Concerns linger over operation of community centre

Fears that the operation of Galway’s two newest community centres could be privatised will linger over Christmas and into the New Year after the matter was kicked to touch again this week.

The model of how Ballinfoile and Knocknacarra Community Centres would be run was due to be discussed at last week’s City Council meeting but elected members voted to defer it until January.

About 10 campaigners, who want the centres to be controlled by the local community and not for-profit organisations, staged a protest outside of City Hall.

Councillors were due to discuss a report by director of services, Eileen Ruane, entitled ‘protecting and enhancing Galway City’s community centres through social enterprise’.

The item was deferred to the January meeting, however.

In her report that was due to be presented to the chamber, Ms Ruane confirms that the City Council was given sanction from Government to breach the recruitment embargo and to hire people to staff Knocknacarra and Ballinfoile community centres.

But, she said, “the Council does not have financial wherewithal to progress this”.

In her report to Council, Ms Ruane said: “Alternative methodologies of service provision do not have to mean privatisation”.

Ms Ruane said the Council wants to progress a model of “social enterprise”.

“The centres would be operated by a professional organisation, community or other, that can display through an open tendering process, that they have the capacity and expertise required to run and manage such facilities. The successful organisation would need to be equipped to manage the complexities of the technical operations of these hi-spec buildings across all areas including health and safety,” she said.

The operators would be “assisted” through a financial subsidy to “ensure the needs of the local communities are prioritised”.

As well as the operator, who wins the tender to run the centre, a “parallel oversight and advisory group would be formed made up of local community reps, local councillors and appropriate Galway City Council official reps.”

But campaigners remain unconvinced. Locals in Ballinfoile are insisting that councillors, “ensure that the new state-of-the-arts sports and community complex that we fought for since 1986 to obtain serves the needs of and is controlled by the local community.”

Ballinfoile-Castlegar Centre Action Committee fears Council Chief Executive Brendan McGrath plans “to bring in an outside contractor to form a public-private partnership to run the centre.”

“It is our fear that this arrangement could mean that privatisation could occur sooner or later to the detriment of the local community as profit would take priority over social needs,” said campaigner Brendan Smith.

He said the chief executive gave commitments to the Councillors and community at the November budget meeting that must be kept. These include peak hours retained for local groups and individuals, as well as low rental fees and locals represented on the oversight or management board.

The group also requested this week that local community representation makes up at least 50% of the oversight board; the new jobs that will accrue in this facility will be given to local people where possible, and consideration is given to social enterprise partnership programmes as an alternative to taking in private contractor.

Mr Smith added: “If these just demands are not met, our long struggle will have been all for nought.”