Telling it like it is
Cathleen O'Neill
with photographs by Moya Nolan
•
Poverty is ...
Poverty IS coloured red
red searmg braiu pam.
Tortured mind crtes stop
agoll/sed thought seeks shelter
help wanted! apply chaos wIthin.
An),thmg sought to numb the cells.
Lift hurts
love tears out 11/)' bemg
as responsibiliry looillS
and domJls me to continue.
The network ofpam that
serves as 111)' brain
© Combat Poverty Agency 1992
ISBN 1 871643252
IS workmg on overload.
Cathleen O'Neill
The vIews expressed In rl1IS publication
are rhe aurhor's, and are nor necessarily
those of the Combat Poverty Agency.
Design and Typesetting
Language visual commUlllcatlONs
PrintIng
Argus Press
11
This book is dedicated
to the women of Kilmount
for trusting us
and teUing it like it is.
111
Acknowledgments
I would like ro acknowledge the vital contribution made by Patricia
Kelleher ro this study. Thank you for gUiding the research, for believing I
could do it, for refusing ro hear my de mal, and for knowing the true
meaning of empowerment.
A special thanks to Carmel Jennings who Initiated the concept and
formulated the early research. Her inslghts Into poveny were an
ll1spiration, and her thinkll1g helped shape this report.
Thank you also ro Barbara Murray, for carrying out the computer analysIs,
to Melisa Murray who read and commented on numerous drafts, and ro
Ursula Barry for sharing her knowledge. And ro Therese Caherty for her
sensltlve wielding of the ediror's scalpel.
I would like ro highlight the contribution made by : Carmel Kelleher,
Kathleen Maher, Kathleen Lynch, Laura Hickey, Angela Mulligan, Jo
Reilly, Ellen Kennedy, Joan O'Connor and Sandra Gaffney.
Contents
VII
Foreword
IX
Introduction
Chapter One
Gale Day
Chapter Two
Setting the Scene
Chapter Three
Managing Poverty
21
Chapter Four
Kilmount
33
Chapter Five
Work and Unemployment
43
Chapter Six
Women and SOCIal Welfare
57
Chapter Eight
KLEAR
67
Chapter Nine
Poverty and III Health
75
Chapter Ten
Education - The Impossible Dream
93
Chapter Eleven
Street Games
105
Chapter Twelve
ConclusIOn
115
9
A big thank you to KLEAR for allowll1g me ro use their resources.
My love to my children for takll1g a back seat for two years, and for plying
me with tea, roasr and encouragement. A speCial thank you ro my son
Derek for helping to make me computer literate by designing a program
entitled "The Oul Wan's gUide to the Computer".
And flnallv, thank yOU ro the Combat Poverty Agency whose suppOrt and
encouragement gave life to thiS valuable expression of the workll1g class
expenence; In particular ro Mary Daly for her viSion, adVice and Interest;
and to Larry Bond for IllS patience, comments, help and support.
The book was Inspired by the belief that workll1g class people, should be
given the chance to articulate how the system works, and speak of the
IInpact of State services on their lives.
IV
Appendix
122
Foreword
Since ir was ser up in 1986, rhe Cornbar Poverry Agency has consisrendy
argued rhar poverry has [Q be seen in rhe contexr of rhe srandards
prevailing in Irish sociery. People in Ireland are poor where, rhrough lack
of resources, rhey are excluded from rhe ordinary living panems, cusroms
and acrivines of IrISh sociery and face a consrant snuggle [Q live wllh
digniry.
In order [Q undersrand exclusiOn ir is essemial ro lisren [Q rhe people who
experience ir. Their views and ideas musr be included in a narional debare
abour poverry and rhe policies necessary ro address Ir. Also rhe views of
people who depend on public serVices musr be raken inro accoum in rhe
process of developing modem, accessible and people-cenued public service
provIsion.
In rhis book rhe experiences and Views of one small communl[y are
documemed, largely in rhe words of women living in rhe area. The book
seeks our rhelr views on a range of areas including SOCIal welfare, educarion
and healrh services.
Telling It like It IS is nor, and does nor claim ro be, rhe definllive sraremem
of rhe experience of SOCial exclusion In comemporary Ireland. Bur ir IS an
imporram comribunon and one rhar we hope will be Widely read.
Hugh Frazer
Direcror
Corn bar Poverry Agency
VI
Vll
Introduction
Gale Day IS when most people in Kilmount pay homage to Dublin
Corporation. More than 400 people VISit the estate office and pay
mortgage or rent. The people Interviewed In this book may be familiar
With the term 'Gale Day' but might not be aware of the historical
Significance of paYIng Gales. The word comes from an old Saxon or Welsh
form of land tenure by which an estate passed on the holder's death to all
sons equally. Dublin Corporation use the more common definition ...
penodic payment of rent.
The business of paYing Gales IS conducted at the local estate office, or
estate parlour as It IS known. ThiS IS located in the sitting room of a
specially selected Corporation house. The office is used for rent collection,
on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornIngs and It remaIns closed when
not lI1 use.
The rent office IS deSigned in a style well known to people who avail of
state services. The office is small and unwe!comlllg, the decor defenSive,
With small security hatches, Wired Windows and relllforced glass. A reSident
says: "It looks as though It was deSigned to keep all the Information on one
SIde and us on the other". Privacy IS nil and woe betide anyone who has
rent arrears and who may wish to discuss them WIrh thc rent collector. The
only alternatIve is to meet CorporatIon offiCials, miles away, 111 thc new
Civic Offices in the City, or else conduct their business by lerrer.
The prIvilege of paYIng Gales IS exclUSive to CorporatIon tenants rennng
theIr houses or tenant purchasers buying thclr homes. Each working-class
estate has a differem Gale day and rent IS accepted only on the day
assigned to each area. The act of paYlllg Gales separates the worklllg classes
III Kilmount from the rest of the lower nl1ddle-class pamh.
Other home owners In the parIsh conduct the bUSiness of paYing
mortgages 10 more congenial surroundings. They are not expected to
viii
IX
queue in the open, their privacy IS respected and they can choose from a
number of banks or building societies. Their lifestyles also differ from
those of the Galepayers. They are more likely to have employment, and to
be [i'ee from the pressures of poverty. Apart from paYll1g Gales the tenants
who crowd the rent parlour have many other things in common. The
malority are reCipients of State services - public housll1g, public healthcare.
and social welfare.
'
povef[y and unemployment. They were gUided by an experienced
researcher who assisted them designlllg and carryll1g out the research.
All names have been changed
(0
ensure prIvacy.
This book tells the story of a small working-class neighbourhood fractured
by poverty and unemployment, as told by the women of the
neighbourhood. The neighbourhood IS Kilmount, a community of 500
homes 111 the north-cast of Dublin. ThiS book describes, through case
studies and group diSCUSSions, the subculture of life without work and the
strategies used by people to cope with poverty. Women talk of their
experiences, of how they and their Ellnilies are ISolated and made feel
personally responsible for their poverty, of the Importance of working-class
culture and rituals and the sense of solidarity III their area.
In preparing this book, basic information was gathered through a survey of
80 households selected at random (see Appendix). Where possible, female
heads of household were Interviewed. We were particularly concerned to
record women's expenence. As women generally shoulder the main
responsibility for family life, It was thought that women would have a
1110re detailed knowledge of some of the topics under discussion. In order
to explore further issues covered In the survey a total of ten group
diSCUSSions were held With small groups of women. Each group diSCUSSion
focused on one topiC and the comments made are recorded throughout
thiS book. We also Interviewed IndiVidual local women, who had
expCflcnce with specific issues. These II1tcrvicws form the baSIS for the case
studies presented here, which explore different aspects of life
111
Kilmount.
The book IS denved from a community study coml11lssloned by the
Combat Poverty Agency. The study was researched and written between
January 1989 and October 1991. It is unique in that It was conceived and
developed by two working-class women who have direct experience of
XI
x
Chaptet One
Gale Dav
..
XII
~ ~~--------------------
IiIIl
°
.0
o
o
Setting
the Scene
v
KilInount is a small commUlll[Y of JlISt over 500 h0I11es In north-cast
Dublin. The neighbourhood IS made up of three housmg groups. There
are 328 local allthomy houses, 96 local authority flats, and a group of 80
semi-detached private houses. These three groups Jomed forces 15 years
ago to form the Kilmoul1t Commulllty Associatlon. The name Kihnount
(derived from the marrylllg of Kilbarrack Road and Mount Olive) was
actually coined by the Commul1lty ASSOCIation. It enabled Corporation
tenants to identify thelt estate which was built years after the pamh proper
was established.
St Benedicts, the pamh proper, has more than 1,000 homes and IS a lowerto middle-class estate that IS comfonable and well setried after two decades.
The remaining pamh families live in houses which are privately owned,
semi-detached and spacious, each with car pan or gatage.
Kilmount IS predominantly worklllg-dass and shares many traditions and
rituals common to worklllg-c1ass culture. fvlost lllhabitants moved from
workmg-c1ass areas such as Finglas, Cab ra, Coolock and Ballymun. Many
setrled here from the mner city and surrounding areas. A small band
braved the Liffey walls and migrated from Ballyfermot, Inchicore and
Crumlin. Most ElInilies moved there m 1973-74 when the estate was built.
Those early setders shared othcr characterlstlcs: they were generally young
and married and came li'om extended ElInilies. Each couple had children,
most moved 111 WIth three or more. Dublin Corporation gave housing
large Elmilies with low incomes. Most couples had spent years on
the Corporation hOUSing list, suggestll1g that they all had low IIlcomes and
could not aH()fd the depOSit necessary t()r prIvate houslllg. Most, if not all
ElIl1ilies, at the tune of movlllg
had a worklll!!
,-.
,-, head of household. Over
priOrity to
three-quaners of the parents In the ElInilies wc interViewed, had left school at
[5 years or younger while almost half had recclved only pnmary educatlon.
The people of Kilmount have experienced many changes In the last two
decades. ()ne major change concerns cmployment. JUSt under half the
E1I11ilies we llltCrVIewed now have a working head of household. Fifty-two per
ID
cent of families now live on SOCial Welfare. The commulllty has been
ftactuted by emigtatiOn and unemployment. Families have also changed.
Traditional family structure has collapsed and many families are now headed
by one parent, usually female. In the face of these changes many of the
families have retamed some hope m the future. Others despair as they wlmess
family members iommg the dole at emigration queues.
The Area
A real estate agent might well desctibe the pansh in the followmg terms:
"PrestigiOUS location; embraced by Dublin Bay; olltstanding residential
atea with setrled commul1lry; all modern amenities. Area of unparalleled
beallty with miles of beaches; actes of woodland; adjacent to golf clubs,
yacht clubs, a modern marina and wild life sanctuary; plus access to Dan
line serving Dublin CIty, county and environs. Only 15 mIlluteS from
fishing porr, ferrypon, seapon and alrporr",
All of the above is true, and more beSIdes. Inhabitants enJoy one of
Dublin's largest parks, St Anne's, former home of the Guinness family. The
atea has a fire station, a Wide selection of schools, three shopping centres
and a FAS training centre. It has two monasterIes, one Franciscan, the
other Columban. We also have within the catchment area the nation's
newest genetal hospital, oldest psychiatric mstltution and a hospice for the
tetmIllally ill. The area boasts the first-ever daytime adult education centre
in Ireland, Kilbarrack Local Education for Adult renewal (KLEAR),
founded m 1980 by a small group of local women.
Nevenheless, through the eyes of many residents the parish dirTers greatlv
from OUt Imaginary estate agent. Far fi'om Idyllic, Kilmount, especially the
local authOrIty area, resembles a wasteland. How could reSidents f"il to find
theIr environment bleak when the landscape they confront daily IS grim,
spare and bare? There are few trees and no shrubs to soften the harshness
of the concrete and tarmacadam. The terrain, espeCially around (he tralll
station, is neither friendly nor welcomlllg,
11
The area has an megular and untidy appearance. You need to take a second
look before the reason becomes clear. The gardens! Some gardens have
walls, others have railings and the remaInder are left open. Kilmount's
arcllltects had a vIsIon of open-plan gardens with well-maIntained lawns
and flowers. They placed a whIte wooden railing at discreet Intervals
between the houses. But babies and toddlers did not respect these
termonal boundaries. They began to ramble abroad. FrantIC parents built
walls as quickly as they could. Haste prevented commul1lty co-operation In
the building and thus the walls were built from many different matenals,
with good taste sacrificed to need and speed. The result is an unfortunate
"noddyland" of walls, railings and pIcket fences.
Kilmount IS alive with children, "wall-to-wall children" IS how onc
observer pur It. Families in Kilmount are larger than the national average.
The 80 families In our survey have 365 children between them and most
of the women IntervIewed are still of childbearing age. Kilmount does not
have a playground nor any recreational focus, apart from a football field.
The houses and gardens are too small to allow energetic play, so children
must play In the streets.
Kilmount IS on the Dart line. The Corporation railway bridge that links
both SIdes of Kilbarrack (east and west) IS an ugly structure and comprIses
rwo ramps and two flights of conCrete steps. It resembles a border post
complete WIth floodlights and grey nIne-foot high protective fenCIng. Until
recently the station was patrolled at night by guard dogs. Indeed, the guard
dogs even patrolled the train. Happily tl1lS pratlce has been discontinued.
The station gate is usually locked, to discourage vandalism and fare
dodgers, thereby denyIng locals access to theIr own area. Elderly passengers
suffer sInce they must negotiate two flights of narrow concrete steps plus
another bndge on the outSIde of the station proper. Women WIth buggIes,
babIes, and shopping must do the same.
The station has always been a trouble SpOt In the area. It has also become the
t,xus of positive communIty action. Lobbying by reSIdents has succeeded in
12
•
gaIning limited access to their own area. The station gate is still kept locked
but staff have now been instructed to open the gate 'on request' for local
commuters. The local Dart Action Group have been working to redesign the
station and surrounding landscape. They have Joined ranks with an archItect
and local artist and together they have completed a model for a new railway
station, footbridge and the surrounding landscape in consultation with
commuters and residents in the station catchment area.
The Houses
Some 328 local authority houses form the nucleus of the neIghbourhood.
The Corporation houses are built SIX to a terrace. They come In three types.
The most attractive are the red brick houses, of which there arc only 32.
These proVIde the public face of the Corporation area and are particularly
well deSigned With a warm red-brick exterior. The Interior includes a
separate kitchen and dinIng room, plus a separate bathroom and toilet
upstairs. The sitting room and dining room each have an open fire, and
there IS also a "back room" which is used as an extra dining or family room.
The second deSign (in grey pebble dash) is called the "back-to-front" house
because the sitting room is situated at the rear of the house. The third
deSign differs only in having the kitchen and bathroom at the back of the
house. Together these account for the remaIning 296 local-authonty houses.
They have three bedrooms, and a sitting room measuring 15 feet by 12 feet,
plus a small kitchen that measures 13 feet by 6 feet. "The kitchens are little
more than closets. You can't have a meal in peace, or as a family, they're so
bloody small". The toilet and bathrooms are all In one, and usually situated
off the hall. In some cases they are right beside the front door.
Home ownership is high among Corporation tenants. Two-thirds of those
surveyed were buying their homes from Dublin Corporation as
tenant/purchasers. PrIde in ownership is reflected in the care and upkeep of
these houses. Many people have Improved their homes. Kitchen extensions are
most common, with bIgger bathrooms a close second. Many tenants expressed
their criticism of the design of the homes. Location of the roilet was especially
targeted. Almost half of those surveyed wished for improvements In the phYSIcal
layouts of their homes, particularly the kitchen and bathroom areas. Heating
optIons were also criticised. The houses are heated by solid fud, which is
expensive, and the houses contain only one fiteplace.
Many people commented that the grey-bncked CorporatIon houses were
too small and the deSIgn is not suitable for large working-dass families.
"These kitchens are a nightmare, mealtImes are chaotic, we don't all fit into
the kItchen, some of us have to eat in the sitting room. The kitchen isn't bIg
enough to hold a decent table, not to mention a family of seven". Privacy
between parents can be difficult. The question of space and children
studying for exams posed a problem. Socialising can be complicated. ThIS
applies to the children as well as their parents. Joan told us how she
organIses things for the "rare occasion when I InVIte friends over".
"I normally book the sitting room a week in advance. I literally tell the
children to clear Out and gIve me the sitting room. I bring the telly upstairs
and the little ones watch It In bed. The bigger ones usually arrange to see
their pals, they play records in each other's houses or else go to the pICtures.
