New Report Published: “That's Not Your Role” State Funding and Advocacy in The Irish Community Voluntary and Nonprofit Sector
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has today published a research report which finds that a significant proportion of community and voluntary organisations which receive State funding are curtailing their advocacy and campaigning efforts due to implicit and explicit restrictions associated with the funding they receive.
The new report," That's Not Your Role” State Funding and Advocacy in The Irish Community Voluntary and Non-Profit Sector, is the culmination of an extensive data gathering exercise with Irish civil society which took place in 2023.
The findings paint a stark picture of the state of freedom of expression for the sector.
- 37% of overall respondents report curtailing their advocacy efforts for fear of it impacting their funding, while 48% of respondents from addiction and homelessness services report doing the same.
- 46% of overall respondents say that organisations face pressure to tailor public statements to be in line with government policy constantly or most of the time, 56% of addiction and homelessness service respondents report the same.
- When we look at stakeholder engagement, 52% do not agree that that the government values the sector and respects their work as part of the policy development process, this sentiment is shared by 60% of addiction and homelessness service respondents.