people involvedin CDPs in the beginning work in other areasnow, such as the Drugs Task Force people – alot of them cut their teeth with CDPs.”

* * * * *

He said that CDPs “have to be able to trulyreflect a community’s needs,” and asked,“How do you get CDPs to reconfigure to suit

new needs?”He named a number of projects that had

really impressed him:”I’ve been around the country in my new

role and some CDPs, especially Travellerprojects, are doing outstanding work. Ivisited the Traveller Visibility Group in Corkand was very impressed, as I was also withthe Kerry Travellers Development Group.”

He singled out Tralee CDP as a model ofgood practice, saying it was doing“incredible work.”

“If you could replicate what they are doingaround the country, it would be great. Theproject is a perfect example of what a groupwith a mission can do.”

* * * * *

“The reach of the Department is enormous– I wouldn’t be surprised to hear we arefunding up to 3000 different projects andorganisations. We deal with everything fromplacenames to farming to drugs andeverything in between. My centralresponsibility is drugs and community.”

He said it was notable that every area ofthe country was now covered by the RegionalDrugs Taskforces.

COHESION“Most practitioners look for a unified

approach to local matters and Éamon Ó Cuívis right to push the Cohesion Process.Nobody needs to lose any of their power andit results in really good outcomes forcommunties.

“And when you go to a place where all the

agencies work together, it gives you greathope for the future,” said the Minister. Hegave as an example a trip he made toEdenderry in Co. Offaly where all theagencies and groups were working very welltogether.

* * * * *

2008 HOPESThis year, Minister Carey hopes to extend

the Young Peoples Facilities and ServicesFund (YPFSF).

In 1998, the Government established theYPFSF to target young people at risk fromsubstance misuse in disadvantaged areas. Bydeveloping youth, sport and otherrecreational facilities, the YPFSF seeks toattract ‘at risk’ young people away from thepotential dangers of substance misuse, intosafe, non-threatening and constructiveenvironments

An extra €12.5 million was budgeted forthe National Drugs Strategy in 2008(bringing the total drugs funding to €64mthis year) and a lot of this is earmarked toexpand the YPFSF to more areas outsideDublin.

YOUNG PEOPLE’S SERVICES“The increased allocation will facilitate

increased activity under the Young People’sFacilities and Services Fund – includingfurther progress towards the fullimplementation of the action plans of theRegional Drugs Task Forces,” Minister Careytold the Dail in December.

The year should see increased capitalfunding for drug related projects and

facilities for young people and new initiativesare promised in tackling cocaine abuse.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT“In the Community Development area, I am

very anxious that we try to get a clear viewof the future CDPs, of the potential they haveand of the options that can be pursued, so wecan get the best possible value for people’sinput at local level,” said Minister Carey.

“If Community Development meansanything, it means you have to have anorganic approach to the work all the time.We must avoid this tendency to stultify, bydoing the same thing year in, year out.”

* * * * *Should or could CDPs have a national

office?“I personally don’t see any huge

restrictions (apart from resources) but manyof the projects are so busy doing their own

thing that they have gone away from therepresentative structures.

“It may well turn be like this - in the area ofdrugs, there are different sectors meet atnational level a couple of times a year. Thevoluntary and community reps meet, co-ordinators meet, the chairs of the taskforcesmeet, and so on. And that seems to bebeneficial. It’s also something that could alsobe replicated in the whole area ofCommunity Development, but there is nopoint in us here in Mespil Road saying ‘Thatshould be done’ if the practitionersthemselves don’t see any point in it.”

Have you any questions for projects?“No, not now, I’m in listening mode.”Are meetings scheduled for regional

conferences connected to the review?“Those meetings have yet to be arranged.”And are you still a member of Amnesty

International?“Yes, I’m still a member,” he added.

changing ireland $106 billion in aid sent to developing countries in 2005 - unicef15

ad Interviews

y has “enormous” reach• the Irish language.• the Gaeltacht.• the development of Ireland's inhabited off-shore islands.

Finally, the following State Boards and agencies discharge specificresponsibilities in the community, rural, Gaeltacht and islands sectorsunder the aegis of the Department:• Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland.• Dormant Accounts Board.• Western Development Commission.• Údarás na Gaeltachta.• Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge.• An Coimisiún Logainmneacha (the Placenames Commission).

• Pobal (formerly ADM), a company established by the IrishGovernment, in agreement with the European Commission, topromote social inclusion, reconciliation and equality through localsocial and economic development. It administers the LocalDevelopment Social Inclusion Programme, (LDSIP), RAPID and PEACEII Programmes on behalf of the Department.

• Two cross-border implementation bodies - An Foras Teanga(comprising Foras na Gaeilge and Tha Boord o Ulster-Scotch) andWaterways Ireland.

To find out more about the Department of Community, Rural andGaeltacht Affairs, or Craggy, visit: www.pobail.ie

arey mind

agencies work together, it gives you greathope for the future,” said the Minister. Hegave as an example a trip he made toEdenderry in Co. Offaly where all theagencies and groups were working very welltogether.

* * * * *

2008 HOPESThis year, Minister Carey hopes to extend

the Young Peoples Facilities and ServicesFund (YPFSF).

In 1998, the Government established theYPFSF to target young people at risk fromsubstance misuse in disadvantaged areas. Bydeveloping youth, sport and otherrecreational facilities, the YPFSF seeks toattract ‘at risk’ young people away from thepotential dangers of substance misuse, intosafe, non-threatening and constructiveenvironments

An extra €12.5 million was budgeted forthe National Drugs Strategy in 2008(bringing the total drugs funding to €64mthis year) and a lot of this is earmarked toexpand the YPFSF to more areas outsideDublin.

YOUNG PEOPLE’S SERVICES“The increased allocation will facilitate

increased activity under the Young People’sFacilities and Services Fund – includingfurther progress towards the fullimplementation of the action plans of theRegional Drugs Task Forces,” Minister Careytold the Dail in December.

The year should see increased capitalfunding for drug related projects and

facilities for young people and new initiativesare promised in tackling cocaine abuse.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT“In the Community Development area, I am

very anxious that we try to get a clear viewof the future CDPs, of the potential they haveand of the options that can be pursued, so wecan get the best possible value for people’sinput at local level,” said Minister Carey.

“If Community Development meansanything, it means you have to have anorganic approach to the work all the time.We must avoid this tendency to stultify, bydoing the same thing year in, year out.”

* * * * *Should or could CDPs have a national

office?“I personally don’t see any huge

restrictions (apart from resources) but manyof the projects are so busy doing their own

thing that they have gone away from therepresentative structures.

“It may well turn be like this - in the area ofdrugs, there are different sectors meet atnational level a couple of times a year. Thevoluntary and community reps meet, co-ordinators meet, the chairs of the taskforcesmeet, and so on. And that seems to bebeneficial. It’s also something that could alsobe replicated in the whole area ofCommunity Development, but there is nopoint in us here in Mespil Road saying ‘Thatshould be done’ if the practitionersthemselves don’t see any point in it.”

Have you any questions for projects?“No, not now, I’m in listening mode.”Are meetings scheduled for regional

conferences connected to the review?“Those meetings have yet to be arranged.”And are you still a member of Amnesty

International?“Yes, I’m still a member,” he added.

Minister of State Pat Carey.

16changing ireland emigrants post home twice as much as western aid gives - sutherland

IT is certain that new funding arrangementsto support community based childcareprovision will come into affect during July ofthis year. What was less certain in the run-up to Christmas was what exactly these newarrangements would look like.

Early November saw the Minister forChildren, Brendan Smith, announce theintroduction of a new Community ChildcareSubvention Scheme to replace the existingstaffing grants that allowed not-for-profitchildcare facilities provide affordablechildcare in disadvantaged areas.

Under the new scheme, as first proposed,community childcare providers were toreceive a tiered subvention payment based onthe number of children attending theirfacilities whose parents are in receipt of socialwelfare payments, are engaged in trainingand training programmes or receive a FamilyIncome Support (FIS) payment.

Following widespread criticism fromcommunity childcare providers the Ministerannounced that working parents will not bedisadvantaged under the new scheme andthat the scope of the new scheme would bechanged before its full implementation.(News of the changes are carried on theback page – Editor).

In the meantime, however, the volunteerswho run community childcare services werenone-the-wiser about the extent of fundingthey could budget for post July 2008.

