22 May 2022
As part of a planned multi-annual “health check” for civic space in Ireland, this survey will seek to capture, in a systematic fashion, the evidence which exists for censorship and self-censorship in the community and voluntary sector in Ireland and the impact that this has on the interrelated rights of freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and the right to public participation.
Anecdotal evidence tells us that there is a perception within the community and voluntary sector that a degree of self-censorship applies to the receipt of certain types of state funding for services. This can range from outright restrictions on advocacy work attached to funding agreements, to the leveraging of threats of funding withdrawal to silence criticism of government or agency policies.
This project will seek to investigate the nature of this censorship and the practical impact that it has on the day-to-day work of CSOs in Ireland.