Cohesion through Partnership
Introduction
1.) The policies and commitment needed to tackle our employment problem re-quire consensus, a shared vision and a long-term approach. Our over-riding aim is an economy where more people are highly skilled an in well paid jobs. At the same time we have to intensify the fight against poverty, against persistent unemployment and deprivation.
2.) In ensuring economic growth at a high level, we must also achieve more equality in distributing the fruits of growth. Our aim is to build a cohesive and confident society. That means an inclusive partnership, economy built on high skills, high wages, social inclusiveness and economic participation.
3.) Labour pioneered the concept of the National Economic & Social Forum. It has been, and continues to be, a vital mechanism for developing and highlighting policy concerns which could otherwise rank low in priority.
4.) This was most evident in the development of "Partnership 2000". Groups representing the unemployed, elderly people, women and several other community and national organisations joined on an equal basis, for the first time, in a critical dialogue with the traditional social partners.
5.) As a result, there was a widening of the agenda, in the weight given to issues vital to the "third strand groups", and in the quality of the outcome. In addition, many of the reports produced by the NESF have proved to be vital contributions to national policy. We consider that it is critically important to ensure that the NESF continues to play its increasingly central role in any future Government.
6.) We value the contribution of Non-Governmental Organisations, community groups, voluntary youth services and other local initiatives in the pursuit of economic and social goals. Such positive activities will be given appropriate recognition and support.
Tackling Social Exclusion
7.) It is also vital that the next Government endorses, and sets about implementing, the objectives of the National Anti-Poverty Strategy launched in April 1997. The specific targets it sets across a number of key policy areas are essential to any philosophy of social inclusion.
8.) Income support and social welfare provisions must be consistent with the target set for poverty reduction. There must be a coherent strategy for tackling urban disadvantage, and specific strategies for the provision of services in rural areas, especially those concerned with educational disadvantage, unemployment and income adequacy.
9.) We intend to ensure the honouring in full of the commitment in Partnership 2000 of expenditure of £525m on a full year cost basis on social inclusion measures during the period of the new Partnership. This will protect the real value of social welfare payments and provide significant improvements in enhancing inclusion.
10.) Honouring those commitments will involve, for example:
Social Guarantee
11). An abundant economy must be able to accommodate a society where choices are made, and rights are exercised, on the basis of hope and dignity, and not on the basis of dependence or charity.
12.) One way of achieving this goal is a social guarantee. The Social Guarantee recognises that there are certain groups in society who are, because of an inability to exercise the full range of rights, in a dependent state. The Social Guarantee aims to end that condition.
13.) In the short to medium term, we propose to apply the Social Guarantee to three groups of people: Young people between the age of 18 and 21; People with a Disability; and Older people.
Young people
14.) Young people of 18 can vote and can get married and start a family. In fact they are obliged to be responsible members of society. We believe they should be preparing to contribute their full talents to the community.
15.) Receiving a state welfare payment – which depends on not being available for employment – is not an appropriate preparation.
16.) In this manifesto, among other things, Labour is proposing an education strategy, an economic investment strategy, and a crime prevention strategy.
17.) But most of all, what we are proposing is an investment to combat social exclusion. We are guaranteeing a start to adult life with hope and valid expectations. Such a guarantee is an offer that treats young people as responsible adults.
Our aim is to ensure that 100% of our young people complete second level education. When they do, the options open to them should include:
18.) Our objective is to guarantee that every young person aged 18 to 21 will have a worthwhile offer of education, training, conventional employment or community employment.
19.) As the process develops and places become available, this offer will involve gradually raising the age limit for Unemployment Assistance and Supplementary Welfare Allowances to 21. It will not change entitlement to Unemployment Benefit which only becomes payable after a period of employment. It will not affect entitlement to disability related payments.
20.) We have reached the stage where 84% of our young people complete second level education. We want to have 100% reach that stage. Achieving this will not be easy. The evidence shows that those who drop out have, in general, low achievement and high absentee levels in primary school followed by low achievement in secondary.
21.) The problem has to be addressed at primary level initially. We propose, initially, very specific targeting of pre-schools and primary schools in the most disadvantaged areas and follow up for those young people when they go to secondary school.
22.) For those who leave school before age 18; the new Education Boards would provide a welfare and counselling service. This would involve tracing of drop-outs, provision of alternative education/training, and mentoring during second level. Schools will be given responsibility for notifying the welfare service as soon as a student has stopped attending, to ensure there is no time lag in following up those who drop out of school, and offering them a pathway back into learning.
