HISTORY OF NASC

Historical and Social Background

From the mid 1990s Ireland has become an immigrant rather than an emigrant country.

Asylum seekers coming to Ireland in the 1990s found themselves in a country which had no policies and no services for them.

At first the great majority stayed in Dublin. They began to organise themselves and the Irish voluntary sector gradually became involved with support and services.

By late 1999 housing became increasingly difficult and expensive to find in Dublin. The Government embarked on an effort to 'disperse' asylum seekers throughout the country, often to places where no prior consultations had taken place and no services were available. Asylum seekers themselves had no choice in their destination.

In April 2000 these new arrangements were formalised. There was to be no choice about destination or accommodation. The worst feature of the new regime was that asylum seekers were no longer entitled to normal social welfare allowances but instead received weekly pocket money of IR£15 per week, IR£7.50 per child.

In effect, the new arrangements isolated them from the communities in which they found themselves. Apart from a once-off decision in July 1999 concerning people already in Ireland for a year, asylum seekers were not and are still not allowed to work.

At the same time Ireland began to attract migrant workers from all over the world. It became clear that immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers needed services and assistance which were not being provided by the government, and that all aspects of Irish society needed to respond to growing needs.

In Cork and in other cities and towns, local people became involved in filling some of the gaps which Government policy had created. Three organisations were already active here - CARASI (Comhlámh Cork Action for Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Immigrants), Immigrant Solidarity and Welcome English Classes. For the most part our work was focused on lobbying and outreach, particularly the running of workshops and classes on anti-racism, and English classes.

During 1998/1999 a loose coalition of individuals both immigrant and Irish, as well as members of CARASI and Immigrant Solidarity and Welcome English Classes, began to work towards the previously impossible dream of a full-time drop-in centre to work with this rapidly-growing asylum seeking, refugee and immigrant community in Cork. Nasc consciously called itself "The Irish Immigrant Support Centre" for two reasons. Firstly some of Nasc's work relates to local Cork issues. On the other hand some of our work relates to national level policies and developments. In addition we have always worked with all immigrant groups, workers, people under family reunification schemes, people with leave to remain, people with Irish born child status, refugees, asylum - seekers, etc.

The catalyst which provided the big break-through was the donation in Spring 2000 of a building by the Sisters of Mercy as well as a financial contribution by that Order and a from the SMA Fathers. Further support came from other religious and other sources in the months that followed.

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NASC is created

Within a matter of months NASC, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre, was founded. A full-time coordinator, was appointed and we opened our doors for the first time in June 2000.

Nasc was housed at St. Maries of the Isle until June 2005 and in that time built up a strong organisation with a range of different services and activities.

2000-2005 St. Maries of the Isle

• Late 2000 - funding of Administrator from Sisters of Mercy.
• Funding for staffing was essential to providing a more professional service and Nasc established links with migrants, statutory and voluntary organizations both locally and nationally. Nasc attracted committed volunteers and began to organize into different sub groups such as the Women’s Group, the Speaker’s Panel and the Nasc Emergency Group. Nasc established itself as a place of independent and trustworthy advice and a place where migrants could also meet to organize themselves around important issues.
• In 2002 Nasc attracted funding for 2 new staff, an Accommodation Officer and an Outreach Officer, funded by the European Refugee Fund and 1 staff person, an Education/Training Officer, funded by Cork City Partnership. The three new staff started in February 02 for one year only. This enabled Nasc to expand its remit and to support people to find accommodation, education and training opportunities. Nasc also produced excellent research on the Needs of Asylum Seekers in Cork City.
• However 2002 proved to be a difficult year for Nasc and like many organizations in the voluntary sector who are at a very young developmental stage, internal difficulties arose which led to a down turn in funding and at one point to a situation where there were in fact no paid staff for much of 2003. Funding not renewed from any funders except SMA Fathers €10000.
• Despite this in 2003 Nasc did continue to as an organization e.g. continued to meet clients, improve financial accountability and also participated in the Southern Integrated Research Partnership organized by the Migration Studies Unit UCC, which involved study trips to six European countries.
• During 2003 two ex-staff members and volunteers ran Nasc in unpaid capacity for six months. A Steering Committee was also elected in 2003 and the following work happened during January to July 2003:
• Information and Legal Clinics continued
• Consultation with all members and sub-groups
• Production of a Strategic Plan 2004-2007
• Production of Business Plan for Funders
• Production of Operational Plan for 2004-2005
• In July 2003 Nasc was very lucky to receive funding from a private funder which funded Nasc for 6 months for Development Officer who then attracted funds from Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust for full time Coordinator. Rowntree will fund this position until March 2008.
• Nasc continued to grow from this point and began to develop all the internal working policies and structures, administrative and financial systems necessary to run an NGO. Nasc attracted funding for a range of projects. We continued to network with a range of voluntary and statutory organizations, projects and networks. There developed a range of sub groups, the Women’s Group, the Speaker’s Panel and the Country of Origin Project, the Policy and Campaigning Group and the Social and Cultural Group. The groups began to involve themselves in various trainings, projects, writing external policies, organizing seminars, conferences, public fora, etc. Nasc catered for around 120 clients a month on a one to one basis and many other members, volunteers and work placements, many from the immigrant population. At the same time Nasc’s clinics and advocacy work continued at national and local level with a particular interest in Education, Direct Provision, Integration, Deportations, Immigration and Asylum Policy.
• In 2004 Nasc was accepted by FAS for 2 Community Employment Workers and has had two part time receptionists since then.
• In June 2005 an Information/ Legal Officer was funded by ERF for six months but that funding was not continued in 2006.

