EAPN Ireland News:

Social Inclusion Forum 2021- Register for Preparatory Meetings

EAPN Ireland and Community Work Ireland are hosting a number of online preparatory meetings, throughout March, in advance of the Social Inclusion Forum for 2021. The Social Inclusion Forum itself will be held online throughout the week of April 12th. The Social Inclusion Forum is one of the structures that helps to monitor and enable discussion around Government plans to address poverty and social exclusion, including the implementation of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025.

Please find enclosed details on the Social Inclusion Forum, information on themes, and how you can register for the upcomming preparatory meetings this March. Where possible, we encourage organisations and individuals to attend relevant Preparatory meetings as well as the Social Inclusion Forum. Feedback from Preparatory meetings will feed into the opening plenary of the Social Inclusion Forum in April.

EAPN & The Department of Applied Social Studies (DAPPSS) Maynooth University, Joint Seminar-Putting Poverty back on the Agenda: Community Work Responses to Emerging Issues,12-2pm on Thursday March 11^th 2021

DAPPSS in association with EAPN Ireland, hope to create a space to discuss some of the key issues regarding poverty in Ireland, which have again been highlighted over the course of the pandemic. Informed by domestic and European policy and practice perspectives, this session will provide a space for students and practitioners to consider how community work can critically engage with, respond to, and communicate about these issues in the coming period. You can register for the event here.

EAPN Ireland Submission to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan Consultation Process

EAPN Ireland submitted to the consultation process regarding the development of Irelands National Recovery and Resilience Plan. EAPN Ireland is calling on the Government to utilise the opportunity provided by the Recovery and Resilience Plan to focus on addressing poverty, social exclusion, and inequality, as means of honouring the anti-poverty commitments the Irish Government has signed up to. You can read the submission here.

Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA)-Pro Bono Referral Scheme/Impact Projects

The PILA Pro Bono Pledge Ireland, which was launched late last year, asks lawyers to promote access to justice and provide pro bono legal assistance to those in need, and includes an aspirational target of 20 hours pro bono per lawyer per year. PILA now have almost 100 signatories, representing over 2,500 solicitors and barristers. This is a substantial increase in lawyers on hand to help organisations, and the people they work with, through free legal services. You can access these services through the Pro Bono Referral Scheme. PILA are also looking for ideas for new ‘Impact Projects’ where an NGO partners with a law firm or panel of lawyers in designing a long term project that delivers a specialist legal service. Some Impact Projects that PILA previously facilitated include:

• Early legal advice and representation for applicants at the first stage of the asylum process
• Legal advice and representation for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness
• Clinics for people with an intellectual disability seeking assistance in making a will
• Legal advice clinic for victims of domestic violence representing themselves in family law proceedings
• Legal advice clinics for children, young people and their families

If you require further information, please contact:Rachel.Power@flac.ie.

European Commission Proposal for EU Directive on Minimum Wages | EAPN Europe statement

EAPN welcomes the resumption of guaranteed decent pay and working conditions for all workers as a political priority at EU level. It is important that such initiatives, including the proposal for an EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages in the European Union, are embedded in an overarching framework made up by the Action Plan for the European Pillar of Social Rights and an integrated anti-poverty strategy. The economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic make the need for courageous and decisive action at EU level and for joint efforts of all relevant stakeholders within the Member States even more urgent than before! Please read the EAPN Europe Statement on what needs to be reflected in the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wage.

EAPN Europe- Supercharging Poverty Event and Poverty Watch Report

On 29 January 2021, EAPN Europe launched the EU Poverty Watch 2020. The Poverty Watches start from the reality of people experiencing poverty and the perspectives of NGOs who work with them. MEPs Cindy Franssen & Marisa Matias co-hosted the event. Key speakers were Katarina Ivankovic-Knezevic (Director of Social Affairs, DG Employment) and several EAPN Members (EAPN Portugal, Slovenia and Belgium). You can read about the event here and you can read the Poverty Watch report here.

Food Poverty amid the Pandemic | European Food Banks Federation (EFBA) 

EFBA continues to work on food poverty, especially with the growing need for food aid during the pandemic. We are happy to present the recent highlights of their work: FEBA launched a report on the challenges that Food Banks faced in 2020, their President was interviewed by CNN on the rise of food poverty and they organised a skill-sharing session to share experiences and best practices.

Commission welcomes political agreement on the ESF+ /European Commission 

A political agreement has been reached between the European Parliament and EU Member States in the Council on the Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). The ESF+ will be a key financial instrument to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights, to support jobs, and create a fair and socially inclusive society. You can read the statement here.