Budget Briefing Community and Voluntary Pillars- 2010

Government has failed to protect the vulnerable according to the 17 organisations in the Community and Voluntary Pillar of social partnership.

In its five-point integrated recovery strategy which forms part of its submission for Budget 2011 (launched September 7, 2010) the Pillar argues that this failure must and can be reversed in Budget 2011. The key elements in the Pillar's strategy involve:

• Increasing the tax take while keeping Ireland a low tax country (through broadening and deepening the tax base and addressing tax-breaks as recommended by the Commission on Taxation).
• Securing better value for money in the delivery of our public services.
• Reforming the public sector (by implementing the recommendations contained in the report of the OECD).
• Targeted expenditure cuts where required but ensure that vulnerable people are protected. A good starting point would be the elimination of waste identified in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s reports.
• Focusing expenditure on the common good to provide required infrastructure and public services.

The Community and Voluntary Pillar's full document is available here.