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Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship
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The Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship, the DCU entrepreneurship centre based in Citywest, has called on the government to formulate a strategy for the development of the social economy in Ireland, at a talk on innovation in the social enterprise sector held in DCU as part of the Innovation Dublin week. The aim of the strategy should be to stimulate this sector of the economy which not only provides urgently needed services to the less well off but also is a major provider of jobs. As government pull out of funding essential services, many social entrepreneurs are filling the gaps, as could be seen at the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland awards event held earlier this week in Dublin, with President Mary McAleese presiding.
"Governments everywhere are pulling back from delivering services to the disadvantaged in society due to the recession, said Gordon McConnell, Director of Programmes for the Ryan Academy, the UK has had a national strategy for the sector for many years now and has completely mapped out the social enterprise sector showing that it provides almost 70,000 jobs in the UK alone. Ireland urgently needs a strategy to help this vital part of the economy, and a similar mapping exercise, which has been overlooked by successive governments."
Recent surveys by the Wheel, a resource centre and advocate for the Irish community and voluntary sector, show that of the 146 responding organisations, 75% reported a fall in their overall income, while 67% reported a reduction in the amount of statutory funding they received. Nearly 60% have suspended or delayed projects during the same period due to financial considerations.
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