National Women’s Council outraged at Government mishandling of public money, May 2009

Published: Saturday, May 23, 2009

The National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI) has condemned the Government's handling of almost €9 million targeted in Budget 2008 at gender mainstreaming and positive actions for women, which it has been revealed, was instead used to fund Garda overtime, covert surveillance and other activities.

The money, which was a mainstay of the National Women's Strategy (NWS), was due to be spent on a wide range of support packages to build women's employment prospects, improve women's access to education, training, enhance women's ability to engage in enterprise development and strengthen women's participation in decision-making.

In May 2008, under the NWS, Strand One of the Equality for Women Measure (Access to Employment) was launched. This strand was designed to support projects which actively promote employment for disadvantaged women and support their transition to working life during a period of heightened exposure to unemployment. In july 2008 approximately 155 organisations from throughout Ireland responded to the Government's request for applications for 3-year funding under this strand. Despite repeated requests for information, to date, no response has been given to those organisations.

The NWCI learned at a meeting of the monitoring committee of the NWS, chaired by the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, John Moloney, last week, that most of the money has been redeployed elsewhere. The Minister stated that 'no firm decision' has been taken as to the future of the initiative, but undertook to meet with the NWCI within a month to discuss it.

'The manner in which this money has been transferred displays a shocking and intolerable lack of transparency, accountability and respect for the hundreds of women around the country who spent long hours, days and weeks designing projects and putting together funding proposals' said Susan McKay, Director of the NWCI.

'The work the women's groups proposed to do is vital if the NWS is to be effective. We are appalled at the complete lack of commitment shown to the promotion of women's equality and the sidelining of the reality of women's poverty, unemployment and social exclusion at a time when positive action is needed most' she said.

'Women and families have been badly let down during an economic crisis which will see ever increasing numbers of women becoming unemployed'.

'Women's groups at grassroots level are seeing all kinds of funding being clawed back' said Elaine Dalton of the Clare Women's Network. ' Their role and very existence is increasingly coming under threat from a Government which is clearly not setting women's advancement as a priority despite commitments which had been made and European funding to do so', she said.