At the end of May the Social Inclusion Forum was organised by the Department of Social Protection. In advance of the Forum, EAPN Ireland and Community Work Ireland organised focused groups on the themes of the Forum’s workshops: Employment – expanding opportunities; Supporting People with Disabilities; Supporting Communities; and Core Essentials – including provision of services. In the report prepared for the Forum, Key Proposals to the Social Inclusion Forum 2024 it was noted that “In developing policy, start with mapping what we want to be achieved, and then plan for the policies to achieve this. This will involve strong policy makers working outside of silos and connecting with grassroots communities and representative groups.”
In the same week as the Social Inclusion Forum, the National Economic Dialogue 2024 took place, with the theme: “A more shock-prone world: challenges and opportunities for Ireland”. In the background paper for NED the Government noted that “The objective is to explore how Ireland can adapt to the evolving ‘new normal’ which is likely to be very different from the old. The key message is that economic resilience must be top of the policy agenda.” It is vital that social inclusion, equality and environmental sustainability are also prioritised. In particular to ensure that the UN Sustainable Development Goals motto of ‘leaving no-one behind’ has real meaning for people who experience social and economic exclusion, the people who have fewer resources to manage shocks of any type.
On page eight of the document prepared for NED 2024, under the heading of “Well-being” – How is Ireland performing?, the Government notes that “This year’s data show that women, immigrants/non-Irish, unemployed people, people with long-term illness or disability, single-parent households, households with lower incomes, and households in rented accommodation perform less-well than other comparable groups across multiple well-being dimensions.”
In Key Proposals to the Social Inclusion Forum 2024 report it was noted that “Many of the barriers that are in place will need to be addressed cross-departmentally. To effectively address many of these issues, silos will need to be dismantled, joined-up thinking, and whole of Government approaches are what are needed.” The reality that we live in a more shock prone world highlights the urgent need to address existing and emerging challenges in a cohesive and inclusive manner, to develop a culture of co-creation and collaboration in the design, implementation and review of social, economic and environmental policies. The theme of John Lonergan’s keynote address at the Social Inclusion Forum was ‘Connecting with the Disconnected’: he spoke of the importance of identity, place and existence; the philosophy of change; the power of culture; the need for respect, proper engagement and dialogue.
At the Forum the INOU facilitated the Employment – expanding opportunities workshop. Amongst the issues raised in this workshop were:
- the need to abolish mandatory retirement by a certain age;
- to address the challenges menopause presents;
- to develop and build on a Traveller and Roma internship in the Civil / Public service;
- to view employment programmes as social inclusion and integration measures, enhance their flexibility;
- to view the Employment and Youth Engagement Charter as a tool for engaging with employers and securing good outcomes;
- to ensure anti-racism and cultural awareness training is undertaken and feeds into improved policy making and outcomes;
- to support people to address the challenges that can arise from self-identification;
- to deliver public services that support engagement, in particular accessible transport and childcare;
- to ensure consistency across and appropriateness of welfare-to-work and in-work supports;
- to ensure that the changing world of work does not exacerbate socio-economic exclusion.
In his closing remarks to the Social Inclusion Forum Minister Joe O’Brien noted the Values and Principles for Collaboration and Partnership Working with the Community and Voluntary Sector document, and the importance of incorporating it into the work. These values include social inclusion; social justice; empowering communities; sustainable development; active participation; human rights, equality and anti-discrimination.