The new National
Development Plan
Brian Harvey
EAPN, Dublin
8th February 2007
Transforming Ireland – a better quality of life
for all National Development Plan 20072013
► 4th
National Development Plan
► First two were structural fund plans
► 2000-6 was part structural funds, main part was
not
► This plan has NO structural funds, although it
follows EU financial timeframe 2007-2013
► They are in National Strategic Reference
Framework and OPs for ESF, two regions,
INTERREG, Peace III
NDP consultation
► 77
contributions
► Many statutory bodies
► Social policy bodies well represented incl EAPN
► Short analysis of contributions (p33)
► Social inclusion emerged as a priority and theme
► But a limited model of consultation compared to
rest of Europe
Social inclusion
► Was
originally to be separated from the plan
(August 2005)
► It is here as a ‘high level goal’, chapter in its own
right (11), features in all-island chapter, specific
spending area with €49.6bn of €183.7bn
► Plan recognizes ‘concentrations of deprivation
and lack of opportunities in certain areas, both
urban and rural’ (SWOT, p31)
Social inclusion priority (ch 11)
► Children
€12.3bn
► Working age education
€4.3bn
► Working age – social & economic €1.2bn
► Working age – justice
€300m
► Older people
€9.7bn
► People with disabilities
€19.2bn
► Local & community development €1.9bn
► Horizontal programme
€800m
The social inclusion spend (€49.6bn)
► Three
large spending areas:
Disability
40%
Children
35%
Older people 20%
► They account for 85%
► Remaining headings are quite small
► Most are within framework of Toward 2016
Social inclusion analyzed
► Two
introductory sections The challenge of
social inclusion, The strategic framework
for tackling social exclusion
► The persistence of poverty despite economic
success, avoiding questions of how success
is structured, distributed
► Delivery within the framework for tackling
social exclusion: recites initiatives in place
The spend analyzed (1)
► Children: child welfare,
special needs, youth
programmes, Youthreach, youth justice,
childcare, Traveller education
► Working age education: BTEI, VTOS, PLC,
third level access
► Working age participation: activation,
BTW, BTE allowance
► Working age justice: sentence management,
reintegration offenders
The spend analyzed (2)
► Older people:
living at home, residential
care, home help, meals on wheels
► Disabilities: health services (mainly),
education & built environment
► Local & community development:
CDP
€861m Volunteering €197m
RAPID €67m
Drugs
€319m
LDSIP
€417m
The spend analyzed (3)
► Horizontal
programme
Immigrant integration
Language support
Racism, Travellers
Equality & women
► Not all
€36m
€637m
€27m
€148m
of ch11 necessarily socially inclusive
► Some targeted parts financially small
► Some other parts are inclusive as well
► New: volunteering, community policing
Social inclusion elsewhere
► Public
transport in 7 Economic infrastructure
► Rural social and economic development (CLAR,
LEADER, rural social programme)
► 9 Human capital priority includes: lifelong
learning, second chance education, ESL, activation
of groups outside workforce (e.g. unemployed,
lone parents, Travellers, offenders, women, older
workers, migrants)
► 10 Social infrastructure includes social housing
► Specifically iterated in 5 All island cooperation
Monitoring arrangements (1)
► Note not
required, but previous NDP
concepts used
► Central monitoring committee
► Includes four social partner pillars
► Equal opportunities and environmental
interests to be represented by government
► No social inclusion representatives
Monitoring arrangements (2)
Section Monitoring and reporting on social
inclusion (p280)
► Annual report by Office for Social Inclusion (OSI)
► Will consult with ‘all stakeholders, including
departmental liaison officers and policy owners,
with inputs from the partnership steering
committee, the senior officials group on social
inclusion and other for a as appropriate’
►
The plan analyzed
► Follows structures,
concepts, model, legacy of
earlier plans
► Social inclusion proportion, 27%, broadly in line
with previous plans
► Social inclusion parts include elements that belong
elsewhere e.g. older people
► Human capital, Social infrastructure, includes
socially inclusive elements
► Little new money
► No significant departures from Toward 2016
► Community development areas unaffected
Critical comments (1)
► Not
poverty proofed:
Energy, but not fuel poverty
Waste, but not low income families
Communications, but not digital divide
Enterprise, but not low-income groups, social economy
Sport, but not deprived communities
► Some
commitments extremely vague esp. health
services
► How much housing for Travellers, homeless,
disability?
► Transport investment still favours private:public
► More prisons questionable as ‘social
infrastructure’
Critical comments (2)
► Inequality seen
as spatial, regional, not
social
► Pointed commitment to tackle consistent
poverty (not relative poverty)
► Little utilization of poverty data
► No learning obviously transferred from
2000-6
► No indicators, despite work of agency
► Little engagement with civil society
Challenges
► Providing a
critical commentary
► Challenging the model of development
► Ensuring adherence to the social inclusion
commitments
► Strengthening them where they are weak
► Develop opportunities: island cooperation,
volunteering, community policing
► Monitoring committee & issues
► Annual social inclusion report
And then there are the structural
funds…
► NSRF draft out
► OPs
for two regional programmes, ESF
► Peace III, INTERREG IV
and making them follow the imperative of
social inclusion.
Thank you.