For over 20 years, 1986-2009, the Combat Poverty Agency, which was established by legislation, played a key role in increasing awareness and understanding of poverty and in influencing and informing government policies to tackle poverty in Ireland. At its outset, Combat Poverty's priorities reflected the major social and economic challenges of the time: unemployment (17%), emigration (28,000 leaving per annum) and consistent poverty (16%). In this context, Combat Poverty positioned itself as a catalyst for change – piloting, supporting and evaluating initiatives that would subsequently be adopted as mainstream social policy. This included supporting a community development approach to tackling poverty, which in turn contributed to the establishment of a community development infrastructure in Ireland. Combat Poverty consistently worked from the idea that policies to tackle poverty are more likely to work if the people and communities they are designed for are involved in their planning and implementation. In addition to specific community actions to support change the Combat Poverty Agency also engaged in research and monitoring of mainstream income, health and educational policies and their impact on poverty in society, recommending policy changes and engaging in public and media campaigns to bring about policy change.
Within 20 years, arising from various factors affecting Irish economic growth, unemployment had reduced to 5% and net migration was inwards (80,000 per annum), thus contributing to a refocusing of Combat Poverty’s work, with new challenges, particularly arising from multiculturalism. Following an interdepartmental review however, the government decided to close Combat Poverty as an independent entity and to integrate its work into a departmental office dealing with social inclusion. This move was made through de-establishment legislation in 2009 and Combat Poverty closed. Prior to closing its administrative records were donated to the National Archives of Ireland, and its website was archived on the Internet Archive. All published material can be accessed through Google Books, and it is a tremendous historical resource for people interested in the social and community issues in Ireland.