For his part, the Minister defended thethrust of the new scheme with some validarguments. Not all services operating with theaid of the existing staffing schemes hadimplemented a tiered fee structure. This meantthat the benefit of public funding was notalways felt by those most in need. The

Minister also believes that under the newscheme greater numbers of children fromdisadvantaged backgrounds will be able toavail of affordable childcare as childrenattending private as well as communityfacilities will benefit.

However, the new subvention scheme – asat first proposed – betrayed a lack ofunderstanding regarding the conditionsunder which community childcare providersoperate.

Community childcare services are locatedin areas of recognised disadvantage. It did

not necessarily follow, however, that parentsin these areas would qualify for subventionunder the new scheme. Take for exampleservices located in rural areas. The nature ofdisadvantage in rural areas is more-oftenexperienced through isolation or a lack ofservices than through financial hardship.There may only be a handful of children ofpre-school age in some rural communities.Even if every parent of every child qualifiedfor subvention payments, which is highlyunlikely, there is no way that services in thesesmall communities could have stayed openwithout a staffing grant.

Many others living in communities currentlyserviced by a community childcare scheme

would not have been eligible for subventionpayments because they are working. Bylinking access to childcare services toeligibility for welfare payments, the schemewas in danger of being a barrier to thosehoping to take up paid employment.

The proposed scheme would also haveposed serious difficulties for the voluntarymanagement boards running these services.Voluntary boards wondered how they couldoffer contracts of employment to staffmembers when they were unsure of theamount of funding they would receive afterJuly. At least now that adjustments have beenmade to the scheme, such voluntary boardsare in a better position.

The proposed scheme also clashed with acondition of funding for many communitybuildings (that funding was made availableon the condition that a service be provided).Implementation of the original scheme placedmany community childcare services in theimpossible position of being unable toprovide a service but required to do so all thesame.

A host of other difficulties relating to thenew scheme were also identified by CDPs andFRCs involved in community childcare. All ofthem demonstrate the precarious position ofvolunteers attempting to provide aninvaluable service for their communities.However, the real roots of the problem havesince been addressed, though the Ministerdenies he did a U-turn, reminding people hesaid he would make changes.

Nonetheless, the November announcementgave volunteers a headache they did notneed as 2007 came to a close. At least thechanges to the scheme were announced intime for them to enjoy Christmas.

Headaches easedby changes tochildcare scheme

Childcare Scheme/Feature

Minister for Children Brendan Smith.

The nature of disadvantage

in rural areas is more-often

experienced through

isolation or a lack of

services than through

financial hardship.

By MORGAN MEE

17changing ireland religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich - napoleon

THERE are two stories in this issue concerningCork City Council which demonstrate strikinglydifferent relationships with local CDPs. In thestory concerning a community arts project, therelationship between the local authority andthe CDP (and an arts group the CDP supports)could not be better. In the other case, whichinvolves a make-or-break €60 millionregeneration scheme, neither side shows muchempathy with the other’s viewpoint.

The Council say they fully consulted withresidents over a three-year period, while theCDP - and an environmental group it supports -

say it was all done and dusted in one night. On the plus side, the council and

Knocknaheeny residents and community groupsare all happy to say the first half of the physicalregeneration has been a success. It is the secondhalf that has come unstuck.

Compromises have been reached, but for theCDP they do not go far enough and so theproject fears the City Council may inadvertentlybuild a new “social jungle” instead of aregenerated neighbourhood. Cork City Councilsees it the other way around – too manychanges would dilute their plan and the existingsocial problems would not be solved. Thecounter-argument given back is that the Council– officals and councillors - were afraid tochange their original plan too much for fear oflosing central government funding for theoverall project.

It’s probably what’s known as the midwaypoint in a regeneration scheme, the time whenthe question “Will it work or won’t it work?’really begins to bite.

In fairness, both the City Council and the CDPare concerned, in their own ways, about gettingit right and both would agree that much hasbeen achieved to date. Knocknaheeny is todayin a better place than it was beforeregeneration.

However, spending millions, as we know nowfrom Ballymun’s regeneration, does notguarantee improvements all round. The much-touted Ballymun success is turning sour,according to community groups there. Newhotels, houses and amenities have been built,

yet anti-social behaviour remains a problem inBallymun. The regeneration schemes in FatimaMansions and St. Michael’s Estate in Dublin, bycomparison, are being viewed locally (the localview being the crucial one) as major successes.Regeneration can swing either way.

In any case, Cork’s city councillors have votedfor the the partly-amended Masterplan, (whichtakes on board some and disregards other ofthe concerns raised by the CDP, local groupsand residents) and it is going ahead. All thecouncillors from the Ward that includesKnocknaheeny voted in favour. For the sake ofresidents, one hopes it achieves its aims ofimproving the quality of life on the hill.

The biggerpicture"THE Regeneration of an area is notsimply confined to remedial works tohouses alone. The bigger picture ofthe entire area has to be addressed,in terms of educational, childcare,sport and community facilities aswell as much improved healthfacilities."

- Batt O’Keeffe, Minister of Stateat the the Department of theEnvironment, Heritage and LocalGovernment, which fundsregeneration projects, during a visitto Knocknaheeny and the Glen, inDecember.

The nature ofpower“THERE is a need for the communitydevelopment sector to reflect on itspractice in relation to giving voice topeople experiencing poverty… Inthe debate about people becomingempowered and freeing themselvesfrom power, there has been anabsence of discussion about thenature of power.”

- Anna Lee, former chairperson ofthe Combat Poverty Agency (CPA)and author of ‘CommunityDevelopment: Current Issues andChallenges’, published by the CPA in2006.

Growing up inKnocknaheeny,Cork.

Regeneration

Introduction: €60mKnocknaheeny regeneration - two views, and only one chance to get it right

© Derek Speirs

By ALLEN MEAGHER

18changing ireland if you sneeze too hard, you may fracture a rib

Regeneration

Fears that City Hall isbuilding a “social jungle”- worried residents and CDP express concern“KNOCKNAHEENY didn’t just fall out of the sky– it’s got a history and a past,” says TeresaO’Sullivan, chairperson of ‘We The People’, theCDP for the Knocknaheeny and Hollyhill areasof Cork city, where a physical regeneration ismidway through.

“This community has settled and there is agreat community spirit here. It is an establishedestate, with a population of around 6000 peoplebetween Knocknaheeny and Holyhill.”

“We are proud of our area. Seán Óg ÓhAilpín comes from here,” continues Ms.O’Sullivan. “And the runner Mark Carroll.”

During a round-table discussion involving thelocal environment group and CDP members, Ms.O’Sullivan said everyone welcomes theregeneration, with one major misgiving: “Wewelcome the new family centre, the shelteredaccommodation and the youth centre. But, to tellyou the truth, they are building a social jungle.”

The group is afraid that history might repeatitself: Like many council housing estates in theRepublic, Knocknaheeny suffered a serious blowin the 1980s when there was a sudden exodusof people who had jobs and incomes and hadpurchased their homes from the local authority.(The government, desperately in need of morehousing, offered £5000 incentives to people tosell up and move out). More often than not,

vulnerable young people on low incomes orpeople with limited life-chances replaced thosewho left. The policy created ghettos.

“The £5000 grants were terrible for ourcommunity,” recalls Ms. O’Sullivan.

“Regeneration is doing the same now,”chimes in Ms. O’Regan. “The City Council arebuying people’s houses and leaving them out.”

The City Council builds new houses in thearea and buy back some people’s homes fromthem.

“People are outraged at the City Councilunsettling the area all over again,” commentedNorma Kenny.

The Council’s masterplan called for the closureof all back-lanes through the positioning of infillhousing. However, the masterplan has nowbeen amended and only 29 of 54 proposed infillhouses will be built. A success for thecommunity’s environment group and itssupporter the CDP? Not quite, they did not wantany infill housing.

They are not against new people moving into“our community” as Patty O’Brien puts it, “but ifall the working people move out, you are goingto be back to all young families andunemployment and all the social problems willstart again. You need the social mix we have.”

Ms. O’Regan noted that the environmentgroup started off having a good relationshipwith the Council, but that has changed.

“The Council laid out maps and plans ontables in a hall in 1999 and people were invitedto come in and look at them, though they didn’tknow what they were really looking at. Everyonewho came was signed in, so there was a record.

