Analysis: There are 4,000 social enterprises across Ireland and all are part of the solution to building a better society
By Mary O'Shaughnessy, Lucas Olmedo and Flora Seddon, UCC
Roots Community Shop and Café is a social enterprise based in West Limerick born from the community and entrepreneurial spirit of members of Kilmeedy Community Development Group. It began with a mission to become a vibrant social and economic hub in Kilmeedy, a village which had lost its shop a number of years ago. The shop-café established in 2020, now opens seven days a week serving locals and visitors and employs a chef and a manager.
The social enterprise collaborates with Kilmeedy Homegrown, a sister social enterprise which produces chemical-free vegetables in a community garden. This micro-business, which also run a vegetable box scheme, was established in 2009 to accommodate a Local Training Initiative horticulture course for early school leavers. It's now run by volunteers and part-time staff from a local Community Employment scheme, one of Ireland's longest running Active Labour Market Programmes.
These are just two examples of the more than 4,000 social enterprises across Ireland. These projects employ over 80,000 people, where women represent two out of every three workers, and generate an estimated €2.34bn (billions) in annual turnover, representing 0.63% of Ireland’s GDP. Yet despite their clear imprint on our society, we know little of how they can help build a better society that benefits us all.
Social enterprises are organisations that combine a strong social, community and/or environmental mission with their business activities, usually through democratic governance and decision-making. Against the backdrop of increasing inequalities, environmental emergency and heightened anti-democratic sentiments, social enterprises have the potential to lead a more inclusive, sustainable and green economy, meeting the demand for essential services, and creating employment, training and integration opportunities in rural and urban disadvantaged communities.
This is what the Achill Experience, a social enterprise on Achill Island, Co. Mayo, is doing by developing an aquarium to show visitors and locals life below the waters of the area and beyond. Additionally, the social enterprise has developed tours to explain the rich local history of the island combining local knowledge and technology. This includes the development of offline tablets that offers a digital, self-guided tour of the island, allowing visitors to explore the history and beauty of Achill at their own pace.
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From RTÉ Archives, Jim Fahy reports for RTÉ News in 1974 on efforts to develop the tourist potential of Achill Island.
These services have attracted over 16,000 visitors per year to the island, enhanced the local cultural heritage, promoted natural conservation of species and provided environmental education to both children and adults. The social enterprise has a strong link with the community, organising regular event with local fishermen and small scale producers. It provides employment and training to locals with the support of Pobal’s Community Services Programme.
Recent research shows that higher ratios of social enterprises are found in the north and northwest of the country and in counties with a high density of rural areas such as Leitrim (26.2 social enterprises per 10,000 inhabitants), Donegal (18.5), Monaghan (17.3) and Mayo (16.5). This ties in which international research which shows a link between the form in which community-based social enterprises operate and fostering sustainable development in peripheral rural areas, as exemplified by the examples of Roots Community Shop and Café and the Achill Experience.
But the geographical distribution of social enterprises in Ireland shows that these organisations represent both an urban and rural phenomenon. While residents in rural areas are more likely to set up social enterprises, there is an important concentration of social enterprises in absolute figures in cities such as Dublin (17.9% of total social enterprises) and Cork (10.5%).
From UCC Civic & Community Engagement, an introduction to the Churchfield Community Trust
Churchfield Community Trust is a work integration social enterprise in the heart of Cork city. It focuses on providing employment, education and training through adult education and experiential learning to those who are unemployed, have alcohol, drug, mental and physical problems and those coming through the criminal justice system. Like other work integration social enterprises, the Trust works closely with the Probation Service, Irish Prison Service, Cork ETB and the HSE. They have developed Compass Craft, a workshop-programme enterprise in which participants develop a range of furniture especially for gardens and crèches.
The social enterprise also created the Garden Café, often described as Corks greenest café, and situated on the grounds of Cork Foyer. The Café focuses on providing training and work opportunities to individuals who are interested in progressing to employment in the catering industry. It sources its produce from their community garden allotment and from local artisan producers.
When we combine data on the distribution of social enterprises with the HP Pobal Deprivation Index 2022 we can see that social enterprises are especially active in communities often affected by high levels of disadvantage. These organisations contribute to the delivery of essential goods and services, combat isolation and provide work and training opportunities in these communities.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne, Arran Murphy from Rediscover Fashion at the Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun, Dublin on why all children should learn to make, do and mend
Based in Ballymun, the Rediscovery Centre has developed four social enterprises related to sustainable economy activities, including upcycling furniture, recycling paints, sustainable fashion and bike repairing. These social enterprises promote sustainable practices by training individuals while giving new life to discarded items. By blending environmental practices with training, the social enterprises create a positive impact, fostering a culture of reuse and creativity within the community.
Social enterprises can help build a better society for all and make a real difference. Up until now, social enterprises have been able to change the lives of certain individuals, groups and communities, and have gained institutional presence and relevance. The new National Social Enterprise Policy 2024 – 2027 stresses the relevant role of social enterprises in providing work opportunities and enhancing business activity in disadvantaged neighbourhoods with the aim of reducing poverty levels and inequalities, and promoting decent work and economic growth.
The predominance of female staff in social enterprises and their focus on the social and economic integration of those most vulnerable signals the strong social objectives of social enterprises. Moreover, the first national Baseline data collection of social enterprises in Ireland shows the extent of services including elder care and childcare following a social enterprise model illustrating to us their role in children's development and those with greater needs.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Ray D'Arcy Show, interview with Karen Leigh from Sensational Kids
An example is Sensational Kids, an award-winning social enterprise focused on children with special educational needs (one in four children in Ireland). The social enterprises provides front-line therapeutic supports for children and has already changed the lives of over 10,000 children, saving their families over €3 million in therapy fees. The social enterprise combines fundraising and earned income from Sensational Kids' Child Development & Learning Store and training workshops which help to subsidise their therapy services, so that it is possible to bridge the gap between public and private therapy services, providing a practical, accessible and affordable service for those in need.
The impact of social enterprises on social and economic development is obvious. In relation to the environment, evidence is more anecdotal and national figures show that environmental social enterprises are growing but still relatively small. However, examples of environmental social enterprises such as those in the Rediscovery Centre and Galway-based social enterprise An Mheitheal Rothar shows the potential of these organisations to contribute to environmental friendly practices and the circular economy, an area also stressed by the new policy.
Social enterprises in Ireland represent both an urban and rural phenomenon
Social enterprises contribute to sustainable development in both rural and urban areas. However, their potential and capacity to deliver is dependent upon wider social, economic, cultural, geographical, environmental and political features, all of which need to be considered when assessing the impact and full potential of these organisations.
The exceptional daily work of people in social enterprises, the articulation of social enterprises values in collective representative bodies, the launch of a second National Policy on Social Enterprises 2024-2027 and the inclusion of social enterprises in horizontal/transversal policies such as the National Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 and the White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030 are part of a growing acceptance that they are an essential part of the solution to building a better society for us all.
The author's Assessing the Multidimensional Impact of Social Enterprises in Ireland project is funded by the Irish Research Council
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Dr. Mary O'Shaughnessy is a lecturer with the Department of Food Business and Development at Cork University Business School at UCC. Dr Lucas Olmedo is a Government of Ireland/National University of Ireland Post-Doctoral Fellow in Rural Development in the Department of Food Business and Development at Cork University Business School at UCC. Flora Seedon is a research assistant at UCC.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
