NCBI was founded 80 years ago, in 1931, and we are immensely proud of the organisation’s role in the history of blindness in Ireland. While the outlook for those who are blind or vision impaired has improved exponentially from the days of our founding, sight loss continues to have an enormous impact on the lives of people who are affected by it. While the types of services and supports required and the profile of those accessing them may have changed since 1931, the need for NCBI’s services has not diminished.

There is still an incontrovertible need for the information, support and services NCBI provides and also for a single voice to advocate on behalf of those who are in continuous danger of being marginalised by blindness or vision impairment in society. That approach is at the heart of NCBI’s work for 80 years and is what will guide us in our work into the future.

Demand for our services grew once again in 2010, with 15,281 people using our services due to blindness or failing sight. In the five years from 2005 to 2010, we have seen a 62% increase in the growth of people on our service user database (from 9,382 in 2005 to 15,281 at the end of 2010). The majority of people who make up this figure are aged 76-years or older. In fact, there has been an 81% increase in the number of people over the age of 76 using our services between 2005 and the end of 2010 (from 4,201 to 7,644).

This current analysis of the age profile of NCBI’s service users shows not only a huge increase in numbers of people accessing our services in general, but also shows that we are increasingly working with the “older old”. The figures for 2010 are inclusive of those who meet the legal classification of “blindness” and those who have “low vision”. Of the 15,281 people on NCBI’s database, two thirds fulfil the criteria for registration as blind.

We must address the need for a reclassification of levels of vision loss into more meaningful categories from which we can draw more useful information on levels of vision loss in order to design services and provide appropriate levels of supports to people with different degrees of sight loss. It should not be a matter of one size fits all. NCBI has commissioned a study into the cost of sight loss in Ireland, which will look at how the demographics of sight loss is changing in Ireland and how investment at different levels can guide us all – state and voluntary providers – in dealing effectively with the scale of an increasing level of need around low vision in the population.

During 2010 cutbacks in funding from the Health Service Executive (HSE) and a decrease in our fundraised income continued to exert further pressure on our existing resources and required that we adjust our service delivery systems. Frontline staff numbers in NCBI have remained unchanged over the last five years. The challenge is ever-present for NCBI to work with more and more people coming to us for the first time each year.

We sustained a 7% decrease (€500,000) in HSE funding during 2010, as the HSE’s own budget was cut. The bulk of this reduced funding was met by our staff accepting reductions in their pay. We were able to avoid having to consider redundancies at a time where more, and not less, staff are required to deliver our services.

The severe weather conditions at the beginning and end of 2010 resulted in a drop in sales at our Mrs Quin’s charity shops. This, coupled with a drop in donations of clothes and other goods, meant that overall sales fell by 10%. Donations from the general public fell by just over 22% (from €220,000 in 2009 to €170,000 in 2010). This level of reduction is considerably below the levels of reduced fundraised income reported by many other voluntary agencies.

The challenges of sustaining statutory and building voluntary income will continue as the key funding challenges in to 2011. NCBI has already started to prepare for the re-brand of our shops back to the NCBI name (losing the Mrs Quins title during 2011). We are also aware that the outcomes from the Cost of Sight Loss Study will bring forecasts of the scale of work to confront NCBI in the years to 2020.

The images used throughout this report illustrate the type of work that we do and show each person has his or her place in the design of individually tailored services. Our staff reskill to work with new approaches in maximising people’s use of their residual vision. Our services are under pressure, but thanks to our staff, volunteers and supporters we will meet what is asked of us to live up to our mission to enable people who are blind and vision impaired to overcome the barriers that impede their independence and participation in society.

Desmond Kenny
Chief Executive