That was the consultation,” asserts Ms. O’Reganand nobody around the table disagrees with her.

“For the past ten years, the buzzword hasbeen consultation,” says Ms. O’Sullivan. “Atnational level, you have all the actors engagedin social partnership and that is supposed to bereplicated at local level, but it has only been toa limited extent. Local people have to push to getinformation.”

“For example, the plan was ‘available to thepublic’, but only by calling to the planningoffices in the city and you couldn’t take it awayto have a look at,” she said.

A local councillor - Michael O’Connell – iscredited with getting the group a physical copyof the plan and it has been on display on ‘WeThe People CDP’s window ever since.

When residents saw that laneways weregoing and new neighbours would be moving in,136 submissions on these and other issues werelodged with City Hall. This from an area where

literacy is an issue for an above-averagenumber of people.

“People were adamant that if they go aheadhere with what we don’t want, we will protest onthe streets,” says Norma Kenny.

The environmental group have picketed CityHall in the past.

“We have no problem doing it again,” saysMs. O’Brien.

“The Council didn’t want to deal with us as acommunity,” continued Ms. O’Brien. She is theresidents’ representative on RAPID’s local AreaImplementation Team (AIT).

The RAPID AIT tried to meet with the directorof Housing & Community Services “on numerousoccasions” without success. Ms. O’Brien alsonoted that the five local councillors “don’t eventurn up to RAPID AIT meetings”, something thatis a problem in other parts of the country also.

* * * * *“The CDP supports residents, gives them a

space to meet, a place they can come into to talkabout their problems,” continued Ms. O’Brien.“We are always trying to keep people involved,be it through RAPID, Cork City Partnership, theDrugs Taskforce and so on.”

The CDP provides everything a campaigngroup might want from forwarding queries tocouncillors to photocopying, typing, literacy-support and stationery.

* * * * *One wonders what Seán Óg, well-used at this

stage to wrangling with officials, would have tosay on the whole matter, but the hurler hasenough on his own plate for one year.• For more information, contact: 'We The

People' CDP, Unit 4 Hollyhill ShoppingCentre, Knocknaheeny, Cork. T: 021-4399503 F: 021 4399866.E: wethepeople@eircom.net

Knocknaheeny people gather for a meeting. Photo includes: Seamus Ambrose, Norma Kenny, NoreenO’Regan, chairperson of the Environment Group and CDP Co-ordinator, Teresa O’Sullivan, CDPchairperson, Patty O’Brien and John Shinkwin.

“The plan was ‘available to the public’, but only bycalling to the planning offices in the city and youcouldn’t take it away to have a look at.”

ration

CCoouunncciill ssttrroonnggllyy ddeeffeennddwwoorrkk iinn KKnnoocckknnaahheeeennyy“WE’D say very strongly that there was a threeyear consultation through which theKnocknaheeny Regeneration began,” says PaulMoynihan, Senior Executive Officer with CorkCity Council’s Housing & Community Services.

“I don’t accept that there was only one meetingin 1999 and that served as consultation. We hadurban planners and architects engaged inconsultation with residents. We have thedemocratic will of the Council.”

“In Knocknaheeny, people are saying it will bea social jungle, it will be ugly, but Knocknaheenyhas improved in the last five years and that isthanks to the masterplan. At the same time, I’mnot saying we have a monopoly on wisdom.

“‘We The People’ CDP are one of a number ofgroups respresenting the people ofKnocknaheeny. I don’t discount their concerns,but we went through a long process ofconsultation to come up with what is right forKnocknaheeny.”

He said City Hall employs two project liasonofficers who “work very closely with the people”.

He added: “But you can’t make an omelettewithout breaking eggs.”

“The Ward Councillors asked us to go througha certain approach with regard to theconsultation. And no matter what we do,someone will come forward saying their voicesare unheard.

“We have a council objective which has to beimplemented and it is very hard now to go backand change the masterplan because it mightendanger the funding (coming through theDepartment of the Environment, Heritage andLocal Government)

“Ask any fair-minded person hasKnocknaheeny improved in the last five years.That’s how you judge the regeneration. It hasimproved if you ask me: There is a greater feelingof well-being, there is less crime and there ismore confidence in the community.

Initiatives that are on the way (or built) includea new town centre, 48 affordable houses, aYouthlink facility, a Family Centre, the newBarnardos “Brighter Futures” centre (open), ahealth centre, credit union and shelteredaccommodation for the elderly.

“The refurbishment of the housing was just oneelement – we also planned for childcare, someprivate housing and for community facilities.Barndardos €3 million centre is one example.”

* * * * *“In general, there is now much greater access

in and out of Knocknaheeny. The area had a verybig image problem and our idea was to open the

area up and remove the stigma. There are now50 units of affordable housing in Holyhill Lane,previously a troubled, no-go area, but a placewhere there is access now.”

He said, “It’s an absolute fact that poor layoutand design of roads and housing directlycontributes to anti-social behaviour. Some ‘BlockD’ alleyways are quiet right now, but we see themas potential sources of anti-social behaviour.”

At the same time, he accepted that work on‘Block D’ was “intrusive”.

“We’ve got a lot of adverse comment on ‘BlockD’ but it doesn’t look like a stereotypical localauthority estate and it breaks up the monotony ofthe design. Substantial compromises were made.We met the elected councillors. We have thedemocratic will of the council.”

“The masterplan had very basic principles withregard to Knocknaheeny’s backlanes. The ideawas to remove the rear access (lanes) and preventanti-social behaviour and that has been verysuccessful with regard to ‘Block D’ which wasBeirut in its day. Now the residents have secureparking.

He acknowledged that residents were fearfulthat new roads might do the opposite to what wasintended and attract joy-riders.

“The CDP and others – yes, they have a voiceand they feed in, but our councillors asked us tomake changes (less infill housing, less through-roads) and we made those changes,” he said.

The Council has now dropped some roadplans and reduced the planned number of infillhousing units from 59 to 28.

Mr. Moynihan said the regeration ofKnocknaheeny was “a difficult contract” andpraised residents for being “very co-operative”.He said the Council encountered difficultiespreviously with a regeneration scheme in TheGlen, but now residents have “better parking anda better living environment and greater security.”

And the hope is that the same will happen inKnocknaheeny.

“You need to be very strong in leadership andthe consultation was long and lengthy andincluded a lot of long evenings in Knocknaheeny.The regeneration cannot be delivered withoutpain and we are there at that point now, but whatwe are trying to do is to secure the long-termneeds of the area forever.”

He recalled an affordable housing project theCouncil built in Blackrock that was labelled a“monster” by critics and five years on is seen asa success.

“Once the pain of change has been endured,people see the positive,” added Mr. Moynihan.

For more information: www.corkcity.ie

THE biggest regeneration project everundertaken in this country is beginningin Limerick city following the launch inJanuary of ‘Vision’ documents (draftplans) by President Mary McAleese.

"The social regeneration aspectrepresents the biggest challenge,therefore it gets most attention in theplan," says Regeneration CEO, BrendanKenny. Radical new social measuresthat may require changes to nationalpolicy are proposed. As has beenwidely reported, the estates will bemostly demolished and rebuilt: suchrebuilding forms an important part ofregeneration theory.

Already there are more Gardai onthe ground in Limerick’s housing estatesand local residents – including somewho fled their homes and hope oneday to return - have invested more faithin these plans than in promises madeby Government in past decades. Hopehas returned for the first time in years.

CDPs across the city were verywelcoming of the ‘Vision’ documentsand there is a wide spectrum ofsupport, locally, regionally and itappears nationally, for the city’sRegeneration Agencies.

For more information, log onto:www.limerickregeneration.ie

Regenerationbuilds hope in Limerick

President Mary McAleese.

19changing ireland www.pobail.ie

20changing ireland cookstown has the widest street in n. Ireland

THE Roscommon Women’s Network CDP andNorth West Roscommon CDP have broughttogether 28 women of various cultures andnationalities living in the county to produce amagnificent 24-panel quilt. The quilt iscurrently on a tour of the county.

The main purpose of the project is to raiseawareness of 17th October, UN Internationalday for the Eradication of Poverty.

The finished Quilt measures over seven byten feet and each panel is designed and createdby the individual woman and represents herculture.

