Irish Rural Link

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Irish Rural Link Annual Conference 2021 In partnership with Rural Action NI

Making Connections: Preparing for Funding Opportunities and Cross Border Collaboration’ Conference Highlight Report

Conference Highlight Report – https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Conference-Highlight-Report.docx

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Community-Planning-for-Sustainability-Carol-Lambe-Monaghan-Co-Co.pdf

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Outline-of-Development-Plan-Carol-Lambe-Monaghan-Co-Co.pdf

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Sliabh-Beagh-cross-border-development-case-study-Donal-McElwain-Monaghan-Co-Co.pdf

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Derek-Browne-Social-Enterprise-Development.pptx

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Cross-Border-Collaboration-Challenges-and-Solutions-Anthony-Soares.pptx

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Community-oriented-village-websites-apps-Pat-Kennedy.pdf

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Climate-change-rural-communities-Aidan-Campbell.pdf

Thursday 24th June

This timely conference will explore funding opportunities available to community and voluntary organisations on both sides of the Border as well as new funding for Cross Border collaborative projects through the All Island fund, International Fund for Ireland and the new PEACE Plus Programme. The conference will also look at different themes and ideas for collaborative projects to support development of rural communities on both side of the border and adapt to changes brought about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit.

10.00am           Overview – What are the Opportunities?

  • Community Foundation of Ireland
  • Paul Skinader, Pobal
  • Gina McIntyre – CEO SEUPB
  • Paddy Harte –  Chairperson IFI
  • DFA (Ireland Fund)

Q&A SESSION

11.00am            Breakout Session 1 Community Development Principles & Building Capacity

  • Community Engagement and Empowerment – Seamus Boland IRL This session will discuss how carry out meaningful and inclusive engagement with communities and empower them to take the lead in developing their local community.
  • Engaging your people and Succession planning – Carol Lambe This session will look at a Best Practice Example Monaghan County Council’s Nurturing Communities Programme in reaching out to communities who are struggling, working with them through the process of developing a community development plan, helping them to develop their project ideas along the way.
  • Challenges and Problem Solving – Anthony Saores, Centre for Cross Border Studies This session will look at current Cross Border collaboration taking place, some of the challenges that have arisen as a result of COVID-19 and Brexit.  A discussion on possible solutions to these challenges.

Workshops in Breakout Session 2 will run twice to allow participants attend 2 workshops of your choice.   Each workshop will be facilitated with a short presentation on the topic.

11.40am           Breakout Session 2A – Room 1: Health & Wellbeing –Roger O’Sullivan, Institute of Public Health This workshop will present ideas for cross border projects and Health and Wellbeing in rural communities and how best to address the challenges that came to the fore during COVID-19.

Room 2: Environment/Biodiversity & Climate Change – Aidan Campbell, RCN. There was a renewed appreciation of the environment and nature during Covid-19 restrictions.  This workshop will look at how this can be maintained and how communities can lead the way in climate change and protecting local biodiversity.

Room 3: Rural Tourism –  Speaker TBA The tourism sector has been the hardest hit sector during Covid-19.  This session will explore how to build robust and sustainable industry, and how rural communities benefit from the tourism sector.

Room 4: Social Enterprise Development – Derek Browne, Programme Manager, ABC Social Enterprise Programme This session will look at how social enterprise is a key contributor to rural development and social inclusion and the opportunities for greater collaboration in developing social enterprise in communities.

Room 5: Smart Villages- Pat Kennedy (eTownz) This session will look at how rural communities can be revitalised through digital and social innovation.  It will look at the use of ICT for the delivery of essential services for rural communities. 

12.10pm           BREAK (10 mins)

12.20pm           Breakout Session 2B

  • Health & Wellbeing – Roger O’Sullivan Institute of Public Health
  • Environment/Biodiversity & Climate Change – Aidan Campbell, RCN
  • Rural Tourism –  TBA
  • Social Enterprise Development – Derek Browne
  • Smart Villages- Pat Kennedy (eTownz)

1pm                   Feedback Session and Plenary

1.30pm                            Conference end

Bios

Gina McIntyre – Gina is