Valuing Community Services: Report

Services and Supports for People with Disabilities 

Last week the Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI) launched a report on the value of services provided by community organisations such as MS Ireland. The report was compiled by the DFI and the Not for Profit Business Association (NfPBA) and launched by Minister Kathleen Lynch in the Mansion House on Wednesday, 17th April.

It is not news to people involved with MS Ireland how the work of staff and organisations in the community sector has often been neglected by previous administrations. This report goes someway to showing the value of the work and the services provided to people on a daily basis. As budget cuts take hold the current, creaking system strains under the weight of people’s need. People are in crisis situations and are being neglected because state services are unavailable due to lack of focus and funding.

For the past six budgets, not-for-profit and community organisations that provide the care to people have had their funding reduced. As members of Irish society, we know the generational damage caused through people’s inaction. How did it come to this? How is it that the work, the heart and the drive that empowers so many people with disabilities gets forgotten?

The limits of the services, the effects of the withdrawal or non-availability of are now so dire it has the potential to cause even more human and economic damage in the country for generations to come. But it need not be that way.

As the DFI Report shows, together through combining the efforts of State Agencies and community organisations we can chart a different course. By recognising the value of the work done by staff and volunteers in community organisations and recognising the potential of combined expertise, it is possible to improve the current plans in place and implement a better system for all.

Living in the Community highlights the supports available, analyses what the effect of these supports have on the lives of people with long-term conditions such as multiple sclerosis, evaluates the supports that exist and how are they delivered and funded. It also delves into how organisations manage the services they provide as well as looking at how they can be supported so as to improve. Astonishingly, this is the first time that such an analysis has been conducted across the disability sector. Read full report on www.disability-federation.ie

(l-r) Emma Rogan, Multiple Sclerosis Ireland and Rosaleen McDonagh Playwright and poet

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