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National CIL Meeting - Saturday, October 22, 2005
Chief O'Neills Hotel, Dublin
Agenda
- Introductions
- Review of last meeting
- Progress Report
- National Advisory Group
- The CIL Model
- Carlow Advocacy Project
- CIL Network Constitution
- Election of Officers
- DFI Pre-Budget Submission
- Close
The meeting began with attendees introducing themselves - particularly, nominees for membership of the CIL Council. Susan Flynn outlined how the response to the Council nomination process had been mostly positive, however the meetings attendance was disapointing as much work had yet to be completed in order to make the Council operational.
Review of notes from last meeting
Agenda items from the last Network meeting in Leitrim were reviewed, and as most were items in the current meeting, just the missing ones were addressed at this point.
Governance: At the last network meeting it was commented that many CILs already had a series of good practices operating. As a result, CIL Carmichael House are now talking to Boardmatch in relation to a different approach on this project, and a slower, but cheaper, process towards a governance handbook.
Case Studies: The Case Study research on Independent Living project, funded by CRAGA grant, contines, with a request for contributions having been made (click here for more detail). It is expected to be launched February '06.
Summer Programme: Of the staff members who joined CIL Carmhichael House for the Summer, just Sarah Dixon remains. Sarah was recruited to support Leader Forum development and will be with CIL until the end of Dec '05.
Strasbourg Freedom Drive: A brief account of the successful Strasbourg 2005 was given, with over 100 people with disabilities across Europe taking part from the 5-8 Sept last in Strasbourg. They met with their elected officials and highlighted key concerns at the European Parliament. Many pieces of work have arisen from the trip, for example, Kilkenny CIL have been asked (by Kilkenny County Council Local Authorities) to give a presentation on housing issues for people with disabilities as a direct result.
At present a short video is being produced by Yuvraj Basanth, who took part in both Strasbourg 2005 and 2003. Funding is being sought to produce a full length documentary on the key demands of the Freedom Drivers. A newsletter is also being produced and participants are asked for contributions to this. Much gratitude was expressed to all Freedom Drive participants.
Managers Training: Course results are now out and the conferring ceremony will take place on Dec 3rd. The 2005-06 course will take place in two centres - Mayo CIL have already begun theirs.
Study Board: Research is currently underway in order to pinpoint what kind of in-house training CILs feel is currently needed - from Governence to PA/Leader. This research will probably continue until February '06.
Leader Forum: The NLF steering committee have met again and members (Diane Nurse, Liz Riney, Eileen Daly, Martin Naughton and Eugene Callan) have discussed how to offer support. At a regional level, the Dublin Leader Forum have had an introductory meeting in order to put together a structure to advance the forum. It is hoped that the North East Leader Forum, which is now in the development stages may act as a model which can be applied elsewhere nationally. By Febuary '06 it is hoped that we will have evaluations of both the Dublin and NE Leader Forum in order to share with all other CILs.
A brief history of the National Advisory Group was given. A number of weeks prior to this National Meeting, CILs were asked for nominations to the NAG. Based on these nominations election forms were sent out to all CILs. The following four CIL reps to NAG were elected, and a training day took place on the 11th October:
- Anne Marie Flanagan (North West)
- Jim Casey (South)
- Patricia Rafferty (East)
- Michael McCabe (Dublin)
The inaugural meeting of the NAG took place on the 12th October (click here for more details), where it was decided that NAG is to be officially launched in February 2006.
The NAG aims to ensure that each regions resources, provided by any organisation (eg.Comhairle etc), are designed in a way which is more reflective of the needs of people with disabilities - promoting more 'joined up' working between stakeholders nationally. To this end NAG will meet 3-4 times a year, and as well as attending these meetings, CIL reps to NAG will be in regular contact with 'link' people in each CIL nationally to keep informed of current issues. Links people will come together with their CIL reps twice a year in person, ideally facilitated by Comhairle or another independent facilitator. CIL reps themselves will meet prior to each NAG meeting and following each NAG meeting, will report back to the 'links' in each CIL, as well as keeping their alternate informed. The other members of NAG are at senior levels in a number of statutory bodies - huge appreciation was expressed to Martin Naughton for his recruiting efforts in this regard.
In answer to a query about who people should go to in times of crisis while NAG is being developed, DFI were identified as a key support regionally, however there remit might not fully extend to each crisis issue in terms of different organisations such as FAS, Welfare etc. - there is no specific person to run to with these difficulties. Jim Casey outlined how we must focus on things from a different angle, NAG is going to help take the IL movement forward in Ireland - the real power in NAGs structure is within local CILs.
At this point Jim Casey proposed ratification of the NAG CIL reps. Gordon Ryan seconded the proposal. No objections were noted.
A request was made that in 2006 all CILs network according to the CIL Model.
- The first group to be addressed within the model will be that of the main five CILs who are primary service providers. They are urgently requested to come together and work under a mentor to develop their strategies. It is planned to hold a meeting for the first group of primary service providers prior to Christmas.
- The second grouping is of service providers through core funding and CE schemes. This group is to come together to identify what they must do to develop their services around all in-house issues such as funding, governance etc.
- The third grouping considers service providers with a focus on supporting people with disabilities through mainstreaming (soft service supports etc).
- The fourth grouping looks at non-service providers who are focused on research training and learning. Both the third and fourth groups are about identifying and developing further soft services. The first development of soft services meeting will be held in the Montague Hotel, Portlaoise on the 3&4 Nov. Three people have been invited from each of five CILs that expressed a strong interest in attending (Carlow, Leitrim, Dublin 7, DPOC, Cork). The commitment will entail approx 30 hours of core work.
- The final group is of CILs at a predevelopment stage.
The Comhairle project began in April, when funding was announced as available for organisations to develop advocacy. Carlow CIl submitted a letter of interest for professional advocacy services, and following an information day in Dublin, an application for one of the 10 advocacy projects to be funded to a max of 70k /yr for two years.
There were 66 submissions nationally, Carlows success was partly due to geographical location and also the fact that they had a target group - CIL leaders in the SE. Also Carlow CIL put a lot of work into the application - including a lot of contracted expertise. Comhairle emphasised that priority was given to applications which were of a high and professional standard - leading Carlow CIL to believe that getting outside assistance was very important and probably a key reason why funding was received.
A steering group has now been established, according to a key set of structures required by Comhairle. The nature of advocacy means there will be conflict between the client and service providers - Carlow CIL sought HSE representation in order to reduce this, however this has not happened due to the fact that the HSE structure is currently still unclear. Carlow is the lead organisation, but 6 CILs are involved, over 5 counties. CIL Carmichael House has been requested to link in with Carlow CIL in order to inform other CILs on progress.
In the circulated draft discussion document for the Network Council, it was proposed that the CIL Network will consist of two representatives from each CIL, and an elected Board of Officials. Each CIL must nominate three representatives - two to serve as council members and one alternate (not more than one to be a staff member of the CIL, one to be a Board of Management rep and one a person with a disability). The two serving members must attend the three network meetings each year, and ALL council members must give written updates to the council of the progress made by their CIL at each network meeting. In addition, each CIL must select a lead person to represent the thinking and views of their CIL.
The role of the Council is to act as a 'clearing house' to ensure that the full potential of the Network is explored. In this way, the details of work will not be solely left up to CIL Carmichael House/NAG.
It was planned to elect officers at todays meeting, however given the poor turnout it is proposed now to carry out this election through a postal vote. Letters will be sent out next week requesting names and short profiles of nominated Council Members to go forward for election to Board of Officers. These names and profiles will be circulated to the entire CIL network. Elections will be based on European electoral regions, in the same way as NAG reps. Nominees can lobby CILs for their vote. It was clarified that during an election the highest elected from each region goes forward. Voting can take place for anyone around the country. Once results have been counted, an announcement will be made. It was agreed that the officers would be idenfied as 'First Officer' and ' Second Officer'.
Responsibilities of the Officers:
- Facilitating and chairing all Network meetings
- Deciding the date and location of network meetings
- Providing direction and ensuring support to all CILs through the NAG Model
- Supporting the CIL representatives on NAG
- Representing CILs at meetings decided by Network
It was clarified that rather than providing direction, officers responsibility would be more around supporting CILs. It was suggested that PR work should be part of their role. It was noted that if any council member misses more than two network meetings per annum, they will be asked to step down. It was also mentioned that an induction into CILs for new staff, focus on labour issues, governance, health and safety is what is trully missing. Martin explained how in many ways the study board aims to address this.
Terms of Appointment: Membership is to be reviewed each year, with initial membership for a period of two years. Members may only reside on the Council for a maximum of six years. Finally, the Chief Spokesperson (hereto known as ‘First Officer') position is for a period of two years. Once they step down they may still remain on the Council.
