On February 8 th , 2024 the Community Platform launched its submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) which undertook the Fourth Periodic Review of Ireland in mid-February. The United Nations describes this Committee as a “body of 18 independent experts that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by its State parties. The Covenant enshrines economic, social and cultural rights such as the rights to adequate food, adequate housing, education, health, social security, water and sanitation, and work.
The Committee seeks to develop a constructive dialogue with State parties, determine whether the Covenant’s norms are being applied, and assess how the implementation and enforcement of the Covenant could be improved so all people can enjoy these rights in full.”
The Community Platform is an alliance of thirty-one national networks and organisations in the community and voluntary sector which was founded in 1996 as a mechanism to facilitate solidarity amongst organisations in the community sector that work to address poverty, social exclusion and inequality. The Platform’s submission drew on the collective expertise of these organisations and networks. The document provides an important alternative perspective and key insights into what must change in order to improve the lives of people whose economic, social and cultural rights are not respected, protected and fulfilled as they should be in Ireland.
Amongst the issues the Platform highlighted with the Committee was the lack of effective engagement with affected communities and the organisations that represent them in the design and implementation of policy; the need for greater Government accountability for its decision-making; and the critical role of data and evidence in informing effective policy.
The first recommendation made in the submission, under the heading of Consultation and Collaboration, calls for the implementation of “ the proposals made in the Community Platform Discussion Paper, Towards a Progressive Model for Collaborative Governance, published in 2022, to strengthen collaborative governance, based on a set of clear principles. Core among these proposals is the establishment of a Collaborative Governance Advisory Body to oversee the implementation of a consistent and coherent process of collaborative governance across Government. We recommend that this Advisory Body would be led by the Department of the Taoiseach and would include relevant Department officials and civil society representatives.”
And for the Government to “ Demonstrate a real commitment to a human rights / equality / inclusive approach to policy making and implementation by appropriate investment in an infrastructure of autonomous community-development that supports people to engage and resolve issues of concern in a meaningful and constructive manner.” (p18)
On the issue of data, the Platform recommended the development of “a qualitative approach to the capture and analysis of poverty and deprivation data, focus on expanding the use of qualitative research tools and include the use of case studies in the analysis of the lived experience of minority groups to better capture the lived experience of minority groups which would yield richer more meaningful results to inform policy.” (p25)
Amongst the many questions identified for the Committee to ask of the Irish delegation was one under Article 2.2 of the Covenant, which deals with discrimination: “ What is the Government’s timeline for introducing legislative proposals linked to the review of equality legislation, including on introducing a ground of socio-economic discrimination” (p84)
While under Article 9 – Right to Social Security, the Platform asked the Committee to enquire: “ What specific steps are being taken to establish the Minimum Essential Standard of Living as the benchmark for social protection payments?”
There are 31 articles in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Platform’s submission dealt with thirteen of them and posed questions under nine of them for the Committee to consider in its dialogue with the Irish state. If you would like to read the Community Platform’s submission in full please follow this link Download the Community Platform Submission pdf here
To find out more about the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights please follow this link Click here