There did not appear be any Government plan to protect the vulnerable in the current economic crisis, a leading advocate for social justice has said.
Deirdre Garvey, chief executive of the Wheel - an umbrella group representing community and voluntary groups across the State - said the social crisis resulting from the economic crisis seemed now to be ignored at Government level.
"There is a total lack of leadership presenting any alternative to the apparently accepted paradigm of cuts to public services, cuts to pay, cuts to social welfare payments. The feedback we are getting up and down the country is: 'Surely there has to be another way'."
She was speaking as representatives of about 30 charities met in Dublin today at an event, hosted by the Wheel, to discuss their response to expected cuts in next week's Budget.
They heard voluntary services faced the possibility of widespread cuts that would severely limit their ability to serve the poor and vulnerable people.
The Wheel's director of advocacy, Ivan Cooper, said it was "vital that the community and voluntary sector offer Government a viable alternative to its apparent plan to dismantle parts of our social infrastructure".
There were "real and credible" alternatives, he continued, such as those enunciated by the National Economic and Social Council, the economic think-tank TASC, Social Justice Ireland and the ad hoc equality group, Is Féidir Linn.
These have called for a broadening and deepening of the tax take, and a tackling of the up to €8 billion worth of tax breaks and incentives which "benefit the well off in society."
He said the Government was not even proposing examining these.
"The blue-print in fact is there in the Towards 2016 social partnership agreement, which envisages a strong role for public services and the C&V [community and voluntary] pillar.
"We don't know what is going to happen in the Budget. It comes down to political choices. We're saying the plan is there in T16. Let's get back to that."