Location and Support: The Council will not have a physical office location to work from. Where possible it will try to work through NAG in terms of the provision of appropriate supports and training. Each CIL is expected to provide active support to the Council and in particular it's appointed representatives.
Network Meetings: Network meetings will not preclude other non-Council members of a CIL attending. Should matters require voting, only members with voting rights or those who have gone through the appropriate proxy procedures may attend. This will also apply to the election of people to office during the next Network meeting.
Functions of Council Members:
There are a number of key functions, which were outlined:
- Represent the interests of your CIL
- Be informed about the key issues and needs of the CILs that you represent
- Prepare for all meetings in advance to ensure the most effective possible representation at each:
- Prioritise issues arising within your CIL.
- Examine the notes from the last meeting and the issues that were prioritised for attention.
- Meet with your CIL to examine how your CIL could assist in the solving of these needs.
- Keep your CIL informed at all stages.
- Participate in the development of Council meetings.
- Attend all Council meetings
- Inform the Council for the needs, interests and concerns of the CIL for whom you are directly responsible.
- Communicate key decisions and information from Council meetings to the CIL that you represent.
- Participate in any website forums etc and ensure you are kept up to date with all correspondence.
Guidelines
Guidelines are available (in the circulated draft discussion document for the Network Council), and should be examined by all nominated Council Members. It will be the responsibility of the Council to examine the Council Constitution and Guidelines and ratify them at the next Network Meeting.
It was queried, how other organisations besides CIL will know that the first officer is speaking solely on behalf of their region/CIL? This will prove to be a challenge. There is a duty for people to clearly identify who they are when attending meetings. There is a dearth of understanding in the sector around the autonomous nature of all CILs. It was stressed that the CIL Council must not take away from the importance of Regional CILs, rather, the Council is to act as an internal, inward sharing, clearing house. People on the Council only have authority within the context of the Network, and must not use their position at external meetings.
Budget:
€5,000 has been allocated to run three CIL networks in the year ahead. With perhaps €500 set aside for venues, there remains €3,500. It is very hard to predict what the three officers might need. The First officer however will invariably get slightly more. This will break down as 40%, 30% 30% between each of the officers. In figures this works out as €1,400, €1,050 and €1,050 a ceiling for officers, which will have to be accounted and claimed for.
It was agreed that going forward, rather than trying to find free venues for meeting – which might take away from the work of CILs and their supports, that attendees pay for their own lunch (if the budget of €500 cannot account for the full costings of the day) Anyone who attended today's meeting and will be at the next Network meeting will be allowed free refreshments / lunch on the day.
Cathy McGrath outlined some of DFIs work at this point, starting with the DFI Pre-Budget Submission. This report was launched on 13 October, asking the government to ensure people have enough resources to live life with dignity. The third point in the report - the importance of capacity building, was deemed particularly important. Martin asked people to spend some time reading through the submission and in particular this point - then to write to their local representatives to support all three points.
Nan suggested an e-campaign to support the issues, however Martin said he found the campaign negative in many ways. Josephine added that in talking to her health board and mentioning people in residential care – for them people who acquire injuries and return home those institutions talk to the health board about the possibility of care services; however it leaves the same people behind. Jim added that in one case they had saw a professional assessment of 81.5 hours for one individual, however the local representatives would only give a maximum of 20 hours. Therefore there was a need to find Fas hours to back up the health board hours. This is only at the end of a long list of problems.
Population Health
Cathy outlined how Population Health is an approach to health that aims to reduce inequality. Population Health is looking at prevention, intervention, and amelioration for people with disabilities. Nan asked if this was the same as community health? Martin explained that the reason we were addressing it today was to inform people of the current jargon used by the HSE.
Cathy asked if there was anything DFI could provide to CIL on a regional basis to please feel free to contact them. From the four national council CIL representatives, two have a representative on the Board of DFI. Eight others have association membership. That accounts for twelve out of the twenty-six. Martin added that a small questionnaire would be submitted before Christmas asking for an outline of how everyone feels they are supported by DFI.
Martin asked that from now on each CIL refer to their CIL by putting their county name first e.g. Mayo CIL not CIL Mayo to highlight that the power lies with the people in that area.
Martin thanked everyone for attending and asked each attendee to contact two local CILs to encourage them to attend more network meetings. There were many important issues discussed today, which most CILs had missed out on the opportunity to examine. It would not be possible to push forward the urgent work of the network if individuals continued to refuse to prioritise these meetings.