23.) Between 18 and 21 the social guarantee would operate to ensure continuing education or training or employment.
24.) For those young people who do not go onto third level education or get conventional employment, i.e. those who currently apply for Unemployment Assistance, we would specifically provide that:
25.) The social guarantee to young people would be phased in, with a target of being fully in place in 3 years. Initially it would apply to 18 year olds and the age limit for Unemployment Assistance could be raised to 19.
26.) The social guarantee would cover young people with disabilities who would be guaranteed offers of education/training/work opportunities appropriate to each individual as per the recommendations of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities.
27.) Income maintenance schemes such as Unemployment Assistance should be temporary arrangements for coping between jobs or for supplementing income from voluntary part-time work and precarious self-employment. They should not constitute the first independent income of any person.
28.) Starting adult life on Unemployment Assistance is not the future we envisage for our young people. An abundant economy provides the opportunity to start our life in hope and purposefulness, not in dependence.
29.) The quality of offers to young people and the quality service to them by government departments and state agencies in counselling follow-up and encouragement will be of vital importance. Labour’s aim is to ensure the guarantee will be phased in with sensitivity and careful planning.
People with a Disability
30.) We are committed to the full implementation over time of the Report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities. We established the Commission, and Mervyn Taylor has already begun work in ensuring an appropriate and agreed set of priorities. We will be consulting with the Irish Council of People with Disabilities throughout this process.
31.) We are also committed to implementing the Report "Towards an Independent Future", and in particular we will develop the concept of Independent Living, with its emphasis on an independent living fund.
32.) The ultimate objective of these reports – an objective which Labour fully shares – is the provision of a high-quality and fully accessible range of services from the moment of onset of a disability.
33.) Such services must be available on the basis of need, and must facilitate the maximum degree of independence and personal autonomy. They must be shaped and geared to the specific needs and talents of people with disabilities. They must be available as right, and not dependent on charity. In short, they must be the subject of a Social Guarantee.
A Social Guarantee for People with Disabilities would end this and other anomalies. It would seek to ensure that, from the moment of birth, diagnosis, or onset of the disability, the following services would be guaranteed:
34.) Hundreds of millions are already invested in the provision of services for people with disabilities. In too many cases these funds are not well enough directed, and too often reflect the needs of agencies rather than the needs of people with disabilities. For example, many people with disabilities are deemed ineligible for training – not because they will not benefit from the training, but because their inclusion might jeopardise the attraction of matching funds from European funds.
35.) The development of one-stop shops, as envisaged in the concept of the Disability Support Service proposed by the Commission, will go some way towards meeting the information gaps that are often a barrier to the supply of services.
36.) But the Social Guarantee will also require some restructuring of services, much greater co-operation between agencies, and a strong political commitment. Implementing the Social Guarantee means starting from the perspective of the rights and needs of the person, and adapting the services to meet those needs.
Older People
37.) For the vast majority of people, the attainment of retirement age is welcome. For some, however, retirement coincides with illness or infirmity, stress, loneliness, or poverty. A Social Guarantee for people who are elderly would mean recognising that a significant contribution has been made throughout a person’s working life, and that there is a right to dignity, comfort and support in old age.
38.) The Social Guarantee for Older people who are elderly will mean the development of some new services over time, and the radical upgrading of others, especially those aimed at providing help in the home.
Specifically, a Social Guarantee would aim to ensure:
39.) We are proposing that a Minister of State would be appointed to the Departments of Equality and Law Reform, Health and Social Welfare in the next Government, with specific responsibility for further developing the Social Guarantee for Older People.
Gender Equality
40.) Our society’s culture and economy still retain a strong association of women with private life and economic dependency, and men with public affairs and economic activity. Power is still disproportionately conferred on those with direct access to money, as compared with those who are dependent on others. That is why strategies are necessary to end still existing discrimination against women.
41.) We will continue the work of implementing the Report of the Commission on the Status of Women – 80% of which has been implemented or put in train by Labour in Government.
42.) Later in this document, we will be dealing with the out-dated Constitutional provisions which imply a restricted position for women in the home. Constitutional change must be supplemented by practical and concrete measures.
43.) We propose to give practical expression to change, by the following measures, among others:
44.) In addition, we intend to pursue the following objectives:
Law Reforms
45.) The Department of Equality and Law Reform will be charged with a continuing programme of law reform and consolidation. Measures will include:
Travellers
46.) It is estimated that slightly over 1,000 Traveller households live on the roadside and another 257 families on temporary sites. Many sites are without basic services which most of us take for granted.
