National Development Plan 2007

January 23, 2007: CORI Justice welcomes National Development Plan but calls on Government to provide detailed targets and time frames on social inclusion and social infrastructure proposals

 

The following is an initial response from CORI Justice to the National Development Plan published Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007. A more detailed analysis aned critique will be produced in due course.

 

CORI Justice welcomes the National Development Plan 2007-2013. It includes a number of significant and welcome initiatives. In paricular, we welcome the fact that social inclusion forms an integral part of a National Development Plan for the first time. We also welcome the scale of investment in these areas. However, we believe that detailed targets and timeframes on social inclusion and social infrastructures are required if this Plan is to be implemented effectively and 'value for money' is to be guaranteed.

 

CORI Justice also believes that the monitoring and review mechanisms outlined in the Plan are not adequate if the NDP is to be effectively monitored on an ongoing basis. The NDP has many commitments and a large budget. It neds appropriate and ongoing mechanisms to ensure the desired strategic outcomes are achieved.

 

It is very important that the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion, (NAPInclusion) due to be published next month, will contain much more detail on the commitments on social inclusion. The new NDP addresses social services and activation issues. It is important that the NAPInclusion follow the commitment in Towards 2016 and address the issue of income adequacy as well as social services and activation issues at each stage of the lifecycle. Specific targets and timeframes are essential to ensure timely implementation, effective monitoring and securing value for money.

 

The persistence of social problems is no longer acceptable when Ireland has the resources to address these problems. Ireland’s economy is doing very well but a range of social problems persist. We now have a window of opportunity to address these problems effectively. The new NDP is substantial and moves in the right direction.

 

CORI Justice is a Social Partner and is one of the organisations that negotiated and signed the last four national agreements: Partnership 2000, the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, Sustaining Progress and Towards 2016.

The full text of the National Development Plan and related material can be accessed at:http://www.ndp.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/homepage.asp