Likewise, if the older kids are looking for a 'free gaff' (empry house) for a
bitthday party, a doss, or a sleepover, they check in WIth us about ir and then
It'S our turn to go upstaIrs wlrh the telly. It doesn't happen too ofi:en though.
Its too much trouble. It's easier to meer friends In rhe pub, if and when we
can afford It. If we can'r afford ir, rhen rhar's tough, we stay ar home".
In order to make suirable sanItary and bathIng arrangements, those who
could afford it have moved their bathrooms and toilets upsrairs, a costly
process. Most tenants had to borrow money to do this. All of thIS work
and expense could have been aVOIded if Dublin Corporation had used a
little more common sense and foresIght. Instead Dublin CorporatIon
replicated rl1lS deSIgn on several Northslde housing estates. Monitoring
design policy or consultatIon with tenants living In the houses could have
prevented these mistakes.
14
Adjacent to the Corporation estate, thete are 80 private houses These semidetached houses were built by private developers on the Kilbarrack Road.
This road later Joined up with the Corporation tenants to form the
Kilmount CommunIty Association. The houses have three bedrooms, large
kitchen, dining room, sitting room and gas central heatIng. Hete,
householders were generally happy with the design of their houses.
However, they were unhappy about the open plan gatdens and access road
whIch has been the cause of many road traffic accidents.
The vast maJority (84%) of those surveyed like liVIng in the area, though
some would like to move to a bIgger house in the parish. The remainder felt
they would like to move out and they cited eIther "moving to a bigger house"
or "the area being run down" as the maIn reasons for WIshIng to move.
The Flats
Twin grey concrere blocks disrupt and domInate the skyline. These flats are
home to 96 families. Every area has ItS own speCIal pace, sight, sound and
smell. The area round rhe flats IS no different. If you walk upstaItS to the
top floor you can see the summlr of Howrh Head in the distance. It is also
possible to see Ireland's Eye and Lambay Island surrounded by the Irish
Sea. The educared nose can tell the difference between the smell of
stInking refuse that spills out of the chutes, unne in rhe lifts, faeces on the
staItS, and the thIck smoke that spItals from the chimneys of a nearby
chemIcal plant (respIratory problems are qlllte common in the locality).
The daily rhythm is punctuated by the sound of mainIine and suburban
rail whIch stopS at rhe nearby sratIon.
Each block of flars IS seven storeys hIgh, WIth 48 flats each. There are rhree
different types of flat, one, twO, and three bedroomed. Each landing has six
flats, and there are two of each flat type to every landing, Each unit has gas
central heating, WIth hot and cold running water. The interiors are
generally good. Rooms are large and bright and there IS an outSIde balcony.
However a number of specific problems were hIghlighted by rhe people we
15
spoke to. The window locks in the flats are considered unsafe. So are the
railings on the landings, which the kids use as 'monkey bars'. There are
also problems with ventilatIOn. "The flats are unhealthy for children. Mine
shouldn't be here, they have asthma". More generally reSidents feel that
there is a lack of privacy "We have no privacy. I can often hear other
people's conversations, sometimes you can hear others making love".
Women livmg in the flats were very angry over the lack of playing facilines
for thelt children. "Our children have nowhere to play, we don't have
gardens, we have nothmg!" There is no playground. It was closed by
Dublin Corporation because the tarmac surf.1Ce was "unsafe". To watch
their children play, mothers often have to walk down six or seven flights of
stairs, bravmg the youths who claim termonal rights to the landings and
stairways. When they reach ground level they meet a scene of wrecked cats,
dumped furniture and the ghosts of old fires on the grass surrounding the
flats. Children often break through madequate fenclI1g of the railway
stanon to play on the tracks.
Flats reSidents were sharply cmical of Dublin Corporation's role wirh
regard to maintenance problems. The landings are often filthy, so are the
stairways. The stairs are unsafe. They are dark because there are no
windows. Condensation - and un ne - makes them slippery. The lifts are
always broken. Residents felt that the rubbish bms were a health hazard
because they were not emptied often enough. They fill up very qUIckly and
then the rubbish spills our all over the landing.
The lack of security IS acure. The flats are a haven for gangs who use
landings and stairways for Cider seSSIOns, "the nOise IS unbelievable some
nights". The gangs are not from Kilmounr. The flats are conSidered
common property by different groups from miles around and m Winter,
the landings proVide heat and shelter for these gangs.
There has always been tension between those who live m the flats and
those who live in the houses. A resident from the flats explains: "The flats
are a closed commul1lty. We have to be. The people who live in the houses
16
don't understand our problems, they blame us for all the trouble that
happens m and around the flats'" In recent years the Cotporation has
housed a large number of single-parent families in the flats complex. These
families are vulnerable, they are afratd and isolated. They are frequently
harassed by the gangs who hang out on the stam and landings for dnnk
and drug sessions.
Living in the Flats
Women who attended a group diSCUSSIOn on living in the flats spoke of
their fears for themselves and their children. "I often feel like a caged
animal. We are at the mercy of the gangs who tlunk they own the place"
They were frightened by gangs and felt they could not count on the police
m an emergency. "Nobody cares about the people who live there (the flats).
The auards do nothing when we complain abour being tetrorised, they do
very little about the dnnking and drug taking. Maybe they're afraid to
come into the flats. The only time we ever see them IS when they come on
a raid",
One women talked of feeling "terrified when the gangs appear. Because we
are closed in nobody can see what is going on hete. Anyway, there are loads
of hiding places for them to hide. Even if the police did listen to the women,
very few of would talk to them in case the gangs would retaliate later".
The woman were concerned about their children who witness daily drink
and drugs sesSIOns. Their children have to grow up fast m order to cope
with thmgs that no child should have to face. ''It·s little wonder that the
kids get into trouble when they are surrounded by thiS environment"
The rubbish m the communal chures IS often set on fire by the "landing
louts" for a laugh. The mention of fires exposed another fear. Maty told us
that a fireman advised her to lie our on the balcony m case of a fire, he said
the "ladders don't reach up to the higher flats". He said "if theres a fire on
17
the upper floors you should cover your own and the children's faces with
wet towels and lie on the balcony until the fire is over",
The flats complex gets a bad press because the population is considered to be
transient, As a result the tenants cannot get credit for cookers, washing machines
or television sets, "We are treated like a different species because we live here!"
_'
m
•.
Case Study 1: Lisa
I
Lisa, a single mother with two children of primary school age, has lived
in the flats for a number of years. She lives on social welfare. She grew up
in the IGlmount area, but moved out to a one-bedroom flat in Ballymun
when her first child was born.
{I
(1
li"
I
She was transferred to IGlmount as part of a pilot projecr (conceived by
Dublin Corporation) to move people back to the flats in their own area,
in the hope that they would settle down, take pride in their homes and
end the problems caused by a transient population.
I
,l
Lisa is critical of the idea now. She feels that the Corporation has created
a ghetto by allocating too many flats to too many single mothers. She
feels that the lone women are a target for those who use the flats complex
as a base for drug dealing and storing stolen goods. "With a population
of mainly single women the gangs can do whatever they like",
Lisa says "Life here can be frightening for single women. We have to
grow a second skin - a thick one. You have to appear hard and strong,
otherwise you're considered fair game for the thugs who hang out round
here. You just learn to walk by and pretend that nothing is happening,
even though you know there are drugs and things being used".
18
•
Lisa is coping with life on many different levels, trying to rear her
children, and cope with poverry, and protect the family from the dangers
all around. "I hate living here, I hate the squalor and the smell of poverty
that clings to the place. But mostly I hate feeling frightened all the time.
I am going quietly insane here",
Her biggest fears are for the children who see the drinking and drugs.
She has taught them to turn a blind eye to the bottles, urine and
excrement that are left behind. But her task is made harder because the
children have no way of avoiding these scenes, "Every time they go
downstairs they take their lives in their hands. They have no place to
play, the playground is closed down. The Corporation said it was unsafe,
there must have been too many claims for negligence or something, so
now the kids get to choose between a glass-strewn concrete jungle or else
the railway tracks for their playground",
The worst time of all is the summer. "I often feel that I'm going to go
quietly insane every summer because I feel so trapped. The kids' have
nowhere to play, I have to take them out every single day in order to let
them have a bit of sunshine. but this means that I never get a breal< from
them nor they from me. We get on each others nerves after a while",
Lisa ends by dwelling on the positive aspects of living in the flats. "The
best thing about living here is the people, the friendliness and the caring.
We live in each others pockets in the sense that all doors are open to our
neighbours. We all share the same sense of frustration and isolation.
Most of the people who live in the flats are genuine, "We now have a
flats committee who are trying to get the place cleaned up, but Dublin
Corporation don't seem interested. Our committee was ignored when we
asked for the playground to be cleaned up. They sweep the streets, don't
they? Why not the places where our children play? We also want to get
safer lifts, and some way of making the flats more private. Something
will have to be done. The flats are a no-go area now. The people in the
houses don't understand our problems. The flats have a bad name and
that gets passed on to the people who are trying to live there",
19
Chapter Three
Managing Poverty
20
21
Academics currently argue about how poverty should be measured. They
are concerned about the correct position of the line which measures
poverty. This IS of little comfort to a whole sub culture of families In
Kilmount drawll1g SOCial welfare or workll1g in low-paid Jobs.
The women who lnanage the money cut theIr cloth according to theIr
measure, despite the fact that the cloth IS getting smaller, while their need
gets bigger. Women whose f.1milies live on small incomes become the first
casualties. In the game of "shift and thrift" they use themselves as
currency in order to mall1tall1 family life. Much of thelt time IS spent 111
negotiation, application or communication WIth offiCials from the
Department of Social Welf.1re or the Health Board, as they seek assIStance
with household bills. A great deal of time goes mro setting up and makmg
new agreements about overdue accountS with the ESB, Dublin
Corporation and finance companies. The finanCial budget becomes one of
time management. Women talked of spending hours shoppll1g for
bargains, "walking to all the different supermarkets for the bulk of weekly
messages. Saving pennies here and there on over-flpe vegetables and 'sell
I)y date ' grocenes " ,
Managing Food
In onc small group discussion the women present examined the varIOUS
ways of "stretclllng and managlflg food" and discussed the "policmg" of
thelt food supply. Managll1g food IS difficult. Kay said: "Most of my time
IS spent watchmg the food, to make sure It lasts the week. I get up before
the children 111 the mormng 111 otder to dish out the breakf.1st, otherwise
they'd leave me with nothll1g. I dish out the dinners and lunches the same
way. I dread when they bflng in their pals at night - they're like gannetsalways eating. I don't like asking them to go easy on things bur I have no
chOice, most of my housekeeping goes on food, I spend £60 and more a
wee.;:
I on groceries " ,
"The busll1ess of watchll1g the food makes me feel mean. I'm always
trYing to stretch food ... one way I have of dOing thiS is at the
breakfast table. First I add water to the milk when I boil it, then ...
when I put the weetablx IntO the bowl, Instead of putting in tWO
biscuits I crumble up one and a half biscuits so the kids won't notice
what I'm up to. I'd hate them to catch me out. I'm always hatping on
at them about this, that or the other. I often feel like the Special
Branch when I hear myself asking 'who's at the fridge' who was at the
milk?' and so on".
All women ptesent acknowledged that they too were fotced to police the
f.·unity food supply, as well as spending hours shoppll1g for batgains. Two
women, Anne and Pat, do their shoppmg together on Friday evenmg; they
"hang around the store" until 8.45 pm to see if there will be any cooked
c1llckens left. These often sell at half price at the last minute because the
srore can't heat them up the next day. "It doesn't worry us, we eat them
cold"
Anne talked about how hard she worked at shoppmg, choosing, queumg,
packll1g the food and then wheeling home the shopping trolley, as well as
Juggling her money agamst the family preferences in terms of food. "The
kids always wam the SOrt of food they see on the telly, convenience foods
and frozen things like pizzas and waffles. They cost the earth and they're
no good for them".
She summed up the mood of the meeting by saying: "Queull1g for
messages is hard enough but what about queuing for hospital, dental
and optical services, Visiting the clinIC for supplementaty welfare ... as
well as minding the l(lds, dOll1g the washing and all. These all take time,
energy and patIence as weII as wear and tear on the nerves. If an
employer expected work like thiS I would scteam about being
exploited". Or as another women put It "living like that eats away at
you, makll1g you feel II1human, always harping on about food and what
the kIds are eatlng".
23
debt and only manages to do so for brief periods. "1 buy clothes from
the catalogue company because I can't stand to see the kids untidy".
Susan recently stopped smoking because of the expense. Her social life
is nil.
Case Study 2: Susan's Story
Susan is a widow. She has nine children. One of them is married, and
another lives away from home. The rest live at home. One of her girls is
a single mother whose son also lives with them. Sus an lives in a
Corporation house which she is buying.
Susan's income is £110 a week for herself and four schoolgoing
children between 10-16 years. She also has two unemployed sons.
They both contribute £15 a week to the family income. She feels that
the contribution froIll her sons is not enough and asks: "But what
can I do? They have to live as well. They're young men, they're
entitled to dress themselves. As it is, they only barely manage to keep
themselves in jeans and runners and the other bits and pieces that
they need. They both smoke and they take the odd drink. and so on.
They play pool and go to football matches. They have to do
something. They're going melancholy for work. Anyway, all they're
left with in their pockets is £25. That's barely enough to keep them
out of trouble",
Her eldest daughter is claiming the Unmarried Mothers Allowance for
herself and one child. She is not making a contribution toward their
keep. Susan allows her daughter to keep all of her income because she is
expecting a flat of her own from Dublin Corporation. She is saving up to
furnish it with essential household equipment.
Susan has a loan man who calls once weekly for payment. The loan is
renewed constantly. "I got the loan to help me get straight for my
daughter's wedding. It helped me out with the expenses and also
cleared a good few of myoid bills", She finds it hard to stay out of
24
She spends a lot of time shopping for food. The bulk of her time goes
into preparing, then cooking and serving the food. "I never get a minute.
I often tell the kids that the hardest job of all is living on the dole. If an
employer had me working this hard I'd have the Law down on him. The
hardest work of all though is the traipsing back and forwards to the
clinic" ,
Susan hates going to the clinic. She goes for mortgage relief, help with
ESB bills and at other times, "for shoes grants and that sort of thing".
uI'm never really sure what I'm entitled to. One time, for instance, I
went for help with school books and uniforms. I didn't know where to go
for help. A neighbour told me that I could go to the clinic for the
uniforms, and books, and shoes that the kids needed going back to
school. All 1 got was a form for the shoes. The woman at the Clinic was
that they never b"ave
very sarcastic. She said my information was wron",
b
help with school books, and only helped with uniforms when a child was
changing from primary to secondary school. She suggested that I
apP,:oach the Society of St Vincent de Paul. I felt very downgraded that
day.
We asked Susan what poverty meant to her. She replied:
• Being frightened every time a strange car pulls up outside the door. A
strange car means trouble, and trouble means money.
• Being labelled a waster, or a sponger, especially when it is said to the
kids.
• Planning bank raids in my head.
• Feeling irritable.
• Feeling inadequate.
• Planning every detail of my life, the fridge, the money, yet knowing
the smallest thing can throw it off balance.
When asked what she would do with money if she had some, Susan told
us she'd buy:
o
a headstone for my husband's grave:
o
a new iron and ironing board;
o
go on holiday - I never had one;
o
buy new toothbrushes and combs;
o
get my hair done and:
o
new lights for the hall and sitting room.
the twO weeks before and after Chnstmas, that's how we get the shopping!
It makes January and February miserable though with all the paying
back",
better off than we are now".
"I have no option but to get a loan from the loan man to meet the
Christmas needs. I have no other choice. Santy has to be got, how could I
face the children on Christmas morning and tell them there was nothing
for them. Jr's not Just for toys that I borrow money. It's fat coal and food as
well. You can scrape by most of the year by lighting the fire at five o'clock
but with the kids holiday and people calling in at Christmas it's Impossible
ro do that"
Christmas
Working-Class Community
Christmas is a special time for workll1g-class families. Anne explained
Managing poveny IS not Just somethll1g done by indiViduals 111 Isolation. It
IS pan of the experience of worlung-c1ass communities. What litrle
documentation there is on worlGng-c1ass culture has been written "from
the outsIde in", by middle-class writers and researchers. IneVitably, many
working-class customs tend to escape middle-class attention and workingclass people have themselves failed to document the networks. language
and cusroms central ro theIr lives. In thiS sense working-class culture IS
neither fully undersrood by those outside it. nor properly documented ro
encourage understanding, It IS Important ro looks at the culrure and muals
"All. what's the point in asking that question. Sure we'll never be much
how she manages comlng up to that time of year. "I usually start gcttlng
bItS and pieces with the November Family Allowance - school books are
hopefully lllllshed with by then. We get toys and clothes "put by' and
pay a few bob off them each week. The local shops will hold things on
deposit for us. I have a Christmas Hamper. so I don't have to worry
about food too much. I pay £2 a week all year round off the hamper. It
has everythll1g In It that I need. I only have three kids at home now who
still believe in Santy, so I do the same as the others, I get the clothes and
toys 'put by' and pay for them In dribs and drab, I still end up In debt
though. It'S hard not to, with the cost of everything these days.
Chnstmas IS always a bad time, it shows up the things that you don't
have In life"
"Coming up to Chnstmas I stan mlSsll1g bills at the door. Not all of them
though. I use the Peter and Paul system. you know the one, borrowing off
Peter ro pay Paul. I mISs the rent onc week, the loan or the II1surance the
next week. That way they (the collectors) don't lose patience With you.
The money saved IS paid off the Items put by. Nobody ever gets paid for
26
of Kilmount and examine how these link
1I1 [0
the strmegies women use to
cope with poverty.
In low
inC0l11C
COI11rl1unities
"having a good neIghbour is like having
money 111 the bank". The workll1g-c1ass defillltIon of a good neighbour can
be summansed: "someone who knows all abour you and still likes you".
When asked what they liked best about liVing in Kilmoullt the vast
majomy of people surveyed said "my frIends and neighbours" In most
cases they meant friends who were also neighbours. they saw the two as
beIng compatible. Interchangeable. necessary.
27
A neighbour can always be trusted to pay the rent man, coal man, the
insurance man, the catalogue man or anyone else. She can collect a
prescnption or go shopp1Og if there is an illness m the f.~mily. Neighbours
can be rdied upon to m1Od, collect or look m on the kids. People who
have telephones usually allow access to those who do not.
common practice for a man to build a nelghbour's wall Il1 return for help in
fixing a car, repamng a cooker or washmg machll1e. Neighbourhood women
exchange skills like painting, or putting lip wallpaper in return for
dressIl1akmg, kI1ltting and hairdressing. The system
IS
flawed though, because
some people can be excluded due to lack of skills or difficulties about repaying
past loans.
Local networks will "sub" a neighbour short on cash With a short-term loan
until Dole day. These networks operate within certam confines, however,
and borrowers are expected to honour rhe unwritten rules abour not
abus10g the system, only ask10g for what people are able ro give. and
mabng sure to return it. Money is considered to be a fluid commodity
among people who have little. Neighbours, especially those who live on the
same block often help each other With grocefles, train fares, loan of an
Interview suit or good shoes for a wedding.
In J(jlmount, when a member of the community IS ill or dies, support for
the bereaved family IS immediate, discreet and practical. Neighbours shop
and cook to feed the stream of Visitors (family, fflends, former neighbours
etc) who call to offer help and condolence. Neighbours cook in their own
homes and then bring food to the home of the bereaved family. They stay
close to the family and mind the children, fetch the doctor and priest, receive
ViSitors, provide beds, bedding and chairs for the extended family. Money is
usually rhe first concern of close fflends and neighbours and is offered
immediately to the stricken family, parncularly if there is no life insurance.
Solidarity in the community is strong. Most people belong to the
Commul1lty ASSOCiation which has, on occaSion, stepped In to help With
funeral expenses. If a breadw10ner dies the association always orgal1lses a
door-to-door collection to help the family defray immediate expenses.
First Holy Communion
1l11portant OCG1SIOnS III any f~lI11ily, be they
upper-. mlddle- or worlung-class. These rituals together With First Holy
Commul1lon, confirmation, 21 st birthdays and debs dances have a particular
economic and cultural SIgnificance for workll1g-class EUllilics. Yet often
bewilderment and preludice are expressed by middle- and upper-class people
Births, deaths and marriages arc
at the level of expenditure and sense of OCGlSlon surrounding these rituals.
Take, for example. the Ilnponance of f,rst holy communion for worktngclass family culture. First Holy Communion IS one of the malar events in
workll1g-class Catholic households. It IS Important for religiOUS, SOCial, and
cultural reasons. When a child receives
first
holy communion she rcaches
an Important milestone In her life. She IS conSidered olc! enough (by the
Catholic church) to be responsible and mature enough to know the
difference between smiling, temptation, and pl<1111 I1llschic[
The ritual involves the child, the Immediate family and often the
extended f:lInily. The event IS also Important 111 terms of status Within the
community. There IS a local rradi(lon that calls for the COml11UI11Cll1t to
VISit neighbours on rcrurnll1g from the church,
Another J(jlmount system is the "black bag" or "pass along" system. Clothes,
or baby things such as buggies, high chalfS and so on are swapped or passed
along. School uniforms are exchanged, as are text books bur the exchange of
text books often fails because of the frequent changes in books and school
syllabi. People sometimes barter skills as well as household items. It is
28
allowing the child [0
'show off' her new style, collect a card and cash gift to honour the
occasion. Working-class mothers compliment each other on the
appearance or 'turn out' of the child, In a sense. the poorer a f,unily arc,
the more credit or praise they are given
by
the commul1lty for dressing
their child well.
29
For the r;unilies, Fitst Holy CommunIon is an opportunIty to meet and
celebrate. Families who don't sce each other often (because they arc located
In suburbs on OpposIte sIdes of the CIty) will make specIal plans to provIde
meals, lifts, and very often money to the brother or SIster whose child IS
celebratlIlg the event, Anne put the event III context. "First comnll111ion is
vcry imponant (0 me notjllSr for the religIOn but because it gIves I11C a
chance to see all my r;unily, My brothers and SISters are sGmered all over
the Soutl1Slde, I'm the only onc on the Northslde. Bus fares are too dear,
and we only get to see each other at a few tlInes dunng the year. We all
make a specIal effort to celebrate communions and confirmatIons. We do
rhe same for debs dances as well, otherwise we wouldn't sce each other
except for Chl'lStmas - or if there was a trouble m the family. And It'S much
better to meet on a happy occaSIon instead of a sad one"
There's a strong traditIon In working-class families that the extended
bmily become mvolved .n dressmg the COmmUnIG1!1t. Each gift will
.nvolve numerous consultatIons and endless trIpS to town. God-parents are
traditIonally expected to buy the fIrst communIon medal or else rosary
beads and a prayer book. For those families WIth no support, money must
be borrowed from money lenders or trading cheque compal11es at high
Interest rates, Mane explains why she got IntO debt; "My own r;unily IS as
poor as meself They couldn't help much. I had a communIOn and a
confirmation the same year, as well as two lods for exams. It was money
needed everywhere. NI)' husband is not working so I had to borrow money.
I mean you want your children to look the same as everyone else. I didn't
want to let them down !l1 front of the neIghbours so I borrowed £300 to
dress the two of them. My SIster lent me a su.t for myself. You'd need to be
dressed well in front the teachers and the pnest".
IvIany of the
W0I11Cn
\Vc spoke
[Q
agreed "they would get mto debt
agalI1
and again" so that theIr children could partiCIpate on an equal foot1!1g WIth
their peers regardless of the DeCISion, be it confirmation, communion, debs
dances or school trips to Europe because '\ve (the parents) never got the
opportun.ty to have a 'debs' or to travel and our kIds might never get the
chance (0 do these thlllgs agall1"
.J()
Case Study 3: Cathy
Cathy and her husband have 6 children. The eldest child is 19 years old and
is completing a FAS course. The next eldest, an 18-year-old girl, is working
part-time in a city centre cafe. The remaining children are still at school.
Cathy's husband has been unemployed since the mid-70s due to the
slump in the building trade. The family depend on Unemployment
Assistance for their weeldy income. To supplement this Cathy makes
regular trips to the Community Welfare Officer for help with ESB bills,
school uniforms, shoes and so on.
In order to improve her employment prospects Cathy returned to
second level schooling and sat the Leaving Certificate exam. She also
completed a nine-month publishing course. She is not employed at
present and is involved in C0I11111unity educatIon programnles in a
voluntary capacity.
She spends a lot of money on food. The family is always in debt. "We never
manage to make our ends meet", she explained. "We rob ftom Peter to pay
Paul. There is never enough money for 'proper' food. We have frequently
gone without a fire on cold days. I feel constantly under a strain".
Cathy's main support group is her friends from the nearby adult
education centre. "I wouldn't know where else to go if I didn't have
them. My experience of the 'experts' in terms of doctors, teachers, and
the local health centre is their inability to understand how the poor live.
They have a great lack of awareness around our culture and needs".
She borrows from neighbours and friends and "constantly has to make
51
choices in order to manage". Approximately 40 per cent of the family
income is spent on food. This budget allows for a basic diet. Cathy says
she has become "very imaginative when it comes to providing meals",
For Cathy, the meaning of poverty is:
o
tal{ing 'bits of jobs' for exploitative wages, losing your principles in
the process to save your dignity in other areas.
o
living with strain and anxiety every day.
o doling out food, money, fuel, hot water, nourishment etc.
o
saying 'No' to your children so often that you become worried when
they stop asking.
o
living a mean, petty, cluttered way of life.
o
o
o
o
dragging yourself up from your toes regularly, putting on a happy face
to stop your husband and family from sinking into despair.
pushing your children to do 'well' at school in an attempt to get a
higher education grant in the hope that they will have a way out.
watching your child turn down a third level place and tal,e a job
because he couldn't face another three years of never having a shilling
in his pocket.
Chapter Four
Kilmount
facing the fact that work in Ireland is not a possibility for us, facing
up to the fact that the children will end up on the dole as well. And
finally finding the courage to emigrate as a family.
Since we interviewed her, Cathy and her family have emigrated to
Australia and have succeeded in finding employment for Cathy, her
husband and her two eldest children.
32
3,)
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Chapter Five
Work and Unemployment
Many Dublin streets are named after the trades and workers who set up
theIr homes here more than 1,000 years ago. ConsIder Tailors Hall, the
Lmenhall or Weavers Square. Records still eXISt - 900 years later - of the
butchers who sold mear from the Fleshambles m High Street or the
fisherwomen who worked in the Fishambles. The pmter who worked his
wheel over 700 years ago IS still remembered m Crocker Street as is the
canner In Skinners Row or the smith m Copper Alley.
Kilmount
Some families have succeeded m makrng the transition from work to
unemployment. Their story is one of struggle and huge personal cost. For
others, it has resulted in mamal breakdown, children leaVIng home or
berng put into care. Many women end up relyrng on tranquillisers in order
to cope "when they have nowhere to turn to anymore".
Seventeen years ago, cIl1ployment was rhe norm and not the exceptIOn 1I1
Kilmount. Almost every family had a working head of household.
Suburban trams and buses femed workers ro Jobs along the North Wall or
Inner City. Many were men who worked m the construction lI1dustry, car
assembly plants or the small englneenng firms that flounshed m the early
1970s. Other traditIonal sources of employment were the haulage and
cargo firms along the dockslde. Then there were Jobs in firms such as
Kosangas, Couldings, SmIth and Pearsons, Noyeks or Wigoders. Most of
these have closed. Reasons for these Job losses are many and the followmg
are just general examples.
The oil embargo of the mId-70s and the resultant recession and
spIralling Inflation, started the slump still expenenced by the Kilmount
workforce. ShOrt-tIme and lay offs became commonplace and workers
lost jobs, many never (a work agall1. In1pofts coupled with changes in
productIon methods caused Job losses in the car assembly rndustry.
Changes In technology meant that many skills became obsolete. The
prrntIng trade suffered particularly as did the assocrared Industnes.
Many dockers were made redundant as goods were increasingly shipped
by
container.
ReceSSIon m the constructIon industry during the early 1970s and 1980s
meant many of the men in Kilmount lost theIr Jobs and have never been
employed smct. Cutbacks In State serVIces m the I980s led to more Job
losses. Dublin CorpOratIOn and Dublin County Council stopped
proViding essential repaIrs to local authority houses and flats. Workers were
then laId ofI
The head of household was employed in JUSt 38 (48%) of the households
In our survey, while 42 (52%) were m receIpt of welfare payments. Of
these, 22 (26%), all male, were receiving unemployment payments. Three
of these were in receipt of Unemployment Benefit and the remaming 19
received Unemployment ASSistance. The period of unemployment ranged
from as little as eight weeks to 15 years. Four of the 22 had been employed
as skilled workers in their last Jobs (chef, roofer, tiler, painter). Three others
had been in semi-skilled work, such as dflver or storeman, while the
remarnlng I7 had all been all unskilled workers such as cleaners, labourers
and yardmen.
Along WIth those who are unemployed, there are also ten female heads of
households who are lone parents and in receIpt of socIal welfare payments.
Since the Social Welfare Code perceives these women as having family
responsibilities and thus bell1g unavailable for work, they are excluded
from registenng as offiCially unemployed. They are, consequently, also
excluded from government-funded trainll1g and employment schemes.
Also, many marrIed women who gave up theIr work when they got
marrIed are now anXiOUS to return to the workforce. It IS difficult for
marrred women or women with children to re-enter the workforce. In
additIon to the shortage of Jobs, a se no us lack of creche and childcare
facilities prevent women froI11 havlIlg access to work.
It IS clear that few families m Kilmount have access to secure well paid
Jobs. Most would form part of the unskilled workforce but are excluded
from the workforce altogether. Many are forced IntO long-term
45
unemployment. The people of Kilmounr, for rhe mosr parr, live in
relarionships of economic and social dependence. Class inequality in
Ireland has become more pronounced over the last 20 years. It seems thar
present economiC arrangements are creating a permanent unemployed class
with deepening economic divisions in our society.
Case Study 4 : fume and Noel
Anne and Noel moved to Kilmount in 1973. Before the move they
lived in a three-bedroom flat in Ballymun. They had four children at
the time and Anne was expecting her fifth. She became pregnant to
qualify for a Corporation house. Noel was working as a builders'
labourer, work was plentiful and Noel could pick and choose from a
variety of jobs.
Anne and Noel were delighted when they were allocated a house by
Dublin Corporation. "We joked all the way home about being property
owners". The couple knew that living in a house would be more
expensive. Rent would be higher and they would have to buy coal and
pay for hot water, unlike the flat in Ballymun where central heating and
running hot water were included in the rent. However, they were hopeful
about the future, They liked Kilmount and the ~hildren quickly settled
into their new schools.
The couple were saving for a planned kitchen extension when the "world
came tumbling down around our ears". Noel had been working for a sub
contractor, who in turn was working for a building firm. The building
firm developed financial difficulties and was unable to pay the subcontractor, Noel's firm folded and his boss left the country owing
thousands of pounds.
46
Noel had trouble tracing his cards and other records which led to
difficulties with dole and pay-related benefits, They lived on
Supplementary Welfare Allowance for three months while this was being
sorred out. But the allowance was insufficient and they "slowly slipped
inro debt". Noel continued to look for work but had no luck because of
the decline in the construction industry. He has had very little work in
the last nine years.
Anne explains: "Things have been very bad these last few years, He
doesn't look for work any more. He got vety depressed when they told
him he was too old for work - can you imagine the effect that has on a
man his age? He was 43 at the time".
Noel worked in the black economy for a short while, as a security guard
for £1.50 an hour, two or three nights per week. The experience unnerved
him because he was afraid thar someone would report him to the
authorities and the family would lose their social welfare payments. Anne
was relieved when he "jacked the job in, the wages were only slave labour
anyway, and he wouldn't have a leg to stand on if he was attacked on the
job" .
The family is in deep debt now. Being on welfare over a long period of
time has meant they have been forced to borrow money from a loan man
to pay rent arrears to stave off eviction proceedings. They have also
borrowed from a loan company to pay for school expenses for four
remaining school children. Their eldest boy has finished second level
school and is now looking for work.
Anne feels depressed about the way they live now and her depression is
made worse because there is never any money to pay for house repairs
and decorations. "The house is in rag order and I can do nothing about
it, no matter how hard I work it never looks any better".
Anne and Noel have been looking at ways to try and resolve their
difficulties. One possibility is for Noel and the eldest boy to travel to
47
England. They plan to work on a building site and rent a flat together.
