Sir, - Padraig O'Morain's article entitled "Community groups condemned by European Social Fund unit" The Irish Times, April 14th) offers a simplistic and selective interpretation of the European Social Fund Evaluation Unit Report and omitted to set the context within which the report excerpts were made.
Mr O'Morain neglects to mention that the opening statement in the release issued by the ESF information office was that "local development by partnership companies, community groups and enterprise boards should continue to be supported post-2000 even in the context of a reduced amount of EU funding".
This article comes at a time when local development groups around the country, all of which are doing extremely valuable work at a local level, are grappling with the consequences of significant changes such as the reform of local government, the reduction in EU funding and new regional structures. The article implies that partnerships have failed in the work they set out to do when in fact the report's conclusions are far more complex and constructive.
Area-based partnerships were established locally in 38 disadvantaged areas to develop new approaches to problems of long-term unemployment and social exclusion. They were also charged with the responsibility of influencing national policy on these issues. However, this is only one of the eight objectives of the programme. The others entail improving the chances of the long-term unemployed; targeting those at risk of early-school leaving and under-achievement; and developing the capacity of local organisations and communities. An independent mid-term review conducted by Goodbody Economic Consultants in May 1998 concluded that partnerships have actually exceeded the targets originally set for the programmes in these areas and have been successful in targeting activity at the most disadvantaged groups. The article also implies that partnerships alone are directly and solely responsible for communicating what they learned to national policy makers and have therefore failed to influence mainstream policies and programmes. The report does criticise partnerships for not maximising the opportunity to communicate, negotiate and manage change with relevant agencies, but it also concludes that it is too much to expect that the partnerships could have managed to influence the statutory sector any more than that sector wanted to be influenced. It states that there was a failure nationally to put an adequate system in place at the outset of the programme by which lessons can be translated from the local to the national.
The expanding economy should encourage us to concentrate our effort and minds to address inequalities and ensure that opportunities and resources are aimed at those who have not yet reaped the benefits. Area-based Partnerships, with their limited budgets, go in some way towards providing this support but the Government must also commit itself in a real way to help the rising tide lift all boats. - Yours, etc., Hilary Curley, Co-ordinator of PLANET (Network of Area-based Partnerships),
The Avenue,
Gorey,
Co Wexford.