The EU must now accept the challenge to apply the reduced Structural Funds available to Ireland in a manner that directly tackles poverty, unemployment, inequality and exclusion, the chairman of the Community Workers Co-operative, Mr
Niall Crowley, said.
Mr Crowley was speaking at a conference that was examining Ireland's structural funds in the light of the mid-term review and the publication of the
EU's Agenda 2000.
He said that just after a period of high economic growth coupled with high social costs, just when the wealth has been created to address the social cost incurred, we are being told that the available wealth is now needed to consolidate the growth achieved. This is what happened in the negotiation of
Partnership 2000.
Mr Crowley said that when the reaction of the employers' body, IBEC, towards
Agenda 2000 is examined and its call for a government investment plan to take full account of the fall in subsidies, it would appear that we might be looking at a situation where Exchequer expenditure is re-focused out of social policy areas into economic policy and infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Ms Ronnie Fay, also of the Community Workers' Co-operative said the review of the Structural Funds presented an important opportunity to apply an anti-poverty approach to prepare for the post-2000 period. "For this to happen the mid-term review must ensure that equality and inclusion objectives are built into every operational progamme especially those for industry, tourism, agriculture and infrastructure."
The funds should be refocused into initiatives with a high employment content and into projects that create equality for people living in poverty, the unemployed, women, people with disability and travellers.