News

IRL Small Grants to Meals on Wheels Providers are now closed

We are delighted to open applications for small grants to support members of the National Meals on Wheels Network.

During the current Covid-19 crisis, IRL has provided practical assistance in the form of funding, PPE gear and hand sanitiser to many meals on wheels providers. Through the offices of ‘The Community Foundation’, IRL were able to distribute a fund of €50,000 to 21 groups around the country in 2020. This funding allowed these members to meet the growing demand placed upon them by the crisis. Sponsorship by Distilleries Ireland has allowed us to distribute over 1000 litres of hand sanitiser worth over €20,000 and PPE worth €10,000 to MoW providers across the country, enabling providers to carry out their work in a safe manner while also saving on their direct costs. 

Under the umbrella of Irish Rural Link, the National Meals on Wheel Network is pleased to announce it has secured €50,000 from the Community Foundation for Ireland to distribute to its members in 2021. The funding is designed to assist members in meeting the additional demand placed on them by the Covid-19 pandemic. To apply for funding, applicants must be members of the National Meals on Wheels Network as of the 7th of April 2021.

Applications are open now for Members. Closing date for receipt of applications is Tuesday 27th April 2021

Apply here 

The National Meals on Wheels Network is inviting meals on wheels providers to complete the survey below. The survey is part of our national needs analysis on Meals on Wheels in Ireland. This information will help us understand the sector’s experiences and challenges while informing our Meals on Wheels policy in the future. The survey should take no longer than ten minutes. The survey deadline is Friday the 23rd of April 2021.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeLmbhUIHtInNIzeikG4L_ZcyuQhFhtgoUrBVbjNkQAViCahg/viewform?usp=sf_link

If you have any questions about the application or survey, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Best wishes,

The Meals on Wheel Team

Applications are open now for Members. Closing date for receipt of applications is Tuesday 27th April 2021

Apply here – https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Generic-membership-invoice-Meals-on-Wheels.pdfA

The Meals on Wheel Team

Irish Rural Link (IRL), the national network representing the interest of rural communities, is delighted to announce the appointment of its CEO Séamus Boland, to the role of President of Diversity Europe Group, which represents Civic Society on the European Economic Social Committee (EESC) based in Brussels.

Séamus assumed his new role during a virtual inaugural ceremony, today Tuesday 27th October 2020 and will hold the position until 2023. He is the first Irish person to be elected to this position since it’s foundation in 1956, as one of the EU’s institutions listed in the Rome Treaty.

The Diversity Group is made up of delegates drawn from each member state, representing sectors which include, community, agriculture, environment, consumers, social economy and various professions.

Séamus has been a member of the European Economic Social Committee since October 2011 and a former vice-president the Diversity Europe Group.

Poverty and the role of civil society organisations in combatting it will be the focus of Séamus’ term of Presidency.  It will be framed in the context of the European Green Deal and the impact of COVID-19 on our lives.  COVID-19 and the ensuing economic, social and health challenges will provide the framework for the Groups work. The Green Deal will provide the solutions.

In line with the overall topic of his Presidency, priorities of his term include:

• Addressing the impacts of COVID-19 on society.
• Implementing the Green Deal with all stakeholders, based on the Sustainable Development Goal “End poverty in all its forms everywhere”.
• Involving civil society organisations, including European platforms, with the group’s work.
• Including all group Members in the work as well as maintaining a strong gender balance.
• Promoting the group’s work to other institutions and the wider public more efficiently.

The Press Release from EESC Diversity Group is available to read here

End 

The EESC is a consultative body that gives representatives of Europe’s socio-occupational interest groups and others a formal platform to express their points of view on EU issues. Its opinions are addressed to the Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament. It thus has a key role to play in the Union’s decision-making process. The committee consists of Three sections: Employers, Trade Unions and Civic Society.

The presence of the Diversity Europe Group (Group III), alongside the Employers’ Group and the Workers’ Group, ensures that the Committee is a dynamic force and is empowered to give full voice to the concerns of the various social, occupational, economic and cultural organisations that make up civil society in the Member States. In line with the changes introduced in the Lisbon Treaty, Group III is made up of “other representatives and stakeholders of civil society, particularly in the economic, civic, professional and cultural field”.

The unique feature which forges Group III’s identity is the wide range of categories. Its members are drawn from farmers’ organisations, small businesses, the crafts sector, the professions, social economy actors (mutualities, cooperatives, foundations and non-profit associations), consumer organisations, environmental organisations, and associations representing the family, women’s and gender equality issues, youth, minority and underprivileged groups, persons with disabilities, the voluntary sector and the medical, legal, scientific and academic communities.

The shared goal is to achieve real economic, social and participatory democracy in the EU. In fact, the Group III motto is “Achieving real participatory democracy in the EU, through civil dialogue” and the ethos underpinning its activities fall under three pillars:

• Diversity in democracy
• Consensus building
• European civic engagement- local action