When I locked my bike outside the Davenport hotel where we were launching our event on Monday morning, I wasn\u2019t quite sure what to expect. I\u2019d made lots of preparations, delegated all sorts of tasks and had prepared speeches, but still wondered how things might go for President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins\u2019 launch of the Ethics Initiative among community and voluntary groups. The event was a risk, but also an opportunity.<\/p>\n
Having met with President Higgins several times in early Summer, and regularly with his staff in the run up to our event on Monday the 22nd<\/sup> of September, I had a good sense that he would capture the core of our work \u2013 especially given his input at a national SVP event last year. But it was his understanding of SVP, and of the debates and tensions at the heart of the organisation, that really struck me.\u00a0 The President talked of SVP \u2018combining the spirit of charity with the pursuit of social justice\u2019 and cited the organisation\u2019s concern for others and willingness to offer time and support to assist people. Equally he spoke of the need for \u2018public policies, institutions and redistribution mechanisms that can reduce inequalities in our society.\u2019<\/p>\n For President Michael D Higgins, it\u2019s not a case of \u2018either \/ or\u2019: of charity or of justice. Because of the member visits to homes throughout the country and the practical help provided, coupled with our advocacy work for fairer policies and a fairer society, one feeds off the other. One is legitimised by the other. Doing both means that what we say is grounded in peoples\u2019 experience and has authenticity and insight and this was recognised by the President in his speech to us.<\/p>\n Civil society organisations like SVP have now been officially asked by the President of Ireland to input to his Initiative - volunteers, members and staff of charitable organisations alike. We are now invited to reflect in a critical way on our own thinking, language and practice \u2013 which is quite challenging personally and organisationally if we really take this on. We are also requested to come together with others to talk about the values and vision that we want to see as a society. Given recent election results, discussions around economic recovery and signs from the housing market \u2013 and especially pressures in the rental market - indicating that heading for \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d, President Higgins strikes a chord when he says that people are anxious for a new set of values by which to live in an ethical, or fair way.<\/p>\n