The women in the team are from Russia,South Africa, Ghana, Congo, Zimbabwe,Brazil, Pakistan, America, Germany, Englandtogether with Irish women from the TravellingCommunity, local Active Age Groups, andwomen’s groups in the county and the CastleQuilters Group.

Over ten weeks, the team planned, designedand created the quilt and organised thepresentation of their finished product.

The team have also produced a book toaccompany the Quilt on exhibition. This book

contains photographs of each of the 24individual panels with a few words alongsideeach photograph which expresses whatinspired the individual to design their paneland what it means to them.

The quilt project received funding from TheCombat Poverty Agency and the RoscommonCounty Development Board and theRoscommon Women’s Network CDP alsocontributed funding.

PARTNERSHIPThe two CDPs partnered with the Roscommon

Education & Development Centre (READ) toprovide support to the women in terms oforganising meeting dates, venue, mediacoverage, transport etc. However all decisionson design, theme, materials, layout, dates,presentation and so on were discussed andagreed by the women themselves.

EMPOWERMENTThe women were empowered at all stages

from initiation to presentation and ongoingexhibition of the finished Quilt. The Quilt wason display in Roscommon and Boyle Librariesover the last few months. It is currently ondisplay in Castlerea Library and will continue to

be exhibited in venues in towns around thecounty during 2008.

COMMON GOALAll the women involved have worked as a

team: they have discussed, debated, agreed,organised and fully engaged with the work andwith each other in pursuit of a common goal.The women are very proud of the end result andwere elated by the number of people whoattended the unveiling and the response andfeedback they have received during and sincethe unveiling event.

COLLECTIVE WORKThe members of the team have expressed a

wish to remain together as a group and to inviteother members to join and expand the group.They intend to continue working together,continue to build on friendships while alsocreating together. As Freha Afran from Pakistanstated at the unveiling event “A littlecontribution from a number of people can makea big difference”.

ANTI-POVERTYThe slogan “Many hands together make the

burden less heavy to carry” was adopted by the

group as it was unanimously agreed that thesewords best express how the women feel aboutbeing involved in this project and what togetherthey have managed to achieve while it alsocommunicates that by working together povertycan be eradicated. The team also feel that thesewords express solidarity with people for whompoverty and social exclusion are daily realitieswhich is the overall aim of this Quilting project.

SUSTAINABILITYThe Roscommon Women’s Network together

with North West Roscommon CDP and theREAD centre will work towards supporting theteam to identify opportunities and sourcefunding for a project which they would like towork on in 2008.

CO-ORDINATIONThe members of the Intercultural Project team

linked with five groups or agencies to achievetheir ambitions.

If you would like any further information onthis project or on the exhibition venues pleasecontact Roscommon Women’s Network CDPon 094-9621690.* Nora Fahy is Project Co-ordinator of

Roscommon Women's Network CDP

By NORA FAHY*

Seeking funding“WE are in the process of identifyingfunding sources to apply to so thewomen could embark on another projectthis year. They have discussed thepossibility of doing a film, drama oranother piece of art.

“We need funding to cover materialsand travel expenses as the 26 women inthe team live in different parts of thecounty.”

- Nora Fahy, CDP co-ordinator

Start preparingnow forOctober 17thSINCE 1948, individuals and groups atlocal, national and international levelhave joined in the annual event tohonour those who suffer extremepoverty. Local groups have come up withmany wonderful ways of doing so. Thefollowing links may be useful if youhave ideas, need ideas, or in the lattercase need funding support:

www.17october.iewww.atd-fourthworld.orgwww.cpa.ie

History of 17th OctoberOCTOBER 17th is the UN Internationalday for the Eradication of Poverty. OnOctober 17, 1987, in reply to an appealone Father Joseph Wresinski, 100,000defenders of human rights gatheredtogether in Paris to honour victims ofhunger, violence, and ignorance, toexpress their refusal of extreme poverty,and to call on mankind to unite toensure the respect of human rights.

A Commemorative Stone in Honour ofthe Victims of Extreme Poverty,proclaiming this message, wasinaugurated on this occasion on thePlaza of Human Rights and Liberties(formerly Trocadero Plaza), at the placewhere in 1948 the Universal Declarationof Human Rights was signed. (Note: TheDeclaration is featured in this issue inour Resource Section).

North WestRoscommon CDPaims and objectives:- Improve the quality of life for older

people in the community.- Facilitate the development and the

expansion of services for youngpeople.

- Establish a Community TransportScheme.

- Support community and the voluntaryactivity in the CDP catchment area.

- Develop NW Roscommon CDP as alearning organisation that reflects andreviews its activities, policies andprocedures and which is inclusive oflocal communities.

Q: Why is a quilt touringCounty Roscommon?

A: To bring together peoplewho want to raiseawareness of poverty.Sounds confusing: it’snot when you thinkabout the fact thatpeople need to focus onsomething together forthe individuals to mergeas a team, as a workinggroup.

On the ground

Intercultural Quilting- Roscommon’s multi-cultured quilt goes on tour

On the left is Ksenia Chizhikova, aged 16, from Russia, and now living in Ballaghadereen, Co.Roscommon. Beside her is Nomgqibelo Gumede, South Africa. Both are asylum seekers living inBallaghadereen.

contains photographs of each of the 24individual panels with a few words alongsideeach photograph which expresses whatinspired the individual to design their paneland what it means to them.

The quilt project received funding from TheCombat Poverty Agency and the RoscommonCounty Development Board and theRoscommon Women’s Network CDP alsocontributed funding.

PARTNERSHIPThe two CDPs partnered with the Roscommon

Education & Development Centre (READ) toprovide support to the women in terms oforganising meeting dates, venue, mediacoverage, transport etc. However all decisionson design, theme, materials, layout, dates,presentation and so on were discussed andagreed by the women themselves.

EMPOWERMENTThe women were empowered at all stages

from initiation to presentation and ongoingexhibition of the finished Quilt. The Quilt wason display in Roscommon and Boyle Librariesover the last few months. It is currently ondisplay in Castlerea Library and will continue to

be exhibited in venues in towns around thecounty during 2008.

COMMON GOALAll the women involved have worked as a

team: they have discussed, debated, agreed,organised and fully engaged with the work andwith each other in pursuit of a common goal.The women are very proud of the end result andwere elated by the number of people whoattended the unveiling and the response andfeedback they have received during and sincethe unveiling event.

COLLECTIVE WORKThe members of the team have expressed a

wish to remain together as a group and to inviteother members to join and expand the group.They intend to continue working together,continue to build on friendships while alsocreating together. As Freha Afran from Pakistanstated at the unveiling event “A littlecontribution from a number of people can makea big difference”.

ANTI-POVERTYThe slogan “Many hands together make the

burden less heavy to carry” was adopted by the

group as it was unanimously agreed that thesewords best express how the women feel aboutbeing involved in this project and what togetherthey have managed to achieve while it alsocommunicates that by working together povertycan be eradicated. The team also feel that thesewords express solidarity with people for whompoverty and social exclusion are daily realitieswhich is the overall aim of this Quilting project.

SUSTAINABILITYThe Roscommon Women’s Network together

with North West Roscommon CDP and theREAD centre will work towards supporting theteam to identify opportunities and sourcefunding for a project which they would like towork on in 2008.

CO-ORDINATIONThe members of the Intercultural Project team

linked with five groups or agencies to achievetheir ambitions.

If you would like any further information onthis project or on the exhibition venues pleasecontact Roscommon Women’s Network CDPon 094-9621690.* Nora Fahy is Project Co-ordinator of

Roscommon Women's Network CDP

Quilters at work in Roscommon.

Mixed up!Dear Horace,

I don’t understand the American people. Afew years ago this Obama Sin Lidan was theworld’s most dangerous terrorist and they wentand invaded Iraq looking for him. Now I hear

that Iraq Obama might be elected President ofAmerica.

- Terry Rised

Horace Helps:You’ve got things mixed up alright: Osama

Bin Laden wasn’t in Iraq. He was in Afghanistan.Then I think you mean Borat Obama who isoriginally from Kazakhstan. Obama has nothingto do with terrorism except that his grandmotherwas from Offaly and was the most fearedwoman on the GAA fields around Ferbane.

KidnappedDear Horace,

What is the difference between renditionand extraordinary rendition?

