The Wheel & TASC Report Calls for Immediate State Funding to Charities to Prevent Looming Collapse of Essential Public Services
Two-tier system of pay for the same work to be raised by The Wheel at National Economic Summit next Monday.
Immediate increases in state funding to charities delivering public services on behalf of the state to address ‘pay deficits of close to or above 10%’ compared to pay levels in the HSE is called for in a report published today (Friday 9 June, 2023).
The report, The Future of Public Service Delivery by the Community & Voluntary Sector, is published by the economic and social think-thank, TASC, in conjunction with The Wheel, the representative body for the sector says urgent government action is required to ‘relieve staffing pressure and avoid further closure of services’.
The report examines staffing, demand for services and funding among hundreds of Section 39, 10, and 56 organisations. These charities receive contracts from the state to deliver essential public services countrywide in diverse areas like health, disability, family support, children, care of older people, homelessness and addiction.
Their staff are not legally entitled to the same pay as public sector employees delivering often identical services, meaning that in some cases pay increases of up to 15% are required to tackle ‘negative disparity’ compared to staff doing similar work in state agencies like the HSE.
To ensure an equitable provision of resources and pay in future, the report recommends inclusion of representatives from Sect. 39, 56 and 10 organisations in future public sector pay talks.
Charities suffered a sharp decline in public funding after the financial crisis in 2008, as part of cuts affecting pay and staffing for all services. These cuts were reversed, but only for public sector employees, through the 2017 Public Service Pay and Pensions Act and the Public Service Agreement “Building Momentum’ deal.
Ivan Cooper, CEO of The Wheel, said that the findings reveal a shocking imbalance and discrimination in the allocation of resources by the state to Section 39, 56 and 10 charities.
He called for an “urgent and immediate response from government to support services that are vital to maintaining the fabric of our health and society.
“These organisations deliver not just essential contracted services to the public but bring an added value to public service delivery due to their mission, commitment to specific needs and vulnerable groups in society and in their capacity to innovate and adapt quickly to changing needs.
“We will be raising this issue as a matter of priority with Ministers Michael McGrath and Paschal Donohoe at the forthcoming National Economic Dialogue on 12 June” he said
Other key recommendations in the report include:
- Moving to a model of multi-annual funding for the sector
- Public service contracts should cover governance and regulatory costs
- Recognition by the state in policy that many public services cannot be delivered without the sector’s involvement.
- Include funding for pensions, training, travel and other costs in public service contracts with the sector.
The report cites 2022 data from the National Federation of Voluntary Service Providers, whose members deliver two-thirds of direct services in the state to people with intellectual disabilities. 37% of their member organisations were unable to proceed with new services, 31% were not tendering for new services and 20% had to reduce services.
A 2023 Disability Federation of Ireland survey similarly found that 59% of their member organisations had fears for sustainability of services due to staff retention issues. The National Voluntary Drug and Alcohol Sector report a staff turnover of 34% during 2022 alone.
According to Shana Cohen, Director of TASC, “there is effectively created a two-tier funding and pay system for overall public services delivery, with many thousands of qualified and committed staff in charities expected by the state to work on the cheap.”
The report “reveals startling figures and illustrates the threat to the sustainability of services for some of the most vulnerable people and families in our society.
“It is very significant that, while demand for not-for-profit services is growing and becoming more complex, these organisations lack both the staff numbers and the experienced staff necessary to meet this demand.
“Some organisations are being forced, because of understaffing, to offer less or to not tender for new services.The staffing and resource crisis threatens capacity to deliver the services on which tens of thousands of vulnerable people and families depend.
“Without government approval of funding to enable not-for-profit organisations to fill vacancies and to pay salaries to their staff that are equivalent to the public sector, existing services will inevitably shrink, while the development of new services to meet changing needs will not happen.” she said.