End of Year Message from The Wheel
This has been an extraordinary year for The Wheel, our members, and the people we serve. It has been a year of change – with Local and European Elections taking place during the summer, and the General Election taking place last month (more on that later). It has also been a year of huge progress, with greater recognition of the skills and professionalism of sector workers and national and international support for the social economy and social enterprise.
I’d like to take this opportunity to update you on some developments since my last email, as well as look back at some of the work carried out on our members’ behalf in 2024.
General Election
Like many organisations across the sector, the General Election has dominated our policy and advocacy work in recent weeks. We worked hard to advocate for our members’ priorities in the swift run-up to this election, producing a comprehensive manifesto and holding a hustings, with representatives from the seven largest political parties. We could not have done this without your input, and to that end, I wish to extend a heartfelt ‘thank you’.
After poring over political manifestos to assess commitments to the sector, we produced detailed analysis in the form of thematic checklists, following each of our members’ priority areas as follows:
The Future Is...
Ask 1: A Strong CV Sector
Ask 2: Socially Connected
Ask 3: Inclusive
Ask 4: Engaged
Ask 5: Fair
Ask 6: Work & Skills
Ask 7: Quality Healthcare
Ask 8: Affordable Secure Housing
Ask 9: Good for Children
Ask 10: Sustainable.
We were pleased to see dedicated sections on the role of the community and voluntary sector in several party manifestos, as well as acknowledgement of the need for multiannual funding and pay parity for the sector. Other areas of relevant focus include the development of a public childcare model, an emphasis on dedicated housing provision for older people and people with disabilities, and increased support for community spaces and outreach.
There remains much to do, and many issues that impact the sector received little attention, for example, dedicated funding for crucial compliance, and sufficient supports for trustees.
We hope these checklists will be of benefit to our members in their advocacy work following the formation of the next government. In the coming weeks, we will be working hard to ensure that manifesto commitments are included in the next Programme for Government and will be sure to keep you updated on this work.
Sector Developments in 2024
While the General Election has been a focal point for many of our members’ time and attention in recent weeks, there have been several other significant developments across the sector this year. These include (though are by no means limited to):
Movement on the Section 39/56/40/10 pay campaign. 2024 was a busy year related to pay and overall resourcing of community and voluntary organisations delivering services on behalf of the state. We have made significant progress in establishing the issues affecting the sustainability of the sector with government and in the media. The Wheel has facilitated a broad coalition of organisations active in a very wide range of essential services, including health, disability, mental health, homelessness, care of children, and addiction. The focus for 2025 will be on building a unified approach to working with the new government, dealing with potential future WRC issues and other strategies with the aim of pursuing a process to deliver overall sustainability for our sector's work.
Charities (Amendment) Act, 2024. This Act was finally signed into law during the summer. While it is yet to be commenced, the Act introduces “the advancement of human rights” as a charitable purpose, changes the definition of charity trustee to exclude Company Secretaries who perform no other function on the Board (and don’t act as shadow directors/trustees), provides for mandatory notifications to the Charities Regulator and approval by the Regulator of certain changes to a charity’s Constitution, and introduces changes to financial procedures. We have worked closely with Charities Institute Ireland and Mason Hayes and Curran solicitors in developing our advocacy submissions, and are very grateful to both for their inputs into our webinar held just before the commencement of the Act.
The National Social Enterprise Policy 2024–27 was also published in the summer. Thanks to a really engaging consultation event in January, we were able to make a detailed submission on your behalf and were delighted to see many of our proposals in the final policy.
Supports for our Members and the Sector
The last month has also been a hugely busy time for us at The Wheel.
We launched the sixth annual Pay and Benefits Survey 2024, which provides invaluable insight into the sector and is used as a benchmark by many. A notable takeaway is that staff turnover in the sector increased by 27% between 2022 and 2024. This, once again, highlights the recruitment and retention issues across the sector and provides further evidence on which to base advocacy work.
Applications for Training Links 2025–2026 are now open. Budget 2025 provided the largest fund to date available for sector workplace skills development, and we are delighted to bring this new offering to our sector colleagues. If you would like any details, please do contact the team at traininglinks2022@wheel.ie.
Our Members’ Policy Survey 2025 is still open, and we would really appreciate if you could take a few minutes to fill it out. Last year’s survey provided us with valuable information about our members’ priorities that informed our advocacy work throughout the year.
Finally, make sure to save the date for Summit 2025, which will take place on Wednesday, 28 May 2025.
Some final thank-yous...
I’d like to end the year with a huge thank you to The Wheel team. Our staff members provide services, supports, networking and training opportunities, information, advice, and guidance throughout the year, as well as working to represent your priorities and needs through our advocacy work. Our highly committed Board provide strong governance and clear strategic leadership and direction. Thank you to you all.
Finally, on behalf of the Board and all the team at The Wheel, I would like to thank you, our members, for your continued membership and support in 2024. It is my hope that you have felt the benefit of your membership in our community this year and feel that your membership is valued not least as a great expression of solidarity and contribution to the strength of the charity and community sector. We, as always, welcome any feedback you may have on our work and the services and supports we provide.
I look forward, in the coming year, to working with you again towards our common purpose of achieving a thriving charity and community sector at the heart of a fair and just Ireland.
With my best wishes for 2025,
Ivan
