Officials from Dublin city council tried to insert a “gagging order” in funding arrangements with homeless charities to prevent them from criticising government policy.
The capital’s largest approved housing bodies receive state funding to run services such as family hubs and drug treatment centres. Every year they sign service level agreements that outline what they must do to get the money.
Last year the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) proposed a series of restrictions on the charities’ ability to talk to the media. Under the plan they would have had to clear a press release with the executive before publishing it and would have needed permission to allow journalists or researchers on to their premises. It also imposed limitations on their ability to speak with the media without prior agreement.
“Being a voice for people who are homeless is at the heart of our organisation so any attempt to limit what we could say was very worrying,” a source said.
The Dublin Homeless Network, which includes the Peter McVerry Trust, Focus Ireland, Depaul and the Dublin Simon Community, objected to the proposal, which was made last February.
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It is believed that a number of charities deleted the phrasing from the agreements and signed them. Others have signed last year’s agreements again without any alteration and the funds have been paid.
Both sides have been in negotiations for almost a year and it is understood that they are close to a resolution. The final agreement is expected to include a clause whereby charities will notify the executive of statements that they may need to respond to in advance. There will be no obligation on the organisations to change what they intend to say. “We are relieved that, after our worries were raised with the DRHE, the situation now appears close to being resolved,” the source said. “But it is very worrying that these sort of clauses can suddenly appear when people don’t want to hear what we have to say.”
In a statement to The Times the DRHE said that the agreements were developed to ensure effective services for homeless people were being provided and monitored.
“All NGOs freely enter into these legal contracts and are contingent on funding being provided,” it said. “The DRHE works in partnership with the various providers and any issues or concerns are openly discussed and meaningfully addressed. It is not DRHE policy to restrain funded services. Service level agreements ensure that there is transparency and accountability for public money expenditure.”
The DRHE replaced the Homeless Agency in 2011. It is the lead statutory authority in the response to homelessness in Dublin.
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A spokesman for the Department of Housing said that it was not in a position to comment because it was a “matter between the DRHE and the service providers”.
Liam Hennick, executive director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, said that it was “absolutely essential” that charities that provided state services continued to act as advocacy groups.
“On the face of it, it does not seem clear to us why the restrictions of this type could be justified as being proportionate or necessary,” he said.
“Not only do they seem hard to justify at a general level, the reality on the ground in Ireland is that the voice of the homeless service providers is absolutely essential to a healthy public discourse on this. It also does real damage to the quality of public discussion on what is probably the most important social issue facing our society at this time.”
Mr Hennick endorsed the view of the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights, which said last week that there was “some evidence that state agencies are increasingly using binding service level agreements, which specifically prevent state funds from being used for advocacy purposes”.
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Eoin Ó Broin, the Sinn Féin housing spokesman, said that he was pleased that the executive was “not able to gag” the homeless charities.
“It is inappropriate and deeply undemocratic for any local authority or government department to try and gag non-government organisations or voluntary providers,” he said.
“These organisations have enormous expertise, have a very important voice in the policymaking process, and often provide research and points of view that are vital for policymakers and particularly politicians and ministers.”
Dublin city council is expected to spend about €145.7 million on homeless services this year, an increase of €8.7 million. The number of people in homeless services in the capital increased by 804 to 6,097 in the past year. At the end of the year there were 2,385 children homeless in Dublin.