Mr. Philip O'Donnell:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to be here this morning. The Local Development Companies Network, LDCN, is the national representative body for local development companies, LDCs, in Ireland. LDCs are not for profit and community-based. They deliver a wide range of Government-funded and EU-funded programmes that address poverty and social inclusion through local and community development. LDCs deliver services on an integrated basis, with a suite of individual and household supports in areas like employment, education, disability, health and well-being, and parenting delivered under one roof in tandem with a broad range of community-level supports like social enterprise, climate and environment, and outdoor recreation and tourism.

It is clear from the work of LDCs on the ground that while the Irish economy is performing strongly overall, it is not working equally well for everyone. Consistent poverty stands at 5% but this rises to 19% among people unable to work due to a disability, 11% among single-parent households and more than 8% among children. We understand that welfare measures were discussed at last week's sitting of this committee. Important as these measures are, local development companies focus on building people's capabilities to work, engage with society and contribute meaningfully to their communities.

The social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, is a central to this work. It is the State’s flagship social inclusion programme and a key pillar of its anti-poverty strategy. Funding for SICAP today is only around 60% of what it was in 2007. On the demand side, an analysis of the POBAL deprivation indices that we performed last year showed that between 2016 and 2022, the number of communities classified as “very disadvantaged” or “extremely disadvantaged” rose by 60% and the number of people living in these communities more than doubled. While welfare is essential for containing poverty, it cannot do the kind of community development that trends like this tell us is vital. That requires boots on the ground. One area where we see the impact of those boots on the ground is in the area of migrant integration, which is supported by the new arrivals funding, first introduced in 2022. This €10 million annual fund is essential and should be retained. It also needs to be moved to a multi-annual footing. Currently, staff are hired under this programme on one-year contracts and must be put on protective notice every December while waiting for confirmation of continued funding. Formalising this fund within the five-year SICAP framework would address the issue overnight.

We highlight in our pre-budget submission the value of community employment, Tús and the rural social scheme. These schemes benefit not just participants but whole communities. The recent review of the rural social scheme, RSS, warned that declining participation could leave rural areas without vital services. LDCs do all they can to make these schemes appealing but the €27.50 weekly to-up payment is increasingly inadequate. Sometimes it is not even enough to cover the transportation costs involved in participation. We are supporting a phased increase of €7.50 per week per year for the next three years, in addition to any underlying welfare increases.

We also encourage greater alignment between our national and European funding efforts. We are especially keen to draw attention to the opportunity presented by INTERREG, which is about addressing regional, economic and infrastructural disparities across Europe. Most community organisations are aware of INTERREG funding but they are unable to tap into it because of matched funding constraints. A €1 million annual national fund to bridge that gap could potentially unlock €3 million annually from Europe. This would not be without precedent. Belgium and the Netherlands do it already and they reap very sizeable rewards. From an Irish point of view, it is a simple, high-return investment that would bolster the social economy and support our regions. In this and in other areas the infrastructure is already in place and it has proven itself to be robust, dynamic and effective whenever supported.

Similarly, the LEADER food initiative supported 168 local producers while operational between 2018 and 2021. A recent once-off call in 2023 was heavily oversubscribed. This is a clear sign of capacity and appetite for growth. Supporting small-scale food producers through established and effective structures like LEADER aligns directly with Food Vision 2030. All of this speaks to what resilient communities look like, namely, connected, self-reliant and innovative, provided they are supported. That is the essence of local development. It is the guiding philosophy of programmes like LEADER, which we are working to strengthen post 2027. We recognise the economic challenges ahead but our message is simple - investment in communities and the resilience of communities is needed now more than ever.