ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, MARY ROBINSON AT THE OPENING SESSION OF THE SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL MEETING
ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT, MARY ROBINSON AT THE OPENING SESSION OF THE SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL MEETING IN THE RDS, SUNDAY 8 MAY
It gives me great pleasure to be here to-day to celebrate with you on this the 150th Anniversary of the Society of the St. Vincent de Paul in Ireland.
The Society was founded in 1833 in Paris by Frederic Ozanam and a group of university students and the first conference in Ireland, St. Michan's, was established in 1844, in Halston Street parish in Dublin's inner city.
Since then, the Society has developed into Ireland's largest voluntary organisation of social concern with over 1,000 Conferences throughout the island and some 11,000 members.
During this period the Society itself has developed into a modern, pro-active organisation, implementing strategies which at once alleviate economic and social suffering and maintain the dignity of those who are assisted. In response to the complexity of contemporary social problems, the Society has developed a training programme designed to improve the practical skills of its members to make their service more effective in the community.
I have been privileged to witness at first hand the outstanding commitment of the members of the Society whose dedication inspires them to give so much to help people in need. I have witnessed your help to local communities and in resource centres. I met your national Presidents at the annual conference in 1991, and your student groups earlier this year at a seminar on social justice.
Members are drawn from the community and know the difficulties that face people who are often neighbours and friends. I congratulate all of the members of the Society on the help that they are providing to individuals and groups throughout the country. You are quiet, unsung helpers of people because of the need for confidentiality in your work.
But the esteem in which your society is held is demonstrated time and again by the generous response of the Irish people to fund-raising and other appeals. The Society's name is a household one throughout Ireland and your work is highly respected and admired. You can look forward to the continuing wholehearted support of the Irish people as you work within your own communities.
The practice of meeting people in their own homes, central to the Society's modus operandi, ensures that consultation takes place in a comfortable, confidential environment. Furthermore the unique one-to-one contact that this practice fosters means that the Society, through its 11,000 membership, has access to invaluable information about the needs of the underprivileged. In this context, the Society's annual pre-Budget submission to Government is an important contribution to the framing of the Budget.
Home Visitation to families affected by unemployment or other forms of distress and to the elderly remains a central feature of the Society's work, together with a range of housing services to assist the homeless, short and long-term. The Holiday Programme has been providing holidays for children form many years now; we are all familiar with Sunshine House in Balbriggan where 2,300 children enjoyed a vacation by the sea in 1993. The introduction of a "Teenhols" programme was an imaginative development, introducing 13-15 year old city children to the countryside at the Outdoor Education Centre.
Young people are further catered for by the Society's 21 Youth Clubs, primarily situated in disadvantaged urban areas, where leisure activities and personal advice and support are available. A network of 92 "Good-as-New" shops provide clothing and furniture at minimal cost in the areas where they are located.
As a caring organisation, the overall aim of the Society is to help overcome suffering amongst the disadvantaged members of our community. In achieving this aim, the role of the Society has expanded in recent years. Two initiatives, the funding of which have been supported by the Department of Social Welfare, include the Home Management/Personal Development Programme and a Job Creation/Job Finding Service. The Society is also deeply involved in efforts to combat the problems of moneylending and collaborates closely with the projects funded by the Department of Social Welfare in that regard.
I know that the society regards the Home Management/Personal Development Programme as its most effective strategy in assisting low-income households. Over 8,000 participants have benefited from this programme since its inception in 1989. The Job Creation scheme, also introduced in 1989, has helped over 1,100 people to set up their own business, an achievement of which you can be justly proud.
As I said at the outset, 1994 is a very special year for the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Ireland. It is particularly heartening to see so many of you here to-day. May I wish you every success in your future work.