- U. Femism

Horace Helps:Rendition refers to how someone sings a song

as in ‘that was a fine rendition of that song.’Extraordinary rendition is a better or unusualversion of that song. And generallyextraordinary rendition leaves people

screaming out for more, or sometimes justscreaming. It’s big in the West of Ireland for thepast few years, particularly Clare. Don’t botherwith the Willie Clancy Music Festival, headstraight for Shannon Airport, where the mostextraordinary renditions of all take place.

Strike!Hello Horace,

The Writer’s Guild of America are on strikeand so actors can’t act because they havenothing to say. Then why do we still have tolisten to written speeches from politicians? Arethey not actors by another name?

- Telly Blank

Horace Doesn’t Help:I can’t say because the person who normally

writes this column is on strike.

Write to: Help Me Horace, ‘Changing Ireland’, c/o CDN Moyross, Community Enterprise Centre, Moyross,Limerick.

21changing ireland ringsend action project unveil ‘the door’ on march 8

he ground

ral

on tour

22changing ireland an té nach bhfuil láidir ní folair dó a bheith glic

LEIGH Gath was born with a disability becauseof the Thalidomide drug. Her life story readslike a good novel, full of twists and turns,broken hearts, romance and sometimes goodluck, but her life’s journey is especiallyinspiring because she was dismissed by muchof society from birth onwards yet stillprospered thanks to her own determinationand love shown by others.

Over 300 people listened intently as Ms. Gathaddressed a seminar in December organised byTralee-based CDP, the Kerry Network of Peoplewith Disabilities:

“I am 45 years old, a wife and mother. I drivemy own car. I have lived in 3 different countriesand have always, since I was 17 years old,worked in the disability field to try to further therights of people with disabilities. Oh yes, anddid I forget to mention, I also have a disability.

“I am the youngest of three girls, and when Iwas born in 1962 my parents were told to leaveme

at the hospital and go home and try again.They were told I would never sit or moveunaided. I would never feed or dress myself – infact I would need round the clock care. Thankgoodness for me that my parents were stubbornand decided that even if I did need 24 hourcare, I was still their daughter. I have two oldersisters – the one next to me is 7 years older thanme and we get on great. The other one who is9 years older than me cannot accept mydisability and has nothing to do with me – evencrossing the street so people in Newry won’tthink we’re related,” she said.

RIDICULOUS EXPECTATIONSLeigh told the audience that many of them

probably had negative experiences as teenagerssimilar to her own:

“When I was a child and even a teenager Iwas told by people that relationships were notfor me, that I need not worry about workingbecause what could I do, and the thought of mehaving children, for many, was just ridiculous.

“But my mom always told me to go after mydreams. Even though at times it was verydifficult, I went out with my friends to discos, gotdrunk with them, and even got the odd kiss froma guy. But there were many nights I cried myselfto sleep because I began to think those peoplewere right – that I would be alone in my life.

“I have a friend called Maggie who is alsoaffected by the thalidomide drug. I met herwhen we were both 21. Maggie was brimmingwith confidence and she lived in Dublin at thetime. I would go down to Dublin from Newry ona Friday night after work and we would hit thenightclubs. I had a great time and gained lots ofconfidence.

“Then Maggie and I decided in 1987 to go onholiday together to Jersey in the ChannelIslands. That’s where I met my first husband –Declan. He was the chef in our hotel, and onceintroduced by the manager, we ended up goingout together every night.

“At the end of his summer term at the hotel,

Declan came back to Northern Ireland and wemoved in together. Everyone was stunned, notbecause we were living together, but because,as he didn’t have a disability, everyone assumedhe was being my personal assistant as well asboyfriend. But he was not – I manage all mypersonal care independently.

“In 1991 we got married, and in 1994 Ibecame pregnant with my son. He was born inDecember 1994, by which time we had appliedfor American green card visas through the visalottery and had been accepted on theprogramme.

CHILDREN AND DIVORCE“We emigrated to Texas in July, 1995.

Declan had always liked a few drinks, but it gottotally out of control in Texas after I becamepregnant again. I filed for divorce on him inSeptember 1996 when my daughter was 4weeks old and my son was 20 months old. Hetook off shortly after the divorce was finalizedand we haven’t seen him again since. I raisedthe kids totally alone for 6 months before beingaccepted on a personal assistance programmethere – which gave me a personal assistant for30 hours a week. As the kids got older Ireduced the hours because I enjoy doing thework myself for my family without a strangerthere all the time.

“All through my time in Texas I worked indisability rights, and at the end of 2002 decidedto start a Bachelors degree online. It wasdistance learning and meant I could study oncethe kids were in bed at night. I wanted to get thedegree so I could get a better job and give thekids a better life. Because again I assumed Iwould raise them totally alone.

“My life was really busy then when I met

Eugene – my current husband – through awebsite designed to let people affected bythalidomide chat to each other, and shareproblems or ideas.

MARRIED AGAIN“Eugene works at the University of Limerick.

He was also affected by thalidomide and has nolegs. He flew back and forth to Texas so manytimes during our first year that I’m sure he hasshares in Delta airlines. We married in 2004,and then made the decision to come home sothat he could carry on working in UL. We alsodecided to come home because acceptance ofdisabled people in Ireland was much better now,and access was improving which meant I couldbetter take part in my kids lives and activities.

“Eugene is my rock. He has adopted Karland Aisling and is a great dad and husband.Last year I went through surgery and aftercaretreatment for thyroid cancer and he was rightthere supporting me.”

Leigh concluded with this advice, “So – nomatter what other people’s expectations are foryou – live your dream. Don’t ever let anyonetake your dreams from you!”

Originally from Co. Down, Leigh now liveswith her partner in Newcastlewest, Co. Limerick.She is a board member of the national Centerfor Independent Living.

Leigh Gath addressed the seminar, telling her life-story.

310 attend Kerry seminarTHE Kerry Network of People withDisabilities (KNPD) partnered withKerry Education Services to co-host aseminar titled “Diversity and Inclusion”in December which attracted 310people.

The seminar was aimed at peoplewith disabilities, education providers,and organizations and businesses thatare aiming to be more inclusive.

The speakers included: NoelO’Neill, Chairperson, and MargaretO’Shea, Community DevelopmentWorker, with the Kerry Network ofPeople with Disabilities; John Redican,CEO of the Irish Advocacy Network;Dr. Barney O’Reilly, CEO of KerryEducation Services (KES), BridgetHorgan, Equality Officer at KES, andnewly elected Fianna Fail TD, SeanConnick, author Kath Gillespie-Sellsand psychologist Karen Belshaw.Members of the KNPD, Nora O’Brienand Maria O’Brien also spoke of theirexperiences on behalf of members ofthe Traveling community with adisability.

There were 20 information stands atthe event.

Equality and Rights: Disability

“Leave her behind and try again”- The advice Leigh Gath’s parents received from the maternity hospital

23changing ireland whoever is not strong must be clever

Equality of opportunityis still aspirational- says John Redican, CEO, Irish Advocacy NetworkTHREE national bodies have all recentlypublished research that shows there are stillmany obstacles that limit opportunities forpeople with disabilities in Ireland,particularly those with a mental healthdisability.

John Redican, CEO, Irish AdvocacyNetwork, addressed the issue from a humanrights perspective at the seminar held inDecember by the Kerry Network of Peoplewith Disabilities, one of five CDPs in CountyKerry.

He said that negative attitudes towardspeople with disabilities “do not belong in a21st century society striving towardsinclusivity.”

He quoted Article 1 of the UniversalDeclaration of Fundamental Rights andFreedoms (1948) which states: “All humanbeings are born free and equal in dignity andrights. They are endowed with reason andconscience and should act towards one

another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

SOCIETY DISABLES PEOPLEHowever, in research conducted by the

National Disability Authority (NDA), 61% ofrespondents felt that it was society whichdisables people by creating barriers. Anexample might be some TV programmes andother media which stretch the boundaries ofcommon decency and influence recklessattitudes.

The National Office for Suicide Preventionasked people to agree (or not agree) with thestatement: “People with mental healthproblems should have the same rights asanyone else”

48% disagreed. Mr. Redican commented: “Attitudes like this

lead inexorably towards discrimination. InIreland, of course, we are protected by theConstitution. Or are we? In the NDA surveyonly 45% thought that people with disabilities

were treated fairly.”“Equality of opportunity is still aspirational.