47.) Infant and adult mortality rates are over twice those of the settled community. The general health status of Travellers is much lower.
48.) Participation in education is also far lower, particularly at second and third level. Participation in the mainstream labour force is minimal and there is a high level of unemployment among Travellers.
49.) In response to the Report of the Task Force on the Travelling community, appointed by Mervyn Taylor, the Government approved a comprehensive package of actions and services to be put in place.
50.) This work is ongoing and Labour is committed to the dedication of additional resources for the progressive implementation of this plan.
51.) Responsibilities are borne by central Government – Environment, Health, Education and Equality & Law Reform as well as local authorities, with the participation and involvement of Travellers’ representatives and voluntary agencies.
52.) The five-year strategy for Traveller accommodation is a national programme for the provision of 3,100 units of accommodation. The planned housing mix will include the following: 900 houses; permanent halting sites (1,200 serviced bays), and a network of 1,000 serviced transient halting sites.
53.) Labour supports an integrated package of action: without the provision of adequate dedicated accommodation, improvements in educational and health services will be more difficult to undertake.
54.) Following on anti-discrimination legislation, Travellers will be enabled to participate more fully in economic development both through the growth of the Traveller economy and by greater participation in the mainstream labour force, so that the natural self-reliance of this community will be encouraged to develop. These measures lay the groundwork for improved relations between Travellers and the settled community.
Basic income
55.) Supported by researches and publications by CORI, a debate is in train on the merits of a basic income system. A basic income is an income that is unconditionally granted to all on an individual basis. It would be paid to individuals rather than to households, irrespective of income from any other sources, and without requiring the performance of any work or the willingness to accept a job if offered one.
56.) A basic income system whether introduced all at once, in stages by different groups, or on a phased implementation basis would be profoundly radical. It would involve in practice the entire restructuring of the existing personal tax and welfare systems.
57.) Labour welcomes the emerging debate on basic income. There are strong arguments in favour: including the object of a more equal income distribution and equity, simplicity, and the removal of poverty traps. Serious issues arise with the single high income tax rate that is part of the proposals, the nature of the impact on the labour market, and the necessity for more public involvement in assessing the case for and against the fundamental changes involved.
58.) We are proposing that a Green Paper be published on this subject within one year. It should be accompanied by further public debate, and with full inputs from both the proponents and critics of the proposal for a basic income.
Housing
59.) Labour’s objective is to ensure that everyone is provided with decent accommodation at a reasonable cost.
60.) We are concerned that the high price of new housing in certain areas is making it more difficult for young couples on moderate incomes to get a home of their own. The population bulge among those in their late teens and early twenties, and the welcome end to heavy emigration, all add to the pressure on demand and prices.
61.) We will encourage a sustainable expansion in the supply of housing to meet this demand, in a way which does not place undue pressure on the environment of our major cities, or erode amenity areas.
62.) We will examine the potential for selective and modest increases in housing density along public transport routes and in city centres. We will give further impetus to the "Living over the Shop" initiative.
63.) We will ensure:
64.) A large number of Local Authority houses are without central heating. We intend to ask all Local Authorities to draw up a five-year energy plan providing for improved insulation and ventilation and for the provision of full central heating.
65.) Various funding methods will be considered, including an offset against the price for tenant purchase, when tenants have financed the central heating themselves.
Health
66.) We endorse the Health Strategy published in 1994, as a basis for the planning and development of our health services. Equity and quality in service provision and efficient use of resources are crucial aims for us. Labour is committed to:
67.) Labour will give priority to developing services for the elderly, to developing access to specialist cancer services throughout the regions, and to sponsoring measures that will encourage people to take responsibility for their own health.
Drugs
68.) Later in this Manifesto, we deal with the urgency of tackling drug related crime.
69.) We support the key recommendations of the Second Report of the Ministerial Task Force on Measures to Reduce the Demand for Drugs. We need strong policies aimed at both supply reduction and demand reduction. Included in the demand reduction policies will be proper and effective treatment facilities.
70.) We have sponsored increased anti-drugs education, through Substance Abuse Awareness and Prevention Programmes and an anti-Heroin Programme, and the provision for parental education.
71.) In addition, we support:
72.) The overall aim should be to help addicts return to a drug-free lifestyle – the most effective drug treatment service will be one which offers a broad range of options to addicts according to their needs. Addicts should be offered a choice of service - be that methadone or therapy – upon entering into treatment. While ongoing methadone maintenance should continue where necessary, it is important not to over-rely on that form of treatment.
73.) We support:
