Don't shoot us in the foot, pleads youth worker

BUDGET CUTS and a decrease in funding will result in more children engaging in anti-social behaviour, a local youth worker has warned.

Moyross Community Centre Youth Supervisor Eugene Kiely said December’s budget could spell the end of community development projects in the area.

“This centre teaches young kids how to behave, the social skills involved in life and it keeps them out of trouble and harm’s way,” he said.

“What’s down the line in six months for these kids? They will be out on the road, breaking windows and throwing stones at trains,” he added.

With the An Bord Snip Nua report calling for the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to be shut down, the centres existence could be jeopardised. The centre runs a number of summer camps, child minding services and sports activities for kids. If the community development projects are downgraded and funding reduced, these services may have to be withdrawn and a number of workers let go, he said.

He said that the great work done by the communities’ volunteers would be erased and Moyross would take two steps backward instead of forward. He called on the Government not to target the projects and he added that the funding needed to maintain the centre was “Mickey Mouse money, in the thousands not millions”.

Meanwhile, Limerick Women’s Network Co-ordinator Liz Price called on the Government not to target those already at risk. She said that the organization is one of a kind in Limerick. It helps women who are disadvantaged and who have suffered at the hands of violence.

“There is potential for a huge increase in anti-social behaviour if these projects are cut because it is hard for youths to engage in education and because they see the benefits reaped by criminals,” she said.

The network, based in Moyross, is involved in anti-poverty and awareness of violence campaigns. It also provides crèches and meals for the elderly. The proposal by the Government as regards the community employment scheme will reduce women’s social welfare from two payments to a single payment. In effect, women will have to bear the burden and costs involved in travelling to work, she said.

“People who benefited least from the Celtic Tiger are being hit. I urge the Government to come down here and meet the people, there are hundreds of volunteers. If the funding for these community development projects is withdrawn or downgraded, we will be paying for it for a long time,” she said.

Community Education Project Manager Josephine Sheedy said the resource centres budget was already on hold and that her job would be at risk, should An Bord Snip Nua’s recommendations be put into effect.

An Bord Snip Nua recommends the closure of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, which would save €151 million and scale backs of 196 staff. Its role would be transferred across other departments. The report calls for a reduction in the allocation of funds for community development programmes, saving €44 million.
ENDS