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New Offices

In October 2005 we moved to our new offices at Enterprise House, 35 Mary St., Cork.

2005-2007                 35 Mary St. Cork

2005 was a busy year for Nasc. Clinic continued to be inundated with people from all over the world with a range of different issues and problems. The sub groups were very busy with Nasc attracting increasing project funding although very little core funding. Much of Nasc’s work continued to be run by volunteers with the support of one full time Coordinator. It was a busy year on the Arts and Cultural Front with Cork celebrating Cork European Capital of Culture 2005. Nasc ran the following projects:

• Produced a book of short stories entitled “A Safe Harbour”
• Produced a film with Frameworks Film-making Company entitled “Who are we Now” based on the lives of women living in Direct provision
• Produced a play and a video entitled “As a Matter of Culture”
• Catered for 120 clients a month at legal and information clinics
• Produced a comprehensive policy document entitled “What we Think”

Nasc had to leave St Maries of the Isle in 2005 because the Mercy Sisters were renovating their convent and with great gratitude to the Sisters of Mercy we bid farewell and moved, with funding from One Foundation, to Enterprise House, 35 Mary Street. This move took considerable time and Nasc was closed for a number of months during 2005. The launch of the new building was in October 2005 and it took some time for Nasc to reestablish itself. However the new building made Nasc more accessible and visible with a bigger, better and brighter city center location which now attracts increasing numbers of service users and has an active and vibrant membership base.

In 2005 we were also delighted that many of our members, women in particular, were granted leave to remain on the basis of having an Irish born child. Nasc was a member of CADIC, the Campaign Against the Deportation of the Irish born child and Nasc organized locally based campaign seminars about this issue. Nasc is currently on the management committee of CADIC and we continue to fight for the rights of Irish citizen children and their rights.

2006 – early 2007 was a year of consolidation and of strategic planning. Nasc began to attract significant funding. Both One Foundation and Atlantic Philanthropies have come on-board and this has allowed us to expand our staff and offer a better, more in-depth and quality service from the beginning of 2007. From January 2007 Nasc was able to employ three full-time staff (Coordinator, Legal/Information Officer and Community Development Officer) and three part-time staff (Administrator and two receptionists). To achieve this Nasc had to undergo intense business and strategic planning in 2006. Nasc was also granted funded from Pobal for a Project Officer and Assistant Project Officer for a project working in the area of strategy/policy at a local level in the area of Education, Employment and Enterprise.

In addition from January to April 2007, in order to maintain our current work and expand further Nasc has undergone a Strategic and Business Planning process. This three year plan has involved a strategic review of all aspects of our work, policy, governance, services, capacity building, finances and operational management. This document is the result of four months work. It will form the framework for Nasc’s work over the next three years.

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