MAINSTREAMING SOCIAL INCLUSION

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MAINSTREAMING SOCIAL INCLUSION

• Helen Johnston
• Director
• Combat Poverty Agency
• World Conference on
• Social Protection and Inclusion Converging
  Efforts from a Social Perspective
• 2-3 October 2006, Lisbon, Portugal

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OVERVIEW

• Context
• Developmental Welfare State
• Mainstreaming Social Inclusion
• Conclusions

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IRELAND THE LAND OF THE CELTIC TIGER
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ECONOMIC CONTEXT

• Irelands Employment Rate fairly good in
  comparative terms

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ECONOMIC CONTEXT

• Unemployment rate low in Ireland

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BUT
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INCOME INEQUALITY
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EU POVERTY RATES
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SOCIAL PROTECTION EXPENDITURE AS GDP
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VULNERABLE GROUPS

• Children
• Older People
• Women
• Lone Parents
• People with Disabilities

• Unskilled
• Unemployed
• Low Paid
• Rented Accommodation
• Urban Concentrations
• Edges of Towns
• Isolated rural areas

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DEVELOPMENTAL WELFARE STATE

• PROPOSED
• Developmental welfare state
• Services
• Income supports
• Activist measures
• Rights and standards
• Joined up government
• Integration at local level
• Life cycle approach

• CURRENTLY
• Relatively low bill for pensions
• High proportion of benefits means-tested
• Services outcomes weak
• Hybrid social welfare model
• Institutional reform required

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DEVELOPMENTAL WELFARE STATE

• Services
• Education
• Health
• Childcare
• Housing
• Employment Services

• Income Supports
• Child Income
• Participation income
• Pensions

• Activist Measures
• Community Projects
• Outcome focussed
• Evaluate/Mainstream

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DEVELOPMENTAL WELFARE STATE

• Radical development of services most important to
  improve social protection services dividend
• Services available to all at high standards but
  tailored to peoples circumstances tailored
  universalism
• State would regulate standards but range of
  organisations would deliver services network
  management

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MAINSTREAMING SOCIAL INCLUSION

• Mainstreaming social inclusion is the
  integration of poverty and social inclusion
  objectives, including an equality perspective,
  into all areas and levels of policy-making and
  that is promoted through the participation of
  public bodies, social partners, NGOs and other
  relevant actors.

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PROJECT DESCRIPTION

• EU Funded Project Social Exclusion Programme
• Seven Member States involved - PT, IR, UK
  (including NI Scotland), FR, NL, SK, CZ
• One acceding country - Bulgaria
• One EFTA country - Norway
• EAPN organisations - to have strong local level
  input

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3 DIMENSIONS

• Mainstreaming social inclusion into public
  policies
• Involvement and participation for all in policy
  making
• Evaluation of mainstreaming social inclusion

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HOW IMPLEMENTED

• DEPENDENT ON
• Government administrative structures
• Centralised / federal
• Allocation of resources
• Funding, skilled personnel, time

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ELEMENTS OF MAINSTREAMING

• Political leadership
• Administrative leadership
• Specialists / skills
• Structures
• Data / research
• Resources
• Engagement / participation of people living in
  poverty

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CASE STUDY BUILDING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

• Disadvantaged inner city community
• Blackhall Place
• Regeneration ? adverse health effects
• Establishment of Blackhall Community Forum
• Health and well-being needs survey undertaken by
  trained local residents
• Input to redevelopment of the area and Department
  of Health

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CONCLUSIONS

• Access to services critical in tackling poverty
• Developmental welfare state" model advocated
• Focus on services, income support and activist
  measures
• Mainstream social inclusion in service delivery
• Integral to policy design
• Involvement of vulnerable groups
• Evaluate degree of integration and outcomes

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• www.combatpoverty.ie
• www.europemsi.eu