Irish Local Development Network

There was a mixed response from the community and voluntary sector to the launch of Budget 2025 this week. Some measures have been welcomed as a step in the right direction, but many organisations expressed the view that it didn’t go far enough to help those who need it most.

Social enterprises need guidance. One of the aims of the Social Enterprise IMPACT Awards competition was to capture key learnings from those that do it best and here is some advice from the winners:

Research finds that Dublin-based men's health social enterprise represents "incredible value for money".

Rob Nicholson works as a principal officer in the Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD) with responsibility for the development and implementation of Ireland's National Social Enterprise Policy and - speaking at a recent awards ceremony - he gave "a heads-up" on what to expect in the second iteration of that policy.

The Irish Local Development Network (ILDN) is running a competition with €45,000 in prizes for social enterprises that best demonstrate their social impact. The application process was designed to be as straight-forward and user-friendly as possible and the deadline is coming fast – Sunday, December 10th.

- ILDN’s Dec 10 social impact competition taking place in “a world of greenwashing, pinkwashing” where public need reassurance

Irish music legend Phil Coulter has teamed up with a choir of 40 Ukrainian singers across Ireland to release a new version of ‘Steal Away’, his 1983 song about a couple fleeing the Troubles.

Private sector companies are not beating down the doors in County Leitrim to convince householders to retrofit their homes. Nor is it happening in neighbouring rural counties. In the meantime, the earth is burning up due to climate change and householders are losing out on a chance to save on energy bills.