There ARE many positive initiatives, butlimiting factors are also emerging. TheNational Economic and Social Forum (NESF)report showed that most employers wouldneither promote nor give a more responsibleposition to an employee with a mental healthproblem.

“Combating this requires us to have lawswhich promote fairness, equality and socialjustice. If necessary, they should be used likea whip, to drive people to change.

”This will not be easy. People often becomevery uncomfortable with some aspects ofdiversity which challenge their upbringingand received wisdom - their sensitivities areoffended. These unconscious attitudes are themost difficult to change.

MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA“Stigma still flourishes, despite attempts to

reduce its influence. Those with a mentalhealth disability are heavily affected, but ithas implications for all people with disabilitiesand other marginalised groupings.

“Strong leadership will be required, but thereality, however much they may protest, isthat political leaders will resist doing thingsthat are likely to be unpopular, particularly ifthey may diminish chances of re-election andparticipation in Government.

“It will take particularly imaginative leaderswith robust personal integrity to challengeand change public attitudes without fear ofconsequences,” added the CEO.

GENUINE PARTNERSHIP“One approach would be to forge genuine

partnerships with those who have the abilityto effect change.” Mr. Redican said nothingwould change “unless a concerted effort ismade by all people with disabilities and theirfamilies and friends. We all must stand up,speak out and take control of our owndestinies.” The leaders we need are heretoday. All of us must take responsibility forprogressive change to ensure that people arenot denied opportunities simply because theyare “different”. We are all different.

“Every human being is unique, and withinthat uniqueness lies the key to understanding,acceptance and provision of universalcitizenship,” he added.

Michael Shindler, John Redican and Billy Power at the KNPD seminar. John is CEO of the Irish AdvocacyNetwork.

Rights: Disability

What is peer advocacy?PEER advocates are people who have personalexperience of mental health difficulties whohave achieved a sufficient level of recovery tocomplete an accredited training course in peeradvocacy. Once they are qualified they cancomplete a period working with an existingpeer advocate before engaging with clients ontheir own. This puts them in a unique positionin understanding the problems faced bypeople with mental health difficulties.

The Irish Advocacy Network has peeradvocates in place in most old health boardareas in Ireland, north and south, whoregularly attend acute units and day centers.Sometimes they meet people in the community.

Their main job is to give support andinformation to people with mental healthdifficulties by befriending them and offering aconfidential listening ear or peer advocacy.

- www.irishadvocacynetwork.com/

24changing ireland ní neart go cur le chéile

International/Resource section

By Siobhan Cattermole *

What began as an article on the theme ofviolence against women soon developedinto something much more sinister as Istarted to research the controversial topic of“honour killings.” Indeed I found myselfdelving deeper and deeper into a sinisterworld in which not even the closest memberof family could be trusted - brother, father,mother or grandmother. The image I had of asweet and frail grandmother graduallyvanished.

Let me give you an example: a 70-year-old British grandmotherwas jailed for 20 years after she ordered the murder of herdaughter in law, Surjitt Athwal who was supposedly unfaithful toher husband.

In the case of so-called honour killings, the murder is usuallycarried out by a brother or father who cannot accept some lifedecisions made by their sister or daughter and thus kill them to'preserve the family honour'. It is important for me to note in thisarticle that honour killing does not stem from religious conviction, morefrom closed communities where there is unwillingness or anincapability to examine their values critically. The authorities find itextremely difficult to deal with these murders because many familymembers consider them a form of punishment.

Hina Jilani, a lawyer and human rights activist from Pakistan statesthat “The right to life of women in Pakistan is conditional on theirobeying social norms and traditions.” In Pakistan, women live inconstant fear of their life; they face death by shooting, burning orkilling with axes if they are thought to have brought shame on theirfamily. They are even murdered if they have experienced rape, theirconsent or lack of consent being irrelevant as she is considered to havestill brought shame upon the family. For all of these women the truthdoes not matter, the fact that there is an allegation is enough to bringshame upon the family and so in the eyes of the family and communitytheir murder becomes a just punishment.

Yasmeen Hassan, author of The Haven Becomes Hell: A study ofDomestic Violence in Pakistan states: “The concepts of women asproperty and honour are so deeply entrenched in the social, politicaland economic fabric of Pakistan that the government, for the most part,ignores the daily occurrences of women being killed and married (off)by their families.” (Hassan, ‘The Fate of Pakistani women’). Themajority of honour killings are recorded as having died in accidents or

committed suicide. Of all the stories I have researched, the most horrific was that of

Zahida Perveen from Pakistan, who felt the wrath of her husband 16months ago when, in a fit of rage over her alleged affair with abrother-in-law, bound her hands and feet and slashed her with a razorand knife. She was three months pregnant at the time of the attack.Her comments on the attack as she awaited a court hearing were; “Hecaught me and tied me up, and then he started cutting my face. Henever said a word except, “This is your last night.” (Constable, “ThePrice of Honour”, The Gazette (Montreal), May 22, 2000).

Her husband also subjected Zahida to an acid attack which madeher eyes into empty sockets of unseeing flesh, her earlobes have beencut off and her nose is a a mere stump of bone.

These women who were killed in an unjust, inhuman way did notcommit any immoral or illegal act. Certainly, even if they did, they didnot deserve to die. Awareness of this issue needs to be raised.

It seems that as we fight for human rights we forget that womenmust first be guaranteed the right simply to live.

* Siobhan Cattermole is a development worker in Tralee Women’sResource Centre CDP and this article first appeared in ‘The Women’sVoice’.

HHoonnoouurr kkiilllliinnggss

changing ireland there is no strength without unity

Resource section

UUNN UUnniivveerrssaall DDeeccllaarraattiioonnooff HHuummaann RRiigghhttss 11998844THE United Nations Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights is 60 years old this year. Whilethe Declaration is not legally binding, it hasbeen used to apply moral and diplomaticpressure on governments. The Declarationgives human rights precedence over the powerof the state. It is the world’s most translateddocument according to the Guinness Book ofRecords.

The following text is a slightly shortenedversion of the UN Declaration. While all of thewording printed here comes from the originaldocument, the introduction (called a preamble)and some of the secondary clauses have beenedited out. The full text is available on:www.ohchr.org

1 All human beings are born free and equal indignity and rights. They are endowed withreason and conscience and should acttowards one another in a spirit ofbrotherhood.

2 Furthermore, no distinction shall be made onthe basis of the political, jurisdictional orinternational status of the country or territoryto which a person belongs, whether it beindependent, trust, non-self-governing orunder any other limitation of sovereignty.

3 Everyone has the right to life, liberty andsecurity of person.

4 No one shall be held in slavery or servitude;slavery and the slave trade shall beprohibited in all their forms.

5 No one shall be subjected to torture or tocruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment.

6 Everyone has the right to recognitioneverywhere as a person before the law.

7 All are equal before the law and are entitledwithout any discrimination to equalprotection of the law. All are entitled toequal protection against any discriminationin violation of the Declaration and againstany incitement to such discrimination.

8 Everyone has the right to an effectiveremedy by the competent national tribunalsfor acts violating the fundamental rightsgranted him by the constitution or by law.

9 No one shall be subjected to arbitraryarrest, detention or exile.

10 Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fairand public hearing by an independent andimpartial tribunal, in the determination of hisrights and obligations and of any criminalcharge against him.

11 Everyone charged with a penal offense hasthe right to be presumed innocent untilproved guilty according to law in a publictrial at which he has had all the guaranteesnecessary for his defense.

12 No one shall be subjected to arbitraryinterference with his privacy, family, homeor correspondence, nor to attacks upon hishonor and reputation. Everyone has theright to the protection of the law againstsuch interference or attacks.

13 Everyone has the right to freedom ofmovement and residence within the bordersof each state.

14 Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy

in other countries asylum from persecution.15 Everyone has the right to a nationality.16 Men and women of full age, without any

limitation due to race, nationality or religion,have the right to marry and to found afamily. They are entitled to equal rights as tomarriage, during marriage and at itsdissolution.

17 Everyone has the right to own propertyalone as well as in association with others.

18 Everyone has the right to freedom ofthought, conscience and religion; this rightincludes freedom to change his religion orbelief, and freedom, either alone or incommunity with others and in public orprivate, to manifest his religion or belief inteaching, practice, worship and observance.

19 Everyone has the right to freedom of opinionand expression: this right includes freedomto hold opinions without interference and toseek, receive and impart information andideas through any media and regardless offrontiers.

