A report by the European Social Fund evaluation unit repeatedly criticises the partnership programme for failing to influence policy at national level. It acknowledges the good work done by partnerships but concludes that it cannot evaluate this work because there is no system in place to enable it to do so.
This prompted Mr David Connolly of Dublin Inner City Partnership to suggest yesterday that perhaps it was up to the evaluators to devise a system.
Most of the 38 partnerships were set up as part of the EU's local development programme. They aim to get community and statutory bodies to work together for marginalised groups, especially the long-term unemployed.
EU funding runs out at the end of the year and the future is uncertain. The report says the local development programme should continue but its failure to give full weight to the work done on the ground may do serious damage.
A review by Goodbody's economic consultants found that with the help of partnerships and community groups, 5,144 long-term unemployed people set up their own businesses, 4,766 unemployed people were placed in jobs and 7,100 adults on low incomes were helped to take part in training and education programmes last year. Partnerships for years have asked for a system to take what they have learned locally and apply it nationally, yet they are being blamed in the report and not the State bodies, which had the resources to make it happen and did not.