The Department of Social Protection has been accused of being "hell bent on closing down" a men's group which was set up to counter social isolation in Leitrim almost 20 years ago.
The board of the North Leitrim Men’s Group, which operates a community employment scheme and a drop-in centre for vulnerable men, has written to the department urging it to clarify whether the service is to be shut down.
Pat Love, who has been supervisor with the group since 1997 and is due to retire on May 1st, said the department has written to the group's board confirming it is exploring the secondment of another supervisor "on a temporary basis", for a six-month period.
“This will ensure that we have the opportunity to review current structures and delivery of the new strands,” the department wrote.
Vulnerable cohort Mr Love said they were concerned
attempts by the department to move the group into an addiction strand would “squeeze out” the group’s existing clients and further stigmatise an already vulnerable cohort. “We feel there is an agenda to close us down,” he said.
There are currently 23 men on the community employment scheme run by the group and, according to director Pádraig Rooney, about 10 have addiction issues.
“The department seems hell bent on closing us down and after 20 years we find their attitude dismissive and quite insulting,” he said.
Mr Rooney said the group service worked because it was based on local knowledge. “We would be aware of people living in difficult circumstances who might be a bit depressed and would have knocked on their doors,” he said.
Long before the Men’s Shed movement started, the group had been providing a refuge for men in a county with very high suicide rates, Mr Rooney said.
“My worry is that this might be budget-driven,” he said
Research projects
The group has been involved in a number of research projects including the Men on the Border study of 2006.
It found 70 per cent of rural respondents in three Border counties had poor reading skills; 44 per cent did not have access to computers; 20 per cent did not own a car; 16 per cent had no central heating; 6 per cent had no running hot water or indoor toilet; and 2 per cent did not have running cold water.
In a statement, the department said it was engaging with the group with a view to the roll-out of a community employment programme aimed at helping people with addiction problems in the region.
“The purpose of this engagement is to enhance the provision of employment opportunities and of services to the participants and to build on the excellent work of sponsor groups in this area.”