20 Everyone has the right to freedom ofpeaceful assembly and association.

21 Everyone has the right to take part in thegovernment of his country, directly orthrough freely chosen representatives.

22 Everyone, as a member of society, has theright to social security and is entitled torealisation, through national effort andinternational co-operation and inaccordance with the organisation andresources of each State, of the economic,social and cultural rights indispensable forhis dignity and the free development of hispersonality.

23 Everyone has the right to work, to freechoice of employment, to just and favorableconditions of work and to protection againstunemployment.

24 Everyone has the right to rest and leisure,including reasonable limitation of workinghours and periodic holidays with pay.

25 Everyone has the right to a standard ofliving adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, includingfood, clothing, housing and medical careand necessary social services, and the rightto security in the event of unemployment,sickness, disability, widowhood, old age orother lack of livelihood in circumstancesbeyond his control.

26 Everyone has the right to education.Education shall be free, at least in theelementary and fundamental stages.Elementary education shall be compulsory.Technical and professional education shallbe made generally available and highereducation shall be equally accessible to allon the basis of merit.

27 Everyone has the right freely to participatein the cultural life of the community, to enjoythe arts and to share in scientificadvancement and its benefits.

28 Everyone is entitled to a social andinternational order in which the rights andfreedoms set forth in this Declaration can befully realised.

29 Everyone has duties to the community inwhich alone the free and full development ofhis personality is possible.

30 Nothing in this Declaration may beinterpreted as implying for any State, groupor person any right to engage in any activityor to perform any act aimed at thedestruction of any of the rights and freedomsset forth herein.

A Declaration in every pocket

Vocabulary:Declaration

UN’s Cyberschoolbus

Declaration onResponsibilities

IN 1998, during the Declaration’s 50thanniversary year, everyone who could wasencouraged to make one-page copies of theDeclaration available in every public place(post offices, libraries, polling places,schools). They were encouraged to include theDeclaration in official mailings and toreproduce the Declaration using variousformats (bookmarks, brochures). People wereeven urged to print the Declaration on buses,trains and (what they could fit) on milkcartons. Imagine your community bus pimpedout with the human rights treatment!

Also, community groups were urged toestablish local community human rightsawards for local contributions to human rights.

For the 60th birthday of the Declaration, itis an opportunity once again to highlighthuman rights.

There are 50 ideas on promoting theDeclaration at:http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/education/training/50ideas.htm

A DECLARATION is a document whosesignatories express their agreement with a setof objectives and principles. It is not legallybinding but carries moral weight. The IrishGovernment has signed the UN Declaration ofHuman Rights.

THE United Nations Cyberschoolbus is theonline education project which includes anInteractive Declaration, where each article inthe Declaration is introduced with a plainlanguage version, an exploration of keyissues, definitions, and suggestions foractivities and discussions:

www0.un.org/cyberschoolbus/humanrights/index.asp

IT’S not all about rights you know – we eachhave responsibilities too. There is a‘Declaration on the Right and Responsibilityof Individuals, Groups and Organs of Societyto Promote and Protect UniversallyRecognized Human Rights and FundamentalFreedoms’.

You will find it on the web at:www.interactioncouncil.org/udhr/udhr.html

25

26changing ireland you can’t beat the old sayings

THE Mayor of Tralee, Miriam McGillycuddy,launched a new-look glossy magazine, ‘TheWomen’s Voice’, in December. The magazineis published by Tralee Women’s ResourceCentre, on of four CDPs in the Kerry town.

The Mayor noted there are plenty issuesthat need to be put under the spotlight, forinstance women still are under-represented inpolitics at national and local level, wages arestill lower on average for women and they aresignificantly under-represented in upperlevels of management and structures ofpower.

“People who have the power do not give itaway easily and they simply are not going totake on board in a meaningful way issues thatare important to women like childcare,flexible work practices, education and wages,unless they are lobbied.”

“At the end of the day women have the voteand it is important that ‘The Women’s Voice’says what the needs of Tralee and KerryWomen are and that it is sent to all thepoliticians to make them aware of the issuesand needs of the female population of Kerry.”

She said the magazine’s predecessor, theTralee Women’s Resource Centre Magazinehad “metamorphosized into this glowing,

bright, pink flame from the chrysalis of thepacked informative newsletter that it oncewas.”

“This new magazine promises to generatefrom the empathic listening ear that is theTralee Women’s Resource Centre.,” continuedthe Mayor.

The first edition devoted most of its 8 pagesto highlighting the area of domestic violence

at home and abroad and the need to combatit.

Since Tralee Women’s Resource centreopened their doors in 1995, it has striven toidentify, acknowledge and celebrate the roleof women in society and seek parity ofparticipation. It aims to do this in a way thatis inclusive, participative and actionorientated.

“I know that you at the Tralee Women’sResource Centre have helped countlessnumbers of women by phone and in personby providing the listening and empathic earand support at times of crisis, that you haveprovided work experience for collegestudents, educational opportunities,organised countless workshops andseminars,” said Mayor McGillycuddy

‘The Women’s Voice' will be publishedquarterly and it is available for free fromTralee WRC.

An article from the magazine on the issueof ‘honour killings’ is republished in ourInternational Section in this issue and on thispage Marie Duffy asks ‘Has real freedomfor women been won?’

• Joan Courtney works as a developmentworker with Tralee WRC. She is also amember of the board of management ofTralee CDP.

Women

Tralee women launchnew glossy magazine

By JOAN COURTNEY*

Has real freedom for women been won?

RECENTLY, SIPTU delegate Marnie Holborowgave a talk in the Grand Hotel in Tralee. Thetopic was “Has Real Freedom for Women BeenWon”. To my surprise the males in the audienceoutnumbered the women. Can it be thatwomen nowadays believe that freedom forwomen has been won so no need to fight on?Or is it that so many women are still the mainfamily carers that they hadn’t given themselvesthe time to go to a talk so specifically directedat them. Issues raised that night .

From an African male “Why when manywomen in the west have attained financialsecurity do more of them not enter the politicalarena? In certain cases there is a higherpercentage of women in parliament in Africathan in Ireland.”

Two further comments made by members of

the audience:“Women in Ireland are not drawn towards

politics in Ireland because they think politics isa dirty business.”

“There’s not enough awareness of localissues, or a feeling of citizen obligation tosociety generally, taught in schools.”

One of the biggest issues facing womenworking outside the home today is child care.In Sweden for example the governmentprovides child care facilities. We are now beingtold daily what a richly developed countryfinancially we are on a world scale. So whereis the government’s child care plan for thewomen who are hugely instrumental increating the Celtic tiger in the first place?

I think it is nowhere to be seen because eachsuccessive government have sent a messageloud and clear: “If you need something thenYOU had better go and get it for yourselves.”

When their solution to the problem was, togive tax credits for child care, once again thatin practise only benefited the people whoalready had a bigger salary than the averagewoman in low paid employment.

Is it the situation that when many womenbecame financially rich that they pulled up theladder for those following them instead ofgiving a helping hand to the others as was thewhole original idea of the Women’s’ movementin the 70’s.

Where has the revolution gone amiss sisters?Please write email or phone us your opinionsto…….. ‘Changing Ireland’(editor@changingireland.ie) or to Tralee WRC’s‘The Women’s Voice’ (twrc@iol.ie).

• Marie Duffy works in Tralee Women’sResource Centre CDP and this article firstappeared in their new magazine ‘The Women’sVoice.

asks MARIE DUFFY*

27changing ireland chíonn beirt rud nach bhfeiceann duine amháin

IT’S not easy to get your life back on trackafter a very bad illness. Take it from me.

I was the oldest of a family of eight and Ileft school when I was 12 years old andlooked after myself from then on.

(After marrying his sweetheart andtogether raising a family) I suffered a brainhaemorrhage that left me in a coma for fourweeks, after which the life support that waskeeping me alive was switched off. SomehowI survived, but what followed was a very badcase of depression.

A friend of mine had been on to me to joina group in our parish, I was saying NO, as Idid-not want to get involved anymore, I hadgiven 25 years to the community and they

had done nothing for me or my family when Ihad nearly died. That’s how it felt like. I didnot know at this time that getting involved wasthe very thing that was going to help me overmy depression. I was only to realise that later.

I told my friend that I would go to one oftheir meetings, and my volunteering allstarted again from there when I joined theLarchville/Lisduggan Community Develop-ment Project. From that, I then got involvedwith the Men’s Development Network. It wasthe Men’s Group that gave me the confidenceto go back to school. I wanted to make a goat writing. So I took a chance and signed onat Waterford Institute of Technology.

(Since then Paddy has written his life-storyin a book).

I WISH that you and all at ‘Changing Ireland’go from strength to strength in the comingyears, you and your team are doing asensational job.

I honestly think that your newsletter is amasterpiece the way it covers all aspects ofcommunity work and the millions the Volunteers

are saving the Government. I wish all volunteers in this country and

beyond the best of health for the future. God bless and keep up the great work for us

volunteers.I remain just one of the many.- Patrick O’Sullivan

Volunteer View

TTrryyiinngg ttoo ggeett lliiffee bbaacckkBy PATRICK O’SULLIVAN

Who is Patrick O’Sullivan?FOR 25 years, Patrick O’Sullivan worked in community and voluntary activities in his home city of Waterford, then suffereda near-fatal brain haemorrhage. Depression often follows a near-fatal illness, as Paddy discovered. He also faced having tolearn how to walk again. He thought he had finished with volunteering and was quite bitterly opposed to the idea of everdoing so again. It is only as he looks back that he sees the things that helped him to recover and volunteering withLarchville/Lisduggan CDP and the Men’s Development Network in Waterford are among them. He writes extensively now:

Talk to people!

Be your own hero!

YOU are sitting in your own home, very ill,and everyone is talking around you, talkingabout you, but not talking to you. They (yourfamily) may not realise that you can hearthem. Don’t ever talk around people who aresick or in a coma: talk to them.

WE often set standards for ourselves that wejust cannot live up to, and although it’s anexcellent idea to have high ideals and toalways aim for the summit, neverthelessthere are times when being your own hero isthe most sensible and encouraging thing youcan do for yourself.

Be your own hero, march to your owndrum, go at your own pace, just be reallyhappy being who you are – Yourself.

When you open yourself to your ownwisdom, listen in silence to your own innervoice, Can you not then make ground-breaking decisions to become the persononly you know how to be: Yourself.

Being your own hero means drawingencouragement from everything you put yourmind to. Each effort made is a success.Comparisons are unnecessary. Guilt isunheard of. Every enterprise undertaken willjust be a succession of positive efforts in thetotal enjoyment of who you are, on everysingle day that has been given to you.

So, just be yourself!

Don’t blame the dog!

Millions saved by us volunteers

Patrick O’Sullivan and his dog Suzs.

Volunteer management and staff from Larchville &Lisduggan CDP in Waterford. Paddy O’Sullivan ispictured in the top right. In the frame are: MattieSheridan, Chairperson, Director; Maureen Dower, Vice-Chairperson, Director; Paddy O’Sullivan, Director; BredaFarrell, Company Secretary, Director; Tina Gordon,Community Development Worker; David Cullinane,Treasurer, Director; Mary Byrne, Praoject Co-ordinator;Stella McEnery, Management Committee Member.

SUZS, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier pup, cameinto my life when I was recovering from abrain haemorrhage and I had only just begunto walk again, so we went together for walkseach day.

She lived for nine years and gave me a newlease of life. Those that say that dogs like her arevery dangerous are right, but only in the wronghands. Dogs will only do what you teach them.

Suzs died of old age last year and I miss herand our daily walks.

Remember, there are lots of people like methat get great joy and happiness from our pets,they become our very good friends. My doggave me one extra reason to get up in themornings.

So, don’t blame the dog!

Changing IrelandChanging Ireland

‘Changing Ireland’, c/o Community Enterprise Centre, Moyross, LimerickT. 061-458011 (editorial) / 458090 (admin). E: editor@changingireland.ie or admin@changingireland.ie W: www.changingireland.ie

Today’s abusers will be apprehended,promises KNPD chairpersonTHE Chairperson of the Kerry Network ofPeople with Disabilities, Noel O’Neill,recounted incidents of abuse reported to hisproject recently and promised the abuserswould one day be apprehended by theauthorities. He told of his concerns at theCDP’s annual seminar in December:

“You would like to think that abuse is a thingof the past, but unfortunately it is not as wefound out over the past few months.”

“Two incidents of physical and mentalabuse have been reported to the Network oneof a man been pushed up against a wall andpunched in the face and head several times byhis supervisor.

“It took three of his colleagues to pull him offthe victim who suffers from mental healthdifficulties.

“The second was a man being locked into afreezer with the supervisor saying that that will

cool his balls down, he was left in the freezerfor between fifteen and twenty minutes, againthe victim suffers from mental health problems.

“Other abuse reported to us such as people

being told they were stupid and thick, peoplebeen told they were useless and worthless, yesfolks the abusers are saying today’s society wehave not gone away you know.

“We at the Network have to tread verycarefully with the information we have, andthis is taking its toll on the staff with stresslevels very high amongst those that know theintimate details of the abuse.

“When we are ready - if it takes one, two ormore years - we will reveal the identity of theabusers and see that they are brought beforethe authorities and that justice is served,”promised Mr. O’Neill.

The Kerry Network of People withDisabilities is an issue-focused CDP, one ofaround 60 such projects within theCommunity Development Programme.Further reports from KNPD’s seminar onpages 22/23.

Substantial changes made tochildcare scheme- changes made as promised, insists MinisterIN late, the Government announced newfunding arrangements for the CommunityChildcare Subvention Scheme which willallow working parents on low incomes tocontinue to receive subsidised childcare.

This marked a revision of plans announcedsome months before whereby it was proposedthat only parents on social welfare or availingof the Family Income Supplement wereguaranteed entitlement to subsidisedcommunity-based childcare facilities.

The original plan announced by the Ministerfor Children, Brendan Smith, attracted strongresistance from crèche operators, includingmany CDPs and Family Resource Centres.Along with parents and politicians, they allwarned it would reinforce welfare dependencyamong parents, cause hardship for workingparents on low incomes and stigmatise thepoor. And they warned it could also meancrèche staff layoffs and possible closures.

The Minister protested that the plansannounced in November were never intendedto be final, that he was completely open tosuggestions. He also addressed thewidespread misunderstanding that support forcommunity childcare services is beingwithdrawn:

“This is absolutely not the case and allservices which currently receive EqualOpportunities Childcare Programme (EOCP)grant support, will continue to be paid fundingin the same regular way under the newScheme and not directly to parents, as hasbeen suggested in some quarters.”

While the EOCP funding could be used only

towards staffing costs, the new funding can beused against any of the operational costs.

The changes announced by the Ministermean there will now be further increases insubvention rates for parents on welfare and anew band of subvention aimed at low incomeparents.

The tiered system of charges which willoperate in community childcare facilitiesmeans that:• Parents on social welfare will receive a

€100 a week subvention for childcare, upfrom €80 a week;

• Parents on Family Income Supplement willsee the benefit increase from €30 a week to€70 a week;

• Low income parents who are above thethreshold for the supplement will receive€45 a week.These new tiered payments must be

introduced in community childcare providersfrom July of next year. The money will godirectly to childcare providers.

Some 40 per cent of community childcare

providers will receive significant increases indirect funding under the new scheme whileothers may receive either similar or lesseramounts.

Vulnerable communities have been affordedextra protection:

A minimum subvention of €20,000 peryear which will of be of particular benefit tosmall providers, especially in rural areas andthe islands.

Special provisions will apply in the case ofsome childcare services (e.g. women’s refuges,special services for children of drug misusers).

Minister Smith said that "transitionalfunding" guaranteeing current grant levels willcontinue to be supplied to providers until Julyof 2008. Subsequently, grants for some mayfall to not less than 90 per cent of their currentlevel between July and December 2008; notless than 85 per cent of that amount in 2009;and not less than 75 per cent of that amount in2010.

Mr Smith insists that the announcement isnot a U-turn: he had stated that changeswould be made to the scheme.

There are more than 800 services currentlyin receipt of staffing grant support and thegovernment is committed to spending €1.1billion in childcare from 2000 to 2010.

Noel O’Neill

INSIDE: On page 16, Morgan Mee explainshow the scheme, as it was first announced,worried the life out of community groups andthere was a collective sigh of relief whenamendments were made.