Empowerment

The Irish Local Development Network (ILDN) representing Ireland’s 49 Local Development Companies (LDCs) has called on Oireachtas members “to ensure that the future of community-based Local Employment Services are protected and developed”.

Despite the pandemic, every evening schoolkids from three schools in Co. Louth meet online to practice the violin. It’s not the easiest instrument to master, but these children are now musicians who can boast of having performed  in front of thousands of people.  The violins they play were funded through LEADER. It is a sign of how varied the support to communities can be nowadays through this fund.

Speakers at a recent human rights event in Cork showed they are wiser now to the inequalities from our response to Covid-19 and we’re not all in this together, not when you look at the life-chances during this pandemic of migrants, care home residents, Travellers, and others. As one speaker put it, capitalism is dictating our morality. BETH ARDILL REPORTS:

A series of short films released in January capture the beautiful stillness of Inishbofin during the sun-soaked lockdown of 2020. Mercifully, despite reopening for tourism in July of last year, Inishbofin has recorded only two isolated cases of Covid-19 in the past 12 months and the island is currently Covid-free.

Mother and son, Eileen and Ray Lucey from Mucklagh, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, feature on the front cover of the latest edition of ‘Changing Ireland’, highlighting the role of carers and those receiving care across Ireland. 

Women’s Aid released a report on young people’s experience of abuse in intimate relationships here in Ireland to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25th).

SUMMARY: A special report was published last month to mark the 25th year of the national Family Resource Centre Programme. The 60-page visionary document is called ‘Our Story’ and it looks back but also forward as Family Resource Centres celebrate their grassroots successes. In 2020, all 121 centres played an important role in helping communities respond to the pandemic.

EXCERPT: “The feedback we got back from the public was great because we had to change a lot of things this year."