Diocesan News21 Oct 08

Parts of Budget are a 'Kick in the Teeth' for Country's Volunteers

Speaking at a commissioning of seven new voluntary church workers on Monday 20th October 2008 in St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork, the Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, the Right Reverend Paul Colton, said  that Ireland relies on volunteers to deliver essential services - in voluntary hospitals, voluntary youth work, voluntary agencies of caring and voluntary management in our schools.  ‘However,’ said Bishop Colton, ‘some aspects of the recent budget amount to a kick in the teeth for those volunteers.’  He said the failure to consult about the cuts is a ‘breach of the partnership on which our education system has been given its statutory basis.’

Taking the work of volunteers in school management as an example, the Bishop said:

Short-sighted budgetary gain will result in long term damage.

Some of the cuts amount to a mid-year raid on the budgets of many schools.  Make no mistake this will create a state of emergency, mid-year, for our schools.  Volunteers in school management will now have to mop up that emergency.  Dropping financial commitment in the middle of the academic year undermines our schools and the volunteers involved in them.

Referring to the lack of consultation about these changes, Bishop Colton said:

Much more serious, this budgetary raid signals a clear breach of the model of partnership on which our education system has been given its statutory basis.  No consultation – that is not partnership!  It shows huge disregard for children, parents, teachers and the volunteers who manage our schools.