They will travel home on alternate weekends throughout the year.
Commuting like this is one way of easing the misery for the family who
all hate the idea of Noel going.
Anne concluded: "None of us are happy abour the family breaking up
but it's happening anyway because of the strain. Anything is betrer than
this poverty, hiding from the loan man when I don't have his money and
always dreading strange lmocks at the door. England might just give the
young lad a chance, he's very talented and can do anything with his
hands. Noel plans to come home for good as soon as our bills are
straightened out. Maybe by rhat time things will have improved on rhe
Job front at home".
They are gainfully occupied, they have dignity and a sense of theIr self
worth. Society recognIses the value of work. Work is not JUSt about money
but also about makIng a contributIOn. Workers have a SOCial life outside of
family and community. The workless seldom venture outSide the area
unless its for fltuals connected With social welfare payments. Workers may
have entitlements and benefits connected ro the Job such as a pension
fund, savings club, sporrs and leisure activities or even annual social
outings that are work related. Involvement in trade unions allows the
members ro obtain organIsing and admInistrative skills.
Case Study 5: Tom and Vera
Low Paid Work
For many people the only altemanve ro unemployment is low-paid work.
Semi-skilled or unskilled workers usually receive lower pay than their skilled
coumerparrs and tend ro have linle security in their Jobs. They are more
likely to be hlld off when work is slack and rhese Imerruptions can affect
pension rIghts or any chance of saving. Families on low pay often have a
lifestyle that is linle differem ro those who are unemployed and liVIng In
poverty.
Working conditions are oftcn harsh. The work, often shift work IS menIal
and repetitive. Low-ll1come workers are ineligible for Supplementary
WelElre Allowancc paymems ro help with large household bills, regardless
of any CnslS or exccptional necd that might occur. They are nor usually
grantcd a mcdical card, unless they have an ongoll1g or senous illness.
They are oftcn unable ro avail of help With school books and exam fecs,
because most schools need 'proof' of povcrty. Yet even Iow-paid Insecure
workcrs havc cerrain advamages over those who are unemployed.
48
Tom and Vera have six children. The eldest child has emigrated to
London in search of work. The second eldest left school early, and is now
unemployed and waiting to do a FAS course. The remaining four
children are still at school. Until recently the family lived on
Unemployment Assistance, coupled with Supplementary Welfare
payments for fuel allowance, shoe grants and help with ESB bills.
Vera told us of their lifestyle 17 years ago. They moved to Kilmount
when the area was "brand new", They had three children at the time.
Tom had a secure job in plant maintenance with a firm on the North
Wall. The firm pulled our of Ireland during the oil crisis. Tom received a
redundancy payment which kept the family going for a couple of years.
After two years of applying for jobs Tom stopped looking for work
altogether. According to Vera: "He became moody and depressed. He
stopped talking to us. The whole family was affected by his moods",
Tom panicked when he reached the age of 50. He had been unemployed
49
for nine years and was afraid rhat he would never work again. Unlmown
to his wife or family Tom accepted a job as a cleaner. The job paid less
money than his social welfare payments and made him ineligible for
Supplementary Welfare Allowances. He made a decision to accept a job
for little pay because he was anxious to return to the workforce. Tom
later explained to his family that he "had packed in the dole because he
had to get out of the house before he went mad". Tom believed that it
was easier to get a job if one already had a job. Particularly so for
someone of maturing age such as himself. His new wages (after tax and
social insurance) worked out at a few pounds less than unemployment
assistance. He was more than willing to "pay this price for his dignity",
Vera wasn't sure if the price was worth it. The family now had less
money, no welfare benefits and they had also lost their medical card for a
while. It was re-issued later due to exceptional health problems. Neither
Vera nor Tom were aware of the Family Income Supplement for those
working for a low income. During the interview we told then about PIS
and rhey have since applied for it.
Not altogerher happy with what Tom did, Vera "still thinks tl,ere are two
ways of looking at it. On the one hand I have less money to manage on,
but he is happier in himself. He's more like his old self. I also feel a bit
better with him out of the house, I couldn't stand him asking me where I
was going, when would I be back and so on. But," she added wirh a grin,
"I still lose out! Because he's back at work he has stopped helping me with
the housework like he used to. You can't win them all, can you ?"
Working on the side
For many people 'working on the SIde' IS an economiC neceSSity. The work
is temporary, lllsecure, and often dangerous. Ir is always badly paId,
because employers collude by allowlllg the workers to draw the dole. A
number of factors ensure the contlnuation of the black economy. High
unemploymem and poverty can make people willing or desperate enough
50
to work long hours for half nothing, On the other hand there are
employers who exploit this siruatlon to supply themselves with a cheap and
expendable workforce.
For women the more usual types of work available on 'the black' lllclude
cleanlllg, pIece work sewlllg and knitting, selling goods on a party plan
basis, childcare and catering, With the exception of cleaning and catering,
all of these jobs are done In the home. Work-related expenses are
shouldered by the worker. All the employer has to do is to supply the work
once or twice a week.
Case Study 6: Carmel
Carmel tops up her Deserred Wife's Allowance by doing 'outwork', "I
have five children still at school, I'm in debt. I work at home when I can
get it. I work for a fellow who sells clothes to stalls and markets. The
work is very hard and the money isn't great", Carmel makes childrens
skirts, dresses and slacks. She gets 50p a garment. She feels she never gets
on top of the work.
"I work when the kids are in school, but if a friend or neighbour drops in
then I have to stop and that puts me behind. I end up working at night
when the kids are in bed. I feel as though rhe work is constantly in front
of me. Sewing malces the place filthy as well. And I'm always afraid that
someone will report me and they'll talce back my book. I would love a
job, I'm a top machinist but nobody will pay me what I'm worth. And I
can't get anyone to mind the kids.
Still I consider myself lucky, I learned my trade 20 years ago, there are
university students now paying big money to learn the things I was
51
taught. I would love to be paid to teach local girls and women how to
sew. It would be gteat to have a local centre with women malcing their
own clothes. I could teach them a lot. "
Work and Young People
When Kilmount was built the workers who lived there had every reason to
feel confident about the future. In the 1970s almost every £lmily was In a
traditional marriage, and had a working head of household and they
planned for their children's future lobs, Young people were often able to
pick and choose from a wide range of unskilled Jobs, many with the
prospect of life-long employment, Most young people at th", time starred
from scratch on the factory floor and gradually acquired the skills necessary
to operate plant machinery. Others apprenticed themselves to firms to
learn a trade, Young male apprentices went into places like CIE or Dublin
Corporation and "served theH time as plumbers, carpenters or fitters",
They earned small money while learning the trade, while others starred on
the factoty floor whete they could learn srock control, dispatch or other
srore room duties, No credentials were needed other than a willingness ro
learn and work hatd. A skilled trade rook anything from three to five years
to learn but. once qualified, young men earned the same pay as their
elders. It used to be traditional for young couples to plan their marriages
"as soon as he serves his time",
It was also common for young men ro follow the same trade as their
fathers, Some trades operated a closed-shop system that only allowed
family members ro enter. An example was the printing trade which only
permitted entrance ro unmediate families of printers already m the trade,
Young women were employed in traditional areas such as the textile
mdusrnes. They roo served their time as apprentices, working their way
from being "clippers" or "beginners" on the facrory floor, all the while
learning the trade and eventually emerging as skilled cutters, pressers or
rop machmists,
52
The f:'lcrory floor process rook four years ro complete, from a raw begmner
ro fully fledged rop machinist. Each year was marked by the allocation of a
"learner's card" which noted every new skill and grade accordingly, Each
succeeding card also brought a corresponding flSe in pay. Young women
keen ro learn the trade or advance their skills could enroll for classes at
night. These vocational classes wete open only ro those already m the
textile trade and they allowed the girls ro acquire and choose from a broad
range of skills. Tailonng, dressmaking, or repairs and a1tetations proVided
employment for many women after marriage because it was possible ro
work either at home or in parr-time lobs,
Many of the women In Kilmount have retained such skills but,
regrettably, the present generation lacks the same range of skills, Their
training has not been as comprehenSIve as that gIven their mothers,
Young women from Kilmount who work m a local clothing facrory have
never even seen clothes being Cut-out because they are imported ready
cut from the parent facrory in Germany. Most young women are only
taught how ro sew certain secnons of a garment, few are ever taught ro
complete one,
For the most parr the 1970s in Ireland provided young people With access
ro employment, Those who became skilled had secure unlOnised posltlons,
Work was also available for the unskilled. Although not w'shmg ro idealise
these traditional sources of employment, which in many cases were harsh,
it was, at the very least, paid work WIth some prospecrs for improvement,
For the young people of Kilmount work IS no longer the tradinonal
stepping srone rowards maturity and mdependence. Work and the right ro
mdivldual independence has been denied them, A sub culture has been
created m which young people without work have inherited a dependency
on Social Welfare, Many young people have never known paid work,
despite the f:'lct that they have stayed m school longer in order ro acqUire
the necessary "passport to
wodt, ie; education. Also a SIgnificant
nUll1ber
of working-class children fail ro cope with the school system and leave
early WIthout obtammg the credentials necessary for work. Very often they
5'>
I
F
\'
>
,i'
,~
I
i
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are nor entItled to social welfare of any kll1d and cnd up becoming a
burden on the family.
The 80 Eunilies we surveyed had, between them, 156 young people who
had left school. Of these, one third (51) have marrIed and settled outSIde
the Kilmount area while a further 36 have been forced to emIgrate. The
remammg 69 ate still livmg at home. Just under half (32) of those still at
home have found employment while one tlllrd (23) are doing FAS rraInmg
courses. Ten others receIve Unemployment Assistance, while four are not
eligible for welfare payments because they are under 18 years of age.
For the most part employment is part-time, Insecure and badly paid. Only
seven young people have found employment With any career prospects.
These seven are working in areas such as computers, upholstery, catering)
carpentry and general sales work. The young n1an who IS learnmg carpentry
IS the only one to follow IllS father mto the same trade. Only twO of the 23
people attending the FAS Traming Centre are domg courses likely to give
them a skill and thus secure a Job. The remammg 21 are learning skills such
as lire skills and/or doing communI')' survey projects. These courses have
li[(le skills content and end after SIX months leaVIng the trainee's
unemployed.
hopeful of obtaInmg work when they receIved their diplomas. The other
five members had mixed feelings about llnding work In Ireland. Three of
then1 were recclvlIlg Unemployment ASSlsmncc - two of these were saving
up to go to England. Two had applied ror Fas courses. All relt that some
work was available if you looked ror it. "But It's mostly part-time and they
only pay scab wages" The follmvlng quotes came from mdivldual group
members.
o
•
•
o
•
o
o
"BC1I10
frood enough""
b.)'ouna
b and 11l1cnlplo)!ed means never feclinE:
..., ...,
...
"Scabbing off your parents ror everything".
"Feeling old and cynical".
"Growmg lip with no hope of better thmgs to come"_
"Becoming disillusioned with cheap dead-cnd lobs and lOSing all
interest III trymg for a better way oflif-c".
"What's the pomt III gettlIlg lip, there won't be any Jobs?"
Wondering at the Justness of a system that allows unfairness like:
(i) yOll can't get a job wlthollt experience;
(ii) yOll can't get experIence Without a lob.
Youth Unemployment
Case Study 7: Thomas
In order to explore r'mher young peoples experIence we asked a group of
young people who had never experIenced paId work about the effects of
unemployment. What outlook do they have' They were reluctant to talk
to us. We overcame tlllS difficulty by talking to them mformally at a local
rootball pitch. There were nme young people present, five male and four
rem ale. They ranged m age from 17 to 22 years.
Two members of the group were still at school and hoped to pass their
LeaVing Cert. Two others were awaiting the results of (City and Guilds)
exams, one ror woodwork and the other for computer skills. They felt
Thomas, aged 17, lives with his parents and three sisters, His father has
been unemployed for seven years, the family live on Unemployment
Assistance. Thomas left school the "same day that I turned 15".
Thomas feels disillusioned about work. He feels he has been exploited by
employers who can pick and choose from young people who are glad to
work for "scab wages". He no longer believes that a willingness to work
is all he needs in order to keep down a job,
"I used to work on a lorry as a helper. The hours were terrible and we
got no extra pay for late hours. We had to stay and load up the lorry no
matter how late it was. We were often that busy that we would eat our
sandwiches as we worked. I didn't mind it that much although some
weeks we worked more than 50 hours and more. I was glad of the money
- and so was me Mam. I used to get £60 a week".
Thomas was out of work for two weeks because he was sick and when he
returned to his job some one else was in his place. He was not taken back
on and remained unemployed for a few months. He is now doing a FAS
course in fitting, maintaining, and installing burglar alarms and is
hoping to get a "real job out of it if he can".
Chapter Six
Women and Social Welfare
56
57
People livIng in poveny persistently struggle to make ends I11eet. The
struggle is onc of never-ending debts, constant aneI11pts to manage an
unmanageable budget, buying household goods on credit or borrowing
money and paYlllg more in the cnd. rvlany Elmilies we interviewed had
Women's Dependency Role
difficulty providing sufficient food for the table not
unmatrled, wife, mother. Regardless of family Circumstances they arc still
seen as dependants - even when the so-called head of household IS tll
pmOll, absent. has deserted or IS dead. Women and their families call have
the same needs, yet, for admll1lsrratlve purposes can be put into different
categones and receive different levels of payment. The welfare state sees
to
mention meeting
other finanCIal commitments. The women's account of their struggle says it
all. All of the women on social welEue spend the bulk of their time eking
our the money and seung to the needs of the family. Few of them
mentioned their own needs. Social Welbre IS not enough, and results III
them applYlI1g for Supplcmentary Wc! Euc. ivIany women borrow money
from moneylenders. They are simply unable to do ordinary things.
Women fall Into many different Guegones wJ[hll1
SOCIal
welhlre - deserted,
W0I11en as dependants. Standard welfare practice governing [he
relationships of marrIed couples IS that men collect the family welfare
paymellt and women are then dependant on their benevolence
Application, Negotiation, Supplication.
WOIl1en
Repeated applicatlon, negotlatlon and supplicatloll to sOCIal welfare
authoritJcs has become a regular feature of life. Bemg an applicant IS hard
work. ()btallll!1g the most baSIC rrglHs wlthll1 the wclEue system has
become a test of endurance. NegotIations
involve a f1ilgnmage
to State
....'
<.....
agencies, seeking and exchanging forms of many different colours, reqmnng
a~ onc
tesldent
~'UI
It. "the
st~btlety of a diplom'lt",
!l1
recelp[ of lone parent payments arc subject to regular routine
surveillance. There arc tWO malll collditlons which thev have to fulfil to
quality for their payments. Firstly they have to prove that they arc
genUInely deserted or parentlng alone. Secondly they have to prove that
they are 1l0t co-hablting.
Forty-two (52'Yh) of th~
households surveyed were receiving some 6:)rm of social welbre payment, of
which 22 received unemplovment payments. l;f the remamder, ten were
recelvmg disabilitv payments and ten lone parent payments.
Case Study 8: Patricia
\\lelElre bendirs arc paid by dilTercnr methods. Unemploymenr ASSistance
or nambling addictions bv rhe male head of household, thiS can cause
diff1cultles I~)r rhe women who have to bear the burden of providing for
Patricia and her husband have four children. The family has lived on
Unemployment Assistance for nine years. The two older children are
grown up and have emigrated to England. The other two, aged 14 and 15
years, are early schoolleavers and live at home. Marital tensions are caused
by alcohol abuse, gambling and long-term unemployment. l'atricia applied
for separate payments because she had difficulties with "getting my wages
,he Eunily. The Departmenr of SOCial \\lell;ue.
off hinl".
and Benefit arc paid out In the Unemployment Exchange on specified
d,ws. The payment made
to
the usually male head of household IS. In
wclElfe speak, "rhe bmilv mcome" and IS lIltended to prOVide for and be
shared by the EUllily. In the event of Elmil v problems such as alcohol abuse
III
all d},lrt to alleViate such
difflcul[les, has a scheme called Separatc Payments f()r paYlllg WIves a
portion of the paymcnt.
"I put up with not getting enough money for years. He stopped coming
home with the money and when he did get home - usually when the pub
dosed - my money was always short. Sometimes, not always, I used to go
to the Labour Exchange with him and take my money off him. But that
used to cause trouble so I stopped going with him",
Patricia was forced, on a few occasions, to seek assistance at the health
centre because "he had spent all the money and there was no food in the
house", The Community Welfare Officer said she would not be able to
help her in the future and advised her to look for separate payments.
Patricia went to the Labour Exchange and made enquiries. She was told
that she could apply for her own and the children's share of social welfare
payments. Her husband would be paid as a single man. "I went ahead
and applied for it",
Patricia resented the fact that her husband received the 'Head of
Household' allowance while she only received the dependents payments
for herself and two children. What was even more humiliating was the
fact that her husband had to sign and give his permission to allow the
separate payments be deducted at the Labour Exchange. She has to travel
weeldy to the Labour Exchange to collect her payment. But, she must
wait until her husband has arrived to 'sign on' first: "If he doesn't show
up at all then I get nothing".
Patricia then added, "He can do what he likes with his money. But I'm
supposed to do everything with my wages. And theres nothing I can do
about it except leave him. I tried that twice. I went to a refuge in England",
Patricia tried to start a new life for herself and the children. She went to
a refuge in England - leaving her husband in the family home. She stayed
for a couple of months but became disillusioned by the long waiting list
for council housing.
"I ended up coming home. The refuge was worse than what was going
on at home and the kids' were all upset. We were very lonely over there.
60
At least here in Kilmount I have my friends. I came back to exactly the
same situation that I had left. I even had to go through the whole
business of getting separate payments all over again",
Patricia ended by laughing at the irony of an incident which occurred
recently. "I went to the Labour Exchange last week for my separate
payments. Now, they Imow all about these payments and why women
claim them, yet this fell a behind the counter says to me 'who will I
give the fuel voucher to, you or your husband? Could you imagine my
fella coming home to hand up the extra fiver for the coal man ... now
I ask you",
Supplementary Welfare
The first constant abou[ applYing fCll" Supplememary WelEue IS [bar [he
applicam muse a[[end weekly for paymen[ and rhe second IS rhat
applications will be accepted on any day except Friday. Fndays arc reserved
for emergencies. Supplementary Welfare provides a baSIC payment to
people who have no income of their own and who do not qualify for other
welfare paynlcnts or arc waiting (0 have welElfC claims processed. In
addition [0 these basic payments, assistance 11H those With cxccprtonal or
emergency needs is provided, on a discretionary basis, through
Supplememary Welfare. Ir IS paid out by Commulllty Welfare On,cers at
the local health cemre or clinic.
The health ccmre in Kilbarrack is a Emly new building. It IS large, modern
and, from the bureaucratic poim of View, IS cfl'ciem and well planned. It
has four offices which serve Artane, Kilbarrack, Sl!tron, BaldoyIe and
surrounding areas. The welf:"e cliniC plays a large part In the lives of
women In Kilmounr. On an average 1110rnll1g the w;Imng room is I~dl by
9.30 am. For the most part It IS women who negotiate on hehalf of the
family. Given women's responsibility f(lr takmg care of children, It IS not
surprising that there 1S a large number of youngsters also. However, there 1S
no proVISion for children. Prams and buggies musr be left oU(Slde rhe
61
waiting room and women ate forced to keep small children and babies on
thelt laps. Children are not allowed to make nOise and women must keep
them qlllet.
,
I
r
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[I
'I
Applying for Supplementary Welfare is as confusing as the different
categories of payrnenrs. Paynlents vary ffOIll person to person. SaBle are
given at the disctetion of the Community Welfare Officer. ThIS causes
distrust and suspiCion among the people and keeps them apatt. "A bit like
apartheId, one law for 'these poor' and another law for 'those pOOt', and yet
another law for the female poor", In Supplementary Welfare, a visit to the
clinic is often only the first stage m negotlatlon and frequently results 1Il an
application. Sometimes applicants must take forms to the dole office. or
the school, other social welfare offices or even to the prISon officer. These
forms are then sIgned by the relevant officers who attest that the applicant
IS poor. The form is then returned to the CommunIty Welfare Officer.
DeCIsions are frequently delayed. ThIrtY-SIX (45%) households 1Il the
survey had been to the climc for Supplementary Welfate in the ptevlOus
two years. The numbet of requests fot help to the clinic ranged from one
to SIX. Requests often necessitated three or four trips to the clime. People
went for thmgs like shoe and fuel grants, help WIth ESB or other essential
household bills.
But this is not JUSt a problem With Supplementary Welfate. ReCipients of
welfare services often experience the setvlces as teptessive. Personal details
must be recounted agalll and agalIl. Details ate kept and classified in
welf.,re registers and personal files checked and updated frequently. People's
stories are often heard 1Il public wirh little respect for theit ptivacy. Finally,
services and benefits are planned and administered without any
consultatlon or accountability to those who are at the servicing end.
Modern poverty under the welfate state thus combines income lIladequacy
With a loss of personal dignity.
Case Study 9: Made
Marie is in her early 40s. She is a deserted wife who has five children.
The family have lived on social welfare for the last seven years something that Marie has still not come to terms with. She has one
major ambition in life and that is "to get off social welfate and make a
bonfire of the payment books".
Respecting Peoples Dignity?
We asked recIpIents of Supplementary Welfare to describe how they felt
they were treated at the clime. These feelings ranged from "treated With
respect" to "treated With contempt", Only six of the 36 felt satisfied with
theIr tteatment at the clinic while half said they felt they were tI'eated "with
contempt" The high percentage of women who felt they were treared With
contempt is not necessarily a cnriclsm of the personnel involved 1Il the
CommunIty Welfare Service. Group diSCUSSIon revealed that It IS probably
more a criticism of rhe basic pnnclples and values underlymg the sysrem
ItSelf. The system IS characterIsed by queuing, lz,ck of prIvacy, and the
consrant telling and retelling of personal derails.
62
Marie has strong views abour the impact of State services on her life.
Particularly in the areas of social welfare. She is also extremely critical of
the legal, medical and psychiatric professions. She became "a client of
these services seven years ago". She also became "a statistic. A deserted
wife! A lone parent. A patient of the local psychiatric clinic. A unit of
dependence at the social welfare clinic",
"My battle with State services really started eight years ago. After 12
years of coping with an alcoholic husband. beatings, and mounting
debts, I finally went looking for help".
A social worker at the clinic told Marie how to get a barring order. That was
the sum total of his involvement. She did not see anothet social worker for
five years. This one visited her in a State mental institution after she'd had a
complete breal,down. "Two visits in a decade. Some State impact".
share of his dole. I also needed to get my husband ro sign a form
agreeing to this". The only trouble was - I didn't lmow where he was
living or where he was signing on.
In between those two visits Marie sought legal aid. It took two years to get
an appointment with the free legal aid centre which had dosed down due to
lack of government funding. Next followed years of serving barring and
maintenance orders, while ti,e family got poorer and poorer. This graduated
to family protection orders, followed, finally, by an order for attachment of
earnings. These orders were largely ignored by her husband - and at times
by the gardai, who urged the couple to "get your act together".
Marie still feels angry about the way she was left to manage her family.
She received help from nobody. "I was living in splendid isolarion miles
away from my family. They didn't Imow how bad things were. Anyway,
they had their own worries.
Marie reckons that serving the order for attachment of earnings was the last
positive thing she did during that phase of her life. "It took me years to
process the order because the State is reluctant to interfere between a man,
his work, his wife and his family. Bur eventually a judge said that my
husband's employers 'be ordered to deduct maintenance at source' and
lodge money to me each week, This meant an end to the indigniry of
chasing him for money before he drank it all. It was great ro call to the bank
and collect the pittance ( £70 weeldy) which the courts saw fit to allow me".
Marie's independence did not last for long, however. Her husband
managed to get himself sacked and signed on the dole. His job was the
only link in communication with him and when that link was broken
Marie was left without any income. She didn't know where he was living
at that time, and as a result she didn't know where he was signing on in
order to obtain money from him. The Department of Social Welfare
would not reveal his whereabouts. The gardai couldn't find out either.
Marie had no money and was "forced to visit the relieving officer for the
first time in my entire life".
The clinic gave her an emergency payment of £20 the first week and £30
the next. Then the Community Welfare Officer told her that he couldn't
help her any more, "He said I would have to apply for separate
payments. Separate payments meant that I got mine and the children's
64
On the surface Marie's life was as normal as is possible on an income of
£67 for six people. She developed a pattern of once-weeldy visits to the
welfare clinic for Supplementary Welfare, and she attended her doctor
frequently for tranquillisers, all the while coping with children, school
and a part-time job. Marie said she never felt tired and had boundless
energy. She saw nothing unusual in her behaviour and neither did
anyone else. Her life continued in this vein until one day ... "I collapsed
and woke up in a psychiatric hospital with acute exhaustion and
depression" .
Marie's release from hospital was the beginning of a new phase in her
life. The hospital social worker (the only female official she had met)
applied for Deserted Wife's Allowance on Marie's behalf. Nine months
later she was granted the allowance on the grounds of "constructive
desertion" .
"Despite my file at the clinic no-one called to see how we were
managing. The only State official I saw in the following three years was
the district nurse. She called to see the little one's who were under
school-age.
"It took me five years to rebuild my life. It was a slow painful business,
My recovery and sanity were made possible by the support I received
from KLEAR, a local women's group. I started attending classes there
and made contact with other women who were bringing up children on
their own. Only for those women I honestly feel that I'd be dead now".
65
Chapter Eight
KLEAR
66
67
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Poverty and HI Health
,;
PrevIOus chapters exammed the expenences of large f.~milies trying ro live m
small houses on mcomes roo small ro feed, clothe and educate. Many of the case
srudies showed how unemployment and poverty resulted m illness and feelings
of depreSSion. All of this has had a Significant impacr on the health of those
mvolved m that struggle - espeCially women, because they musr link all the
threads rogether ro try ro proVide a secure, connected pattern for f.1J11ily life.
Our survey showed a high level of ill health (mental and physical) m
Kilmount. Forry-one families (61 %) reported one or more family members
who were suffering from a long-term illness such as heart-related illnesses,
lung problems, ulcers, asthma and depreSSIOn and 54 families (67%) had
one or more family mClnbers on medication at the rime of Interviewing.
l\venry-five (31 %) of those Interviewed had used tranquillisers in the last
rwo years. Eight of those mterviewed (l0%) were also reliant on sleeping
tablets to ensure a night's sleep.
Many people criticised government cutbacks relating to the health and
hospital services. Of those surveyed 61 (76%) had had dealings With hospitals
in prevIOus 12 months. Almost half of these reported difficulties With the
hospital serVices, ranging from commUl1lCatlOn With hospitals, cancelled
appointments, and lengthy queumg. A number of women were angry at the
lack of playmg space for children. Hospital care, since the cutbacks, drew
CntIClSm, and most felt the level of care had detenorated.
Almost rwo-thirds of our interviewees claimed that poverty played a large part
m causing ill health. The followmg accounts which draws on a number of
group diSCUSSions, documents the interaction between poverty and illness.
Lifestyle and Illness
of whom was still recovering due to other health problems caused by the
long wait for surgery. Four of the women complamed of depression which
required frequent medication. Two also suffered from ulcers. One woman
had back pam all the time whICh left her feeling "tired and depressed",
Their families had sllnilar high levels of illness. All had one or more
members who suffered from resplfatory problems such as asthma,
bronchitis, and congestion of the lung. Prescribed drugs and mhalers were
used frequently to ease breathmg. Three of the seven families had members
who suffered from depreSSIOn or psychlatflc difficulties.
All felt that poverty was a bIg factor In their own and theIr families' ill
health. 111 health, depreSSIOn, stress and the past and present use of
tranquillisers were the common denominators for all seven women, SIX of
whom were medical card holders. Those at the group meeting said the
survey findings confirmed their expenence and they were not surprised at
the number of people usmg tranquillisers.
The women recounted how they try m desperation to manage theIr poverty
as well as trying to meet all the other family needs. The interaction between
poverty and ill health IS a complex process. Poverry creates tension, causes
stram, whIch when built up over a number of years creates ill health. A
number of Elctors whICh contribute to ill health were emphaSised:
• The unrelentIng pressure of managing the household budget on an
inadequate income and the tenSIon it creates:
•
LiVing With fear every day, afraId of a knock at the door demandin ub
money, afraId that somethmg will go wrong and upset the balance
between' barely managlllg or deep trouble"
• The gruelling steps Illvolved in obtalllmg Supplemenrary WelElre
mCOlne.
Like the general population m Kilmount women who took part in the
group diSCUSSions suffered from a high inCidence of illness. Amongst one
• Coming to terms with the fact that the head of the household will never
work again, nor will many of the children:
group of seven women, one W0J11an was under specialist care for a heart
o
ailment. l\vo others had had hysterectomies m the previous 18 months, one
• Worrylllg about keeping children In school and OUt of trouble.
76
Lack of money for
baSIC
necessities cremes
tenSIOn.
77
Jane, onc of the women ptesem, likened poveny to "bell1g 1I1 a pflson
wIthout bars", The lack of money, work and good health "confines"
workll1g-c1ass people. Jane's sennments were echoed by Kate who felt
that "getting through the day was tough enough without having
trouble sleeping at nIght as well", She relied on sleepll1g pills to sleep
properly. There IS a great deal of apathy and helplessness regarding ill
health. Most people felt ill health was a fact of life. Women felt there
was little they could do to ensure theIr own health, all they felt they
could do was to stop thIngs getting any worse. "That's why I take
sleepIng pills, at least if I'm getting some rest I am able to cope a bIt
better, otherWIse I'd be IYll1g awake all nIght thll1ktng about the bills
and the other womes"
highlighted that GPs have little wne to deal wah IndiVIdual panents.
Invanably, the symptoms only are dealt with and medication IS the main
'cure', "The main reason I go to my doctor IS when I need tablets for
myself or a SICk note maybe, if the kids need one. I usually tell Illln what
prescription
r need
renewlIlg, That's all rhe medical card IS good for", The
11lCl1tlOn of medical cards pronlpted the group to list I[C1115 no longer
available. The following Impromptu list was compiled: cough banks:
vitamin-based tomcs; creams for 'nappy' rash, skIn rashes or a host of other
dermatological complaints; a good many patent pamkilIcrs have also been
removed. The cutbacks in health-care were mentioned frequently
throughout thiS diSCUSSion.
The general level of health-care In hospitals was crltlClsed, pamcularly m
maternIty and children's hospItals. The length of time waiting for
app01l1rmenrs, then the lengthy queues when a person was successful In
Health Services
getting one, were mennoned tlIne and again. The unsuitability of hospital
One woman suggested that "wc don't really have a health serVICe. It's more
w;lHlIlg rooms for babies and young children was I11C!1tlOned. lvlany of the
like a sickness service. The only time
hospItal waIting tooms were "dirty and falling apart they were that old"
The women were also cnncal of havlllg to bnng In nappIes, baby clothes
and other Items Il1tO marcrnl[Y hospJ[al.
yOll
get any proper medical ;}rrcntlon
is when you collapse and end up in hospItal, if you're lucky" There was
strong support for t1m statement with the added feeling that even when
one was In hospItal the level of care was also questionable. Even the mOSt
casual observation of the health servIce prOVIded for people like those III
Kilmount will reveal little preventative health care for those on medical
cards or uSIng hospItal servIce cards. There IS equally little being done to
provide health educanon. Alternative medicine offers preventanve
possibilitIes bur is not WIdely available.
Given the pressures caused by poverty many of the women thought that
[unily counselling was IInportanr. However counselling IS not a priority in
the medical servIce. Services are few for Elmilies WIth children who find
themselves In trouble, whether from mamal problems, alcoholism, drugs
or substance abuse.
Althou"h
three-lluarters of those surve).'ed stated that they were happy WIth
b
their family doctor and had no Wish to change, group diSCUSSions
78
HOSPITAL
ENTRANCI
Case Study 10: Jane
Jane's health has been bad for years. She has wide experience in dealing
with different aspects of hospital services. She is a single parent and has
four children. She and the two youngest live on a Deserted Wife's
Allowance while the two older children draw Unemployment
Assistance. She has a leaky valve in her heart, as well as a chronic
bowel problem. She is also "plagued" with allergies and has recently
been examined in hospital for her heart problem.
79
Her condition worsened, she required additional tests
was sent to
hospital on the south side of the city. The tests took place ,over a period
of four days. Some of the tests were "quite severe and reqUIred me to be
sedated".
Some of the tests were scheduled for the early morning and others took
place in the afternoon of the same day. This caused probl.ems f~r lane
who did not have enough money to make the journey twIce daily. She
told us "For four solid days they brought me all the way across the city. I
travelled by bus each morning. If I had two tests in the same day I used
to stay in sitting in the hospital out-patients at lunch time. There wa~ no
place to eat. Then I travelled home each night, pumped full of sedatIves.
I couldn't afford a taxi. sometimes I had barely enough for a cup of coffee
at lunch time".
One day lane took ill after the tests. It happened just before she was
due to travel home. A doctor came to examine her and was
'horrified' when lane told him about the previous four days. "I told
him about the tests and the pills and the buses home and about
having no money". The doctor told her that in her bad st~te of
health she should have been admitted to hospital for that senes of
tests. He advised her to complain to the hospital. her docror and her
local TO. "But I never did. It would get me nowhere and I'm the
one who has to go back for the results, I'm the one who has to face
the doctors!"
lane feels that hospital services have disimproved in rec.ent yea~s. "There
was a time when the hospital would send you home In a taxI. Or you
could ask for expenses at the clinic in certain cases. But that's all stopped
now. People with medical cards are treated very badly nowadays. I should
know. I've been dealing with hospitals for years".
Case study 11: Olive
Olive is a mother with six children, aged from seven to 21 years. Her
husband has been unemployed for seven years. She has serious health
problems and her experience with the health services has been traumatic.
She feels badly let down by them and believes she "is treated like a
second class person because I only have a medical card",
Olive had been attending her doctor for a number of years because of
gynaecological problems. She explained, "I was having trouble with my
womb. I got very bad last year, loss of blood and weight and everything",
Her doctor made a hospital appointment for her to see a specialist. She saw
the specialist at the end of October and he scheduled Olive for an
emergency hysterectomy and told her that she would soon be feeling better.
Olive felt relieved that her health problems were nearing an end even
though she had other problems financially. "While everyone else was
getting ready for Christmas, I was getting ready for surgery. I wasn't able
to think about the kids, the house or Christmas. I just wanted everything
to be over so I could feel well again. By this stage I was really losing the
cool (patience) I felt really sick and I was able to do nothing in the
house. I was very depressed!"
She waited every day for word from the hospital. all the time worrying
about the operation, the children and whether or not her husband would
be able to manage the money, the house, and the children. However, her
problems were only beginning. Her operation was cancelled again and
again, each time it had something to do with the cutbacks.
The first time it was cancelled because the surgeon was sick and there was
80
81
no replacement for him. The hospiral scheduled another appointment for
nearer Christmas but cancelled this at short notice because they were
forced to close a ward down at Chrisrmas "due to the cutbacks",
Her third appointment was also cancelled because there was no surgeon
available. Her fourth appointment was cancelled at short notice, because
of a bed shortage. Each of these cancellations occurred after Olive had
been notified of her date. Each new date meant making different
arrangements for the fa In ily, such as stocking IIp on extra shopping)
explaining to the children that she would soon be going into hospital
and asking for their co-operation in minding the younger ones.
Olive meanwhile was falling 1I1to serious ill health because of blood loss,
worry and feeling "depressed about everything". When her fourth
appointment was cancelled Olive felt she had taken enough. "It waS the
last straw. I cracked up. I was also having a bit of trouble at home and I
couldn't cope with anymore. She went back to her family doctor in
"hysterics n He prescribed a tranquilliser "for a while" and promised her
that he would sort the whole thing out.
no introduction or preamble and went straight on to what was required
of her by the research team.
Olive said she felt "very exposed and vulnerable" when she received the
letter. No medical personnel had spoken to her about the study or had
asked her permission to reveal details of her medical history. She said
"that letter dropped in my door like a bomb, and remember that I was
very ill at the time".
It took Olive a long time to recover from feeling violated at receiving the
letter. She felt that strangers had intruded into her illness and personal
life. She felt that her medical history was being bandied about by
strangers and that she had no rights or entitlements to her own
menstrual history. Olive felt that because she was poor, and the holder of
a medical card that she should be grateful. She went on to reflect about
the same thing happening to a woman in private health-care.
"I wonder would a thing like that happen to a private patient. I don't
think they would allow themselves to be treated like an animal in an
experiment" ,
Olive finally had her operation six months later. But again due to
cutbacks, she was sent home after seven days and told to take plenty of
rest. She was also advised to lift nothing heavier than a teacup for the
next six weeks. Olive found that advice difficult to follow. " It was easier
said than done. I had a house full of kids to look after. They had become
out of order because I was always sick. So had the house. It took me ages
to get back on my feet. I'm still not right yet. It's a good job my
operation was urgent. Can yOll iIllagine what it would have been like
n
otherwise? I'd be dead by now
sufficient back-up for families and communities. It was felt that Without
adequate back-up Elcilitles an Intolerable burden IS placed on the careI'.
usually the mother.
Recalling her story about tbe hospital reminded Olive of something else,
that had occurred before her operation. She received a letter from a
university research department containing confidential details of her
health problems. The purpose of the letter was to ask her to participate
111 a study to find the cause of heavy periods in women. The letter carried
People With special neeels l11c1ude children and adults With handicap, those
With emotional or psychiatric diHicultles. elderly people or adults who are
'chronically' dependent. Canng for people like this IS a 24-hour Job. 'rhis
was expected of the women who were caring for their own funilies 011
small incomes. It was felt that indiVidual Ellnily circumstances should be
0,
n_
Community Care
Many women were waffled about the Implications of phaSIng out
institutional care 111 bvour of COlnrnUIlIty Care without providing
0'
ll.)
taken Into consideration by the 'experts' before people ate rerurned to the
community. "After all, we are struggling with OUt own problems, withoUt
being expected to mind othet people who are sick"
It was suggested that carers of people with medical or psychiatric needs
were more prone than others to having a breakdown which in turn affects
the family and causes more problems. It was unfair to expect women to do
everything, They mentIOned "having ro split themselves between the
patient, the family and the home" They also claimed that they have
difficulty about expressing their fears to the "professionals who see caring
as a duty and not as a problem",
Women spoke of "having a guilt complex" when It came to meeting their
responsibility for caring. "You're made to feel like a cnminal when you say
you can't cope," said May. "My son's brain is damaged and he needs a lot of
minding, but I often run Out of 'cope' and end up asking for a break from
him, for myself and the rest of the family. It is getting more and more
difficult to find a residential centre who will take him for even a short
break, because of the cutbacks"
like to have a lot of facilities at my back",
We asked the group for their suggestions about easing the problems. They
felt that the following resources were needed:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
House in the area to be specially adapted for coping with patients 111
CflSIS. This house should have expenenced staff: criSIS beds and other
essential resources to enable rhe community ro look after those who
need special nursing carc.
Mobile care unit, fully eqUipped.
Essentials aids and appliances for families and the communities on
request.
Built In "breaks" for the carers and patients,
Access to mini-bus for hospital ViSitS or SWimming pool - adequate
assessment of carers and their family Situation,
Counselling and training for carers.
Recreational facilities for patients able to use them.
Marital Stress
May mentioned that twO years previously she had become so worn out and
exhausted from catlng for her son that she spent several weeks m a psychiatric
hospital suffering from exhaustion. "This caused an awful upset m the family
from which we are still recovering. It would not have happened if I'd gotten
more help at home. The only help that I got, was one day a week from a girl
who was dOing a trammg course m special childcare. What I really needed was
a week now and agam m a crisIs centre. The criSIS centtes built for children
are all full of adults with handicaps whose own parents have died",
AlongSide the strain of day-to-day liVing, other areas of strain were
identified by the women that we talked to, especially mamal stress. Poverty
places an Intolerable strain on relationships within the family, They
claimed that the lack of access to mamal and family counselling "did not
help matters", This statement was consistent With the survey results In
which almost half of all those interViewed saw poverty as a cause of mamal
ThiS feeling of ambigull:y about whether the State should look after people
who need care or whether It should be the responsibility of the family was
discussed at length, but the women felt very strongly that It should not be
an 'eltherlor' situation. Families should have some role In the deciSIOn
about caring for the 'cluonlc' dependent. A group member said, "I would
like to be able to care for my parents when they become ill, but I would
Jane IS the mother of four children. She has been a lone parent for the last
IlIne years, due to desertion, Most of their arguments started over money.
The family lived on Unemployment ASSistance but there was never enough
money to pay for food and other household bills. She told us, "My
husband never took responsibiliry for the money but he was always quick
to blame me whenever we were short of food. I'll never forget the day he
84
stress.
85
upended the table over uS when wc were havIng dinner and sad he wasn't
going to eat the slop I had prepared. If It wasn'r the food rhat was wrong It
was somethll1g else. We were always at each others throats over somethll1g.
We were always 1Il each others waYl there was no way of getting a break
from one another, everythmg costs money. Even peace",
Poverty breaks the E1I11ily up. Our survey found that 111 a number of cases
poverty was a filCmr in teenagers leaving hOIne. Vera said of young people
lcavll1g home "It's the only thing left when everythll1g else has been tried.
When anIlnals arc trapped they often eat the limb that IS caught 111 order to
get free, people are the same, they get Violent when they are trapped With no
way out", The group also felt that the deciSion to leave home was often
suggested by parems "because they could no longer cope With the problems
caused by the teenagers. especially if they were In trouble With the police"
Olive "lid "Families are thrown together With no money, loads of problems
and no way of sorting dllngs out. Naturally f.'lmilies will turn on each other.
You;re watching each other like hawks. lvIaklI1g sure that no-one gets more
than the next one. It's worse lor the women because they get the blame when
everyrhmg runs out, or people are knockIng
for
money thar
lSn'(
"They told me to concentrate on myself and the children for the present.
and advised me to look for help for me and the kids. They said we
needed counselling. Especially the eldest boy, who was troubled. very
moody and restless". Dorothy decided to tal<e their advice because of her
worry about Darren who was impossible to live with, always causing
trouble at home and in school. His mother said: "1 was always fighting
with him, then he took it out on his sisters. and then his father took it
out on all of us",
Finally accepting that things were getting out of control Dorothy went to
the social worker who knew the family well through Darren's inability to
cope at school. The social worker made an appointment for her and
Darren to see a psychologist. After several sessions the psychologist
suggested that a family session would be useful. The meeting was to tal<e
place at another clinic with better family facilities.
there"
Case study 12: Dorothy
Dorothy has five children. aged between 6 and 18. She describes her
husband as an alcoholic. Dorothy's husband works as a labourer and is
frequently out of work 'sick'. This leads to financial difficulties. The situation
at home is "very tense because me children don't get on wim meir f.'lmer",
There are rows "all the time over money and drink". She has tried on
several occasions to get her husband to see a doctor or even join AA, but
86
he refused to discuss the issue. denying that there was a problem.
Realising that the family were being damaged Dorothy went to an AIAnon group for help.
Despite Dorothy's best efforts "my husband wouldn't hear of coming
with us. so I just went with the kids myself. But the whole thing was
awful". The family sat in a room with a one-way mirror and the
psychologist observed them in the next room. "He could see and hear us
but we couldn't see or hear him. We were told to sit in a circle and talk
about anything that was bothering us".
Dorothy, Darren and his two sisters aged 13 and 12 agreed to sit in the
circle but the youngest children (toddlers) played with toys in a corner.
"We started talking about all the trouble in the house and who was
causing it and so on. The girls began to talk about their big brother, but
every so often the psychologist would come in and suggest something
else for us to talk about. It got a bit ridiculous after a while with him
running in and out of the room. the children began to giggle every time
he stuck his nose into the roon1".
87
Dorothy became uncomfortable about the way the session was being
run, she felt out of control. She had not envisaged feeling like "a
criminal". We didn't know what was going on. 1 asked who else was
behind the window and was told ...'another colleague of mine, 1 asked
him to observe with me'... "
Dorothy was concerned because the psychologist had not told her about
asking any other people to be present. She asked him" who exactly was
behind there and could she meet these other people" but the counsellor
didn't think tllis was a good idea.
"I became angry then, I felt like a criminal what with all the mirrors and
questions. 1 just blew up, 1 told the kids to put their coats on and we got
ready to leave, Your man flew back in and told us to try again, but 1 said
no thanks. 1 still feel angry about the way we were treated, nobody told
us what was going on or what was going to happen. All we wanted was
someone to talk to, instead we got the third degree. 1 now have no faith
in psychologists anymore, not after that experience".
Dorothy and the family never went back to the 'normal' counselling
sessions. She has since joined a self-help group and is trying to keep the
family together. One of the better things that has happened recently is
the improved communications between herself and her son. "We are
getting to lmow each other ... maybe things will work out for us!"
The Pill for Every Ill.
If SOCiologists had predicted 50 years ago that ordinary people would be forced
to take drugs - tranquillisers and anti-depressants - in order to cope With
evelyday domestic life, thel[ predictions may have been dismissed out of hand,
In Kilmoullt twenty-five (31 %) of those we surveyed had used tranquillisers m
the last two years. Eight (I 0%) were also reliant on sleepmg tablets to ensure a
night's sleep. Tranquillisers calm people down during times of stress. Also
known as 'nerve tablets they arc ISsued by doctors to patients who are
88
depressed, troubled, anxIOUS, or Just Jumpy. Valium, Imown locally 'IS "clle pill
for evety ill" has also been widely prescribed for headache, backache, tension,
period pains and assorted menopausal complaints,
Tranquillisers help durmg the first SIX weeks of treatment. Continued use
btlngs no marked change. Tranquillisers do not solve problems brought on
by depreSSion and anxiety. All they do IS suppress the symproms.
Prolonged use can have potentially dangerous side effects such as
dependency and addiction.
Women said they used tranquillisers for a vanety of reasons, but mamly to
relieve "feelings of sadness and depresSion", The depression manifested
itself in different ways: irrirability, poor concentration, loss of appetite,
Inability to cope with children, difficulty sleepmg were the most common
symproms. Deirdre spoke for everyone when she said "You feel swamped
by worry every day and feel like you're cracking up",
In cases where these problems were discussed with the family doctor he/she
prescribed tranquillisers, A prescnptlon Isn't always necessary though,
because the women borrow tranquillisers and sleeping tablets from each
other With the same ease as borrowmg a cup of sugar.
One women who has organised a Tranx Release group in the area gave us the
followmg mSlglm into the process of enabling people to withdraw from
tranquillisers, For every year a person IS on tranquillisers it takes one month
to get over them. "The effects of addiction can often be worse than the
origll1al problem, People can end up like Zombies, they become people
pleasers, anyrhmg for a qUiet life. Some people become fearful, agoraphobic,
unable to cross the door" She advises people to come off the tablets slowly.
One tablet at a time, one day at a time, gradually decreasll1g the dosage until
they are down ro one a day, then half a tablet, then a quarter. "The support
we (Tranx Release) offer IS ongOing. Sometimes people get panicked and they
phone me at home. I talk them down when they are high or anxIous. If they
are very distressed then I make arrangements to meet them", She ended by
saYll1g: "The worst part of It IS that rhe docrors are still writing Out the scnpts
89
for tranquillisers, despite having all the eVidence about the dangers and side
effects. Its disgraceful really. Women don't know what the doctors are gIVIng
them. They arc lUSt lookll1g for help".
Case Study 13: Frances
Frances has been addicred to tranquillisers for ten years. Her husband
has been unemployed for the same number of years. Her eldest son has
emigrated, and her two remaining sons are unemployed.
Frances says of her addiction, "I could have been taking poison for all I
knew, or cared. I started taking Ativan about 7 years ago. I was on other
tranquillisers before then. I used to be very ignorant about what I was
taking then. I know better now that I'm independent ... the hard way!"
She recounted the first time that sedatives were prescribed for her.
"I walked up to the surgery with the tears streaming down my face. Two
of my children were only little then and they were upset as well when we
went into the doctor. I told him how bad I was feeling and I asked him
for help. He was nice enough and he asked me what was the worst thing
bothering me. Frances explained that the family was 'badly off' for
money. Her husband was drinking heavily, their electricity had been cut.
They had days when there was not enough to eat. "I told him that I
didn't know how to cope any more"
The doctor gave her a prescription for Valium and made an appointment
for her to see a psychiatrist. When Frances eventually saw the psychiatrist
he said it was her financial circumstances and home environment thar
were causing the depression. He recommended a course of antidepressants to be taken along with the tranquilliser that her family doctor
90
had given her. The psychiatrist made arrangements for her to attend his
clinic weekly. Frances did so for a while then stopped going because she
felt the psychiatrist was losing patience with her. She explains ....
"He put me right off one day when he asked me did I want to spend
three or four weeks in Portrane (a psychiatric hospital thar serves the
Northside of Dublin). He also gave me the choice of signing my husband
in instead", Frances was reluctant to take either option but particularly
the one about her husband, "because when things go wrong over drink
you just don't give up on your husband straight away, you try for a bit
longer", She also felt that going into a psychiatric hospital was not an
option for her and would only make her domestic difficulties worse. The
psychiatrist then said there was very little else he could do, he was unable
to resolve her money worries and so on, "I felt very small then, I wasn't
looking for money, just time, I never went back. ! continued getting
tablets off my own doctor for years after that",
She continued talong tablets to help her 'blot out the problems' and then
found that she couldn't do without them. She had no idea that she was
addicted until she went on a visit to a son in England. "I was so pleased at
getting away, that I didn't think of bringing any tablets with me. The day
after I arrived I got into a terrible state, shaking, feeling sick, not knowing
what in the name of God was wrong with me. I couldn't sit or lie down, !
was totally disorientated". Another woman, living in a flat in the same
house as her son came up to see him. By sheer chance she happened to be
talong Ativan and she gave Frances two of hers. Within minutes she was
feeling better. But by that night the shal'es were back again and she had to
borrow enough to keep her going until her return to Dublin.
"My son's neighbour told me I was suffering from withdrawal. She told
me that Ativan were highly addictive. I just couldn't believe it, I was
hooked on drugs. I felt terrible. I wouldn't wish withdrawal symptoms
on my worst enemy"
Frances tried doing without the tranquilliser but found it very difficult.
91
"I would be in bits if I didn't have them. I just couldn't do it on my own.
Her family doctor did try to help and worked out a phased plan of
withdrawal for the tablets. He was unable to offer any other support,
apart from giving her some of his time during surgery hours.
KLEAR, the local adult education centre, told her about a group in
Ranelagh called Tranx Release. The group was run by a woman who had
been addicted to tranquillisers herself. Being with the group allowed
Frances the support she needed to come off the tablets.
"The woman who ran the group knew exactly what I was going through.
She told me it was possible to live without tranquillisers. She was off
them, other people in the group were off them. Soon I would be off
them. I weaned myself off tranquillisers slowly but surely. It took a long
time, nearly two years, but it was worth it in the end. We have our own
Tranx Release group in the area now. I'm slowly coming back to myself
now, I still have bad days, I'm still poor. But I'm not docile any more. I
feel like I'm in charge again".
92
Chaprer Ten
Education - The Impossible Dream
93
Many workrng-class people suffer from low self esteem, low self confidence
and many have reading and writing difficulties due to poor schooling,
Many expenence difficulties when negotIating with schools, social welfare,
health departments or other areas which require reading, writing or related
skills.
The risk of expenencll1g long-term unemployment is closely related to
educatIonal achievement and class background. Schoolleavers With limited
educational achievement find it difficult to get work that offers a decent
standard oflivrng and the possibility to plan for their future.
This chapter looks at the educational expenence of people rn Kilmount
and reports the views of the people we spoke to on the education system.
Educational achievement in Kilmount
Some rhree-quarters of parents 111 our survey had left school at 15 years of
age or younger to start work and almost half had received primary
education only. Being able to leave school early and still get lobs was a
reflection of the socla!, economic and rndustrlal climate of that time.
The breakdown of that economic and II1dustrlal climare due to the
recessIOn and changes in technology and work patterns is mirrored rn the
breakdown of employment opportunities and lifestyle of families in
Kilmount. Work IS now rhe exceptIon, not the norm. Where educational
achievement has become the only measure of ability and worth, students
leaving school With a low level of educatIonal achievement have little
prospecr of securing long-term employment.
The 80 families Interviewed In the survey had 356 children between them,
Sixty-two of rhese families had children still at schoo!. A total of 156
children' had left schoo!. Fifty-eight (37%) had left withour any
educational qualificatIons. A further 64 (41%) had sat for the Group or
Inter Cert. Thirty-two (20%) had attall1ed Leaving Cert level and only twO
94
people out of all the families surveyed had gone on to study at third level.
Of those 156 who had left schoo!' 51 (33%) of them have matried and
settled outside of the area. Thirty-SIX (23%) have been forced to emigrate
while the remarnrng 69 (44%) are still living at home. ThIrty-two of those
still livll1g at home have found work, mostly 111 low paid, part-time and
II1secure lobs. Twenty-three among those who have not found work are
availing of FAS courses. Ten others are in receipt of Unemployment
Assistance, while four people are aged 16 years or under and are rneligible
for Social Welf.~re.
Almost every parent 111 the Kilmount study believed that education was
important for their children. However, there is an ambigUity between t111S
belief and the educational achievement described above. The reasons for
low educational achievement In working-class or low-income areas are
complex and involve a combrnation of factors, including the educational
system Itself, schools and the cumulative SOCIal disadvantages caused by
unemployment and poverty.
Seventy (87%) of those we InterViewed felt that school books do not reflect
working-class lifestyle. Fifty (62%) Interviewees felt that teachers did not
understand worlClng-class people. Thirty-seven (46%) said they
experienced problems when asked to help With childrens homework while
twenty-four felt school had too many rules and regulations.
Another difficulty mentioned by those with children at school was the high
cost of school books - 45 families (56%) expressed hardship rn paying for
books, and they said that the book grant operated by most pnmary and
second level schools was totally inadequate. And more than half of the
interviewees had been called up to the school to account for aspects of
their children's behaviour or because children did not have all of the
necessary books, had not paid the 'voluntary' subscription or because they
were not· weanng the approved uniform.
These issues were explored further rn a group diSCUSSion on schools and
95
schooling, The discussIOn was a([ended by five women, All were married.
All had children at vanous levels of schooling, None of the women had
had any second level education, each havmg left school after Sitting the
Primary Certificate, Only two of their husbands had had secondary
education leading to apprenticeships. Even with a trade one of them had
experienced intermittent unemployment for a number of years. The other
three womens' husbands had left school early and worked in factones. Two
were still employed but badly paid, and the third has been living on
Unemployment Assistance for the last three years.
Teachers and School Rules
A constant theme running through the discussIon was participants feeling
that teachers "look down on them". Breda explamed: "I was sent for one
time by a teacher who wanted to ralk to me, The note she sent me was a
bit abrupt and asked me to call to the school the follOWing mornmg at 11
am. It felt like a summons, she didn't check with me to see if that time
SUited me, if I had someone to mllld the baby or if I had other plans. I
went to sce what was up, and mentIOned how I felt about being
summoned and she said that I should be thankful that she cared enough to
send for me. In the end the reason why she wanted me was mvial and
could have been sorted out with a note, I don't thlllk she showed me
respect. Imagll1c what she would have been like it there was a serious
problem that needed gentle handling".
Other group members had also been called to the school. Anne was sent
for because of a diSCipline problem and she felt the teacher "talked down"
at her USin"D "bi"b words that satd nothlllg",
"She actually med to frighten
'-'
me with the police, said thar if I didn't sort my son out he would end up in
prison "like hiS big brother" And all because my lad told her to "piSS off"
because she embarrassed him in ri'ont of hiS mates over the state of hiS
trousers. Now I know he shouldn't speak like that to her bur to him it was
everj,daj' lanvuage
and normally
he says worse things",
b
u
, .
~
96
School rules and regulatIOns were discussed. There was agreement that
some rules were "ridiculous". such as the one that insists on black or brown
shoes only, May felt that the schools should be happy enough if the kids'
shoes were clean and hard wearmg. "It's hard enough to get them to wear
sensible, shoes withour worrYlllg about colour as well, especIally the way
kids change their mllld. The same thing applies to trousers. I mean, I have
been sent for over thlllgs like rl1lS and have felt like crying at being told off.
It's hard enough to dress them withour all this messlllg".
The group then touched upon the cultural differences between schools and
working-class people. All of the women said the children were given too
much home work and that parents were expected to help out. "Not all of
us are able to help our", said Kay, "even if we did have the time. Our house
is bedlam most times because it'S so small. You can hardly hear yourself
rlunk, let alone find space to study. I often thmk abour the children who
get no help at all, do they Just get left behmd because the teachers don't
understand the problems thell' parents have at home? Or do they believe
that no-one cates about the kids Just because they are late paying for books
and fees? "
Anne felt that teachers "look down on us when we tell them there is a
problem in the family. I was called to the school onc day and was lectured
by a teacher because one child was giVlllg trouble m class. I listened to her
and then s:lld that I would heat what my son had to say - he was 13 at the
time - she told me there was no point III talking to him because he 'doesn't
care anymore'" When Anne challenged her abour her tone the teacher
dismissed her and said she did not have to listen to thiS sort of nonsense.
"Well maybe she didn't, but I'll bet if I didn't turn up every time she sent
for me that teacher would make thlllgs very awkward for us and we have
enough trouble nght now".
It was suggested that teachets should be trained to deal with troubled
children. Kay, who has three children at second level, and is lllvolvedlll adult
education, felt that "poor children are penalised because of theit poverty".
She believed that schools in poorer areas could not afford decent equipment,
97
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.._.~ ..._...-L_
remedial reachers or other specialised help because so much of their budget
went Into maInraInIng the schools against vandalism and so on.
"Half the time rhe schools have difficulty paYIng for oil to heat the class
rooms" These same schools were then less able to help poorer children
with books and exam fees. She also believed that It was "not enough for the
Department of Education to build and provide schools, they should make
sure that every school child has an equal chance In the system by providing
books, equipment and special help from remedial teachers where needed"
Case Study 14: Lorraine
Lorraine, who has four children still at school, at both primary and
second level, said that "not all of mine are able for school. My two boys
can't wait to leave school. They are always in some kind of bother with
the teachers. I feel they are singled out, for things like the way their hair is
Cllt, for not wearing the grey school trousers or wearing trainers instead of
shoes. When the teachers call them aside - or shout them aside in front of
everybody - a situation develops and the boys become cheeky. Then they
are put on a complaint sheet which has to be signed by every single
teacher in every single class, the sheet lists how well they did or did not
behave in class and so on. If too many complaints are made about them
the boys end up getting suspended for a while. It has happened to them
both at different times. I spend more time in that school listening to
complaints, complaints abour nothing. What they are doing is harmless
really, just trying out different styles and fashions".
Lorraine feels that her younger girls are doing well at national school "so
far" but is reserving her hopes until they have "handled secondary
school". It has been her experience that school problems emerge at this
98
stage when competition and exam pressure begins. In the meantime she
still worries about the boys (14 and 15 years). "1 spend my life begging
them to stay out of trouble and not give cheek. 1 don't lmow what to do
for them. We are doing our best to keep them in school but if they
continue to get into trouble they will be thrown our".
The eldest boy has been suspended twice this year for cheeking the
teachers. When questioned by his parents about this the boy states that
uthe teachers never give us a chance, they only have time for the swots".
His mother feels that teachers send for parents far too often over trivial
things and expect them to drop family responsibilities "at the drop of a
hat". She also felt that teachers and schools have little notion of the
troubles that some families have to face.
School Textbooks
The relevance of textbooks to workIng-class experience was addressed by
the group. One woman said: "The most formative learnIng years in a
child's life occur 111 primary school, yet workIng-class lifestyles are never
featured In the textbooks". The only lifestyle or culture depicted In the
school books (particularly at pnmary levell IS a middle class one. For
Instance, the stories In Junior and senior Infants books always portray
detached or semi-detached houses. Daddy has a car and a white-collar Job,
Mummy stays home to mind the tWO perfect children, each with own
room, pets and hobbles, after school she takes them shopping for new
clothes, followed by tea In town. In the evening when Daddy returns the
children give him a cake which they have baked, he thanks them and then
plays games with them in the garden. Later, both parents ruck the children
Into safe and sound. TlllS SOrt of message continues through to first and
second class as well.
This lifestyle IS presented as the norm. There are positive aspects of
working-class and traveller culture which should be portrayed, such as the
99
way in which children from large working-class families care for younger
children and each other In 'a casual yet expert way', Their houses should
also be shown, ie, sharing bedrooms - and beds, clothes, toys, and the way
they manage household chores. Kay would like to see "pictures of high rISe
flats and halting sites, and other values such as workIng-class women who
hold down part-time jobs because of unemployment", She would also like
to see stories depicted of people working at practical or manual Jobs
instead of the usual "Daddy works at the office stuff while Mummy bakes
a sponge". And for the older children It wouldn't hurt for them to see other
aspects of working-class experience such as women managing families
alone, "The reality is there, so it's no good codding the kids",
ar secondary school. The f,unily had litde spare money after meenng the
cosrs of books, equipment, exam fees, voluntary subscnptions and other
school costs. The f'lmily arc lI1eligible for free books and uniforms because
they have a working head of household. Most of the local schools Issue a
standard form for free books which asks for social welfare information or
medical card numbers. She feels that tlllS discnmll1ates against low income
families and she added "it takes us about three months each year, from
September to December before we finish paYll1g for books" They manage
the other school expenses With great difficulty. "We want them to do well
and will support whatever they want to do, but there IS only one week's
wages coming 111 and wc can't do the Impossible. And that's always
supposing that the bds will be able for the pressure in the first place"
The Cost of Education
The Unequal Race
The high cost of education was the next topic discussed, with the group
feeling that little or no allowance was made by schools for the financial and
social difficulties caused by poverty and low income. Two group members
had bortowed money to pay the school costs that year. "It's not Just the
cost of books, which are dear enough, it's also the PE gear and runners,
there's swimming, arts and crafts and photocopying costs as well. Every
sIngle day for three months I was handing over money to one or other of
my four children for calculators, graph paper and so on. If I didn't have it
the kids would be sent home for it. Then there's the ingredients needed for
home economICS, half the time I wouldn't have my dinner and I'd have to
buy cookery Ingredients".
This expenence was common to all group members as well as the points
made by Mary, who said "you only have the books finished when the
schools ask for the voluntary subscription, or the exam fees. Can anyone
tell me why these have to be paid nearly eight months before the kids SII'
the exams?
In the absence of Eur distribution of wealth and other resources, education
has become the only means towards status and stable employment.
Education gIves people access to knowledge, skills and Information,
espeCIally third level education. Education has become a commodity and
can be bought and sold like any other commerCIal product. It has litrle to
do with intelligence, more to do with economIcs.
This commerCIal product gIves greater value to middle-class Ellllilies whose
background and early environment IS bettet geared towards the acquIsItIon
of linguistic and mathcmallcal skills. Intelligence IS Judged on these skills
alone, no other form of ability or Intelligence is taken into account. Our
education
SYStCfl1 IS
a compc[J[lvc one, geared towards the
Wll1ners,
those
who belong ro the top 30'110 who succeed !11 the learnIng srakes. It IS no
cOll1cidence that many of the remall1l11g 70')1, of people belong to the
workll1g-classes.
11
Anne wondered abour her children wanting to go on to thIrd level
education and said that the family were already hard pressed to keep them
100
Most women we spoke to felt that it was essential ro have a good education
in order to have a good Job. Concern was expressed, though, for those
children who did not do well academICally, especially for those who lose
101
--------------
out 111 the POIntS tace. Margaret, who has two childten in second level,
thInks that "the race is not equal to start with. Some children have brains
to burn while others are good at learning practIcal things and working wIth
theIr hands"
education and family SIze are deterrents for workll1g-c1ass families to
achIeve eqUIty in the educatIon system. BaSIC reforms in the education
system are called for. To refotm the educatIon system alone is insuffiCIent
unless accompanied by reforms in financial income and re-distribution of
resources.
Others agreed, sayIng that leav1l1g school to obtain a job "workIng with
your hands" IS no longer the option that It was. Mechanical or any other
kind of ability IS not good enough unless It is accompamed by a certificate.
The general consensus was that a good education was the only way out for
most children but that not every child stood the same chance of acquiring
Case study 15: David
one.
Margaret summed up: "Children who have any kInd of difficulty either
learning or coping wIth school lUSt get left beh1l1d and stay behind all theIr
lives. You don't count unless you have diplomas. Young people have no
chance. They ask you for your Leaving Certificate these days when
applY1l1g to supermarkets fat part-tIme work as cleaners"
Since education leads to employment, that door opens for very few people
from a workIng-class background, because they ate disadvantaged before
they even start school. Wotk1l1g-class children are forced to learn In a very
COmpetItIve enVIronment. More and more lobs ate dependent on
accreditatIon and Increasingly hIgher levels of certification.
Job opportunitIes are rare for those who leave school early. The lack of a lob
111 turn places a great butden on early school leavers trying to establish theit
own independence. Many young people at rl1lS age become a burden on the
Elll1ily and would Opt to leave home if they had somewhere to go. In some
Circumstances ren1aining at home is not an option. Being jobless and young
makes rent1l1g a home less likely. In addition, thete are the difficultIes with
rhe SOCIal WelEue system for those aged 16- j 8 years of age. Many fISk
becom111g homeless and often live on the margins of SOCIety.
The low educatIonal achievement of school leavers III Kilmount is caused
by the cumulatIve effect of poverty, low 1I1come, and lifestyle. The COSt of
IOl
Of the 80 families in the study, only two had childten who were studying
at third level. David is one of these. Aged 2 I years, he is the oldest of five
children. Acquiring a place at a third level regional technical college was
the culmination of years of hard work and sacrifice. He went there to
study for a degree in computer science. His parents supported him
although they were living on Unemployment Assistance at the time.
His parents have a high regard for education and regret the fact that they
were unable to avail of second or third level education for themselves.
His mother is a dressmaker and his father served his time as a
fitter/turner, but has been unemployed off and on for the last five years.
Both parents believe that a "good education is the only answer to gerting
a good job", and were willing to mal<e whatever sacrifices were necessary
to ensure this for their children. His mother worked part-time in a
clothing factory when three children went to second level. She adds, "all
of my wages were spent on them, making sure that they had their books
and things".
David enjoyed his years at primary and secondary school and had little
difficulty with the work. He obtained very good results in his Leaving
Cert, and secured a place in third level, studying for a degree in
computer science. He received a higher education grant from Dublin
Corporation, which worked out at £39 pet week. Difficulties with the
103
grant (the first installment of which wasn't paid till after Christmas,
three months after starting college) caused him and his family problems.
David's mother had to pay his rent and food bills, neglecting her own. To
ease the situation David found a part-time job in a restaurant near the
college. The job involved night work and his studies began to suffer.
David went on to fail two out of nine subjects in his first year exams.
Disillusioned by the costs and difficulties involved in repeating, David
compromised and settled for a less ambitious course, closer to home. He
feels certain that he would have passed his exams if his finances had not
been such a stumbling block. David has now completed his education,
having settled for a diploma, which coupled with the recession in the
computer industry lessens his chances of securing a good job. He now
draws Unemployment Assistance.
Chapter Eleven
Street Games
104
105
\
I
Chaprer Twelve
Conclusion
This book has told the story of Kilmount, a small workll1g-c1ass community
on Dublin's Northside. Throughout, people have spoken about Important
aspects of their lives. They have shared their views and experIences of a wide
range of issues and areas. While che story they have told is unique, it is one
that finds echoes III the expenence of hundreds of slIllilar COIllITIUnities
throughout Ireland and hllTher afield.
The neighbourhood was built in the early 1970s when Dublin
Corporation built local authomy houses and flats on the edge of a small
lower middle-class pansh. It has a fairly stable population. The fact that
the
C0I11111Ulllty IS
sItuanons.
small and that Illost people have remaIned there from
the beginnIng, has ensured a good cOlnmuniry spirit. KilmouI1t IS a
predominantly working-class neighbourhood. Most families are part of the
manual labour force. Most of the parems wc Imervlewed left school at 15
years or younger, while many received only priIuary education. Most
families moved to Kilmount In the more prosperous times of the early
1970s. Work was hurly plemiful, livll1g standards were flSing and families
fClt there was a future for themselves and for their children.
However, the last 20 years have been harsh and It IS commtll1ities like
Kilmount that have carried the major cost of economIC failures. The
COI11IllUI11ty
Over 60% of families had one or more members With a long-tetm illness.
Many women view setious health problems as almost mevitable because of
the VICIOUS citcle caused by poverty. The majonty of people we Interviewed
felt that poverty and sttess contributed to causing the illness they
expenenced. One of the most disturbing statistics to emerge was that 31 %
of those interviewed had taken tranquillisets dUrIng the last two years and
10% relied on sleep111g tablets to ensure a night's rest. Yet even these
statistics ate impetsonal and cannot adequately depict the slow loss of self
esteem or the erosion of self confidence suffeted by people 111 these
has been severely hIt by emigratIOn and unenlploynlcnt. Of
the 80 families lI1tervlewed only 38 were
1I1
employment, usually low paid,
while the remainder were in [ccc'In of welfare payments. Few fatuities in
Kilmoum now have access to secure well-paid jobs.
Thoreau's dictum of people liVing
1I1
quiet desperation could have been
written with KilmouI1r III mind. PerSIstent features of povert), in this
neighbourhood are the continuous effons EO make ends Ineet; the "never-
ending debts"; and repeated application and negotiation for SOCIal welfare.
All of tillS had a Significant Impact on the health of those mvolved in the
struggle for survival, particularly women who carry Inuch of the burden of
poverty. Many of those Interviewed struggled daily to make ends meet.
Ivlany E1111ilies had difficulty proViding suffiCient food for the table not to
mention meeting othcr tlnancial commItmcnts.
The changes of the last 20 years have meant that young wotking-class
people mov111g towards adulthood are entering a dramatically different
world than that in which thelt patents gtew up. More than one-third of
those who had left school had left Without any educational qualifications.
Most of the rest had left after the Group or Inter Cert exams and just one in
five had anamed Leaving Cert. Only 2 of these 156 young people had gone
on to study at third level. Yet in the cut-throat competition fot scarce jobs
the lack of qualifications means that many of these young people face a
world Without work.
The earlier chapters are much more than Simple descriptions of the
circumstances people find themselves 111. They give a voice to the people
living in Kilmount. The book was msplred by the belief that workmg-class
people, and 111 particulat women, who have experienced poverty and
mequality should get the chance to articulate "how the system works" from
their point of view. Given the present debate on poverty which IS be111g
carned our latgely by professional researchers, politicians and membets of
the religious community, it is particularly important that people who
directly expenence poverty should make a contribution to thiS debate.
Throughout the earliet chapters people spelt out thelf views and their
opinions on many Issues affecting their daily lives; housing design,
maintenance Ot the lack of it, local authority allocations policies; treatment
by the health services; experiences with the educatiOn system; and the
117
vanous branches of social welf:~re. The people we spoke to often suggested
changes that would bnng about necessary improvements. These are public
services. Yet a constant theme across the vanous issues is that people - the
public - feel poorly served.
On housing, people reminded us that local authority housmg estates are
often built without enough attention being given to the needs of the
communities that will end up living in them. This goes from housmg
design not taking into account the needs of latget families. ro building
houses and flats and ignoring the need for community facilities. For
example. the closure of the playground in Kilmount has not tesulted in the
provision of any othet tecreational facility. And apart from the SCAB
(Small Community Ameniry Building) a one-room building presented to
the commUnity by the Cotpotation. there is no place fot young people to
hold recreational activities or SOCial functions. Some of the strongest
ctiticisms were directed at allocations policies. High numbets of single
women allocated flats in the atea tesults in them being perceived as a
vulnerable group, There is a need for a more balanced social mix and a
more balanced allocations policy.
In the discussion around health. a consrant theme was the need for a health
service not a sickness setvice. This means a service that deals with people as
people not JUSt as medical problems. It means committing resources both in
the hospitals and m the communIties. Bur it also means respecting people's
right to know what's going on and tecogniSing that people don't forfeit the
right to control their own lives JUSt because they are sick. Discussions
highlighted that GPs have little time to deal with individual patients,
Invariably. the symproms only are dealt with and medication is the mam
'cure', In some instances the Side effects of medication induced further
illnesses without alleviating the original problem. A key concern was the
widespread ptaCtlce of presctibing tranquillisers.
Adequate and petmanent funding should be provided for locally based
health programmes m working-class ateas. These programmes would focus
on relaxation techniques. stress management as well as diet and health
118
education and information about alternative medicines. Waiting rooms in
hospitals. clinics and docrors surgeties should catet mote directly fot the
needs of women with children and provide a play area with play
eqUIpment and books. paints and paper. A range of counselling options
should be available to medical card holders and thete should be State
support given ro communIty-based counselling setvices. Community
resoutce groups. such as KLEAR and TRANX Release should be
recognised by the State and receive guaranteed funding,
Many people in Kilmount believe that the present ethos of schools is at
vanance with their working-class culture. Also they argued that the low
educational achievements of school leavers in Kilmount is caused by the
cumulative effect of poverty. low income. and lifestyle. The cost of
education and family Size are detertents for wotking-class families to
achieve equity in the education system. BasiC reforms in the education
system ate called for. But to reform the education system alone is
insufficient unless accompanied by reforms in financial income and tedistribUtion of resources.
There needs to be speCial traming for teachers to enable them to
understand working-class culture and the problems experienced by families
living disadvantaged lifestyles. There is also a need to develop class
modules and textbooks wlllch reflect workmg-class culture. Smallet class
Sizes should be a priority. Ireland has the highest teacher/pupil ratio in
Europe and we have no government commitment for the provision of preschool facilities. Remedial help should be automatically offered to those
needing it and there should be outreach workers from the school into the
community aimed at establishll1g more sensitive links for families
expenencing problems, In general there needs to be more tolerance and
less ngid approach by the schools in terms of clothmg and othet school
rules. And more positive discnmmation needs to be applied to workingclass children who reach third level education,
It cannot be said toO often that social welfare is toO low. Many women
borrow money from moneylenders, They are unable to do ordinary thmgs.
119
A basIc minimum income should be provided for all. The amount of basIc
income paid would be equIvalent to the amount advocated by the Social
Welfare CommIsSIOn, and updated for inflation,The benefits of a 'basic
minimum income' from the point of view of reCipients means rhat the
degrading and humiliating procedure of means testing would be
discontinued. For this to be introduced. the tax system would need to be
integrated into the social welfare system.
The welfare state sees women as dependents. Women in teCelpt of lone
parent payments are subject to regular tourine surveillance. In order to give
women equal Status the social welfare system should be reformed with
regard to women and all adults should be treated as separate units in thelt
own right. Also SOCial welfare agenCIes should acknowledge women's
responsibility for children and the family - it is women who
disproportionately negotiate WIth social service agencies to supplement
thelt income. SOCIal service agencies need to take this Into account and
proVIde creche and playroom facilities.
Recipients of welfare services often expenence the services as tepressive.
Personal details must be recounted again and again. Services and benefits
are planned and administeted withour any consultation or accountabiliry
to those who ate at the receiving end. Modern poverty under the welf.~re
state thus combines Income inadequacy with a loss of personal digniry.
addressed. Also It is difficult for married women or women with children
to te-enter the workforce. Somedllng must be done abour the lack of
creche and childcare facilities whIch prevent women from having access to
work. Also Government training and employment schemes need to take
into account the multiple roles performed by women, and provide creche
facilities and other support for those who wish to enter or re-enter the
workforce. The concept of work needs to be broadened to Include socially
useful work. The proVIsion of socially useful community serVIces and the
production of products which could be directly consumed by the
community needs to be investigated.
An important point abour this book is the fact that It was developed and
written from a wOtkIng class viewpOInt. Working class culture and
experience IS normally written from a middle class perspective by middle
class researchers, who usually fail to document the positive aspects of the
culture because it remains invisible to them. Throughour our discussions
and throughout this book It IS clear that working class culture and
expenence also remains invisible to the state. We are hopeful that the
process of consultation whIch led to this book, and the courage of the
people we spoke to, will not be lost. We also hope that theIr ideas will be
taken in to account in deciding future policies. This book IS not the
'definitive version' of working class experience, bur it is one contribution to
the process of telling this story, We hope that It encourages many other
people to add their contribution to the process of 'Telling it like It IS.
Given the 111gh level of unemployment the long-term unemployed need a
recognised role in the formal economy, or through SOCIally useful work.
For those who WIsh to re-enter the formal economy, access to high-skills
training is requlted. Work provides identification, represents social
usefulness and is the means to organiSing life. Lack of work destroys self
worth and leads to grinding poverry.
Most lone parents are seen by the social welfare code as haVing family
responsibilities and thus unavailable for work, they are excluded from
registering as officially unemployed. They are, consequently, excluded from
government funded traInIng and employment schemes. This must be
120
121
Appendix
One hundred of the 500 households in Kilmount were selected for the
strucrured interviews (1 in 5, on a random basis). The sample was
stratified according to three household types: local authority houses, local
authority flats and pnvate houses. Twenty per cent of each household type
formed part of the sample. Interviews were obtained with 80 per cent of
local authority households in the sample, 64 per cent of local authority
flats, and 100 per cent of private households.
work in the neighbourhood. It was harder in the flats complex. The
researchers were not well known and setting up meetings was difficult. As a
result of these difficulties, contact was made with a community actlvisr,
Lisa, who lives in the flats. Many of the interviews Lisa arranged for the
researchers were conducted in her flat. Others were held in a local adult
education centre. She was also responsible for setting up the group
Interview about "life in the flats".
The interviews had many interesting aspects. For example, the researchers
were often consulted about legal and welfare nghts, and steered a number
of people to relevant departments or agencies. Also because several of the
interviews took place in the local adult education centre (11 years old)
some people arrived there for the fitst time, and expressed an interest In
joining. Some exptessed an interest in second chance education, and the
researchets arranged sUitable classes and courses fat them. Two other
women loined a community Wflting group and are preparing work for the
next publication. Some others have completed petsonal development and
assertiveness courses. A number of women confided their interest in
developing their reading and writing skills and the researchers arranged
meetings With sUitable tutors. Others reported that it was great to talk to
women about their problems.
SpeCial artention was given to building trust between interviewer and
Interviewee. Arranging interViews often involved many trips to explain the
purpose of the study and emphasise ItS confidential nature. The study team
were sensitive to the feelings of the participants trying to ensure that
people were not further marglnalised by the interView process. Since
Kilmount women carried out the interviews a high quality of information
was obtained.
Trust was easier to establish in the local authonty and pnvate houses
because the researchers lived there and were known and trusted for their
122
123
Combat Poverty Agency Publications
Research Report Series
No. 1
T.R. GORMlEY et al (1989); Assessment of School Meals and Growth. Food
Intake and Food Likes/Dislikes of Primary School Children tn Inner City Dublin
Schools; £2.00.
No.2
No.3
P. LEE and M. G1BNEY (1989); Patterns of Food and Nutrient Intake
of Dublin with Chronically High Unemployment; £2.00.
In
a Suburb
B. D1LLON (1989); A ReVieW and Recent History of the Coolock Community Law
Centre; £2.00.
No.4
B. CULlEN(1989); Poverty, Community and Development; £3.00.
No.5
S. BYRNE (1990); Wealth and the Wealthy in Ireland; £2.00.
No.6
P. WARD (1990); Financial Consequences of Marital Breakdown; £4.00.
No.7
B. NOLAN and B. FARRELlI19901; Child Poverty
No.8
L HAYES (1990); Working for Change, A Study of Three Women's Community
In
Ireland; £4.00.
Projects; £4.00.
No.9
D. DONNjSON et al (l991); Urban Poverty, the Economy and Public Policy;
£5.00.
No.10
F. MILLS et al (l991); Scheme of Last Resort?: a review of Supplementarv
Welfare Allowance; £6.00.
No. 11
C. MULVEY (1991 J; Report on the Department of Social Welfare's Grants
Scheme for locally based Women's Groups; £2.00.
No.12
B. NOLAN (1991); The Wealth of Iflsh Households; £6.00.
No.13
P. KEllEHER and M. WHELAN (992); Dublin Communities rn Action; A Study of
Six ProJects; (with Community Action Network); £6.00.
NO. 14
J. MURPHY LAWLESS (1992); The Adequacy of Income and Family Expenditure;
£6.00.
NO. 15 J. MILLAR. S. LEEPEA, C. DAVIES (19921; Lone Parents, Poverty and Public
Policv In Ireland: £6.00.
Recent Policy Documents
Towards a Policy for Combating Poverty among Women (1990); £3.00.
Poverty - An Agenda for the '90s (1990), Free.
Tackling Poverty
In
the Nineties (1991), Free.
Making SOCial Rights a Reality {19921, Free.
A complete list of Agency publications. mcluding resource materials, conference reports
and policy statements, IS available from the Agency at 8 Charlemont Street, Dublin 2.