The chairman of the statutory body that advises the Government on poverty issues has written to the Minister for Social and Family affairs expressing his disappointment with the plan to integrate it into a new division within the Department.
Chairman of Combat Poverty Brian Duncan told Mary Hanafin of the board’s disappointment at the Government’s decision, announced in the Budget earlier this month.
Mr Duncan said he had requested a meeting with the Minister to discuss the “nature and structure” of the new division. which is being created through the integration of Combat Poverty and the Office of Social Inclusion within her Department.
The letter to the Minister was sent following a meeting of the board to review the decision and discuss the next steps for Combat Poverty’s staff and board members, Mr Duncan said in a statement.
“To meet the Government’s target of eliminating consistent poverty by 2016, it is absolutely essential that the new division in the Department is structured in a way that maintains a strong anti-poverty focus across all areas of Government and promotes public understanding of the urgent need to tackle poverty for the benefit of everyone in society,” he said.
“Until the legislation that established the Combat Poverty Agency is repealed, our board will continue to work to emphasise to the Department that the anti-poverty focus must be maintained. We will also work to ensure that the transition for existing staff members is as smooth as possible.”
Mr Duncan said that over the 20-plus years of its existence, Combat Poverty had always used its independence to offer “the best possible, unbiased advice to government on tackling poverty-related issues”.
He said the board welcomed the assurance from the Department that the new division would “have a strong anti-poverty focus” and that it would maintain the expertise and ethos that has been built up in Combat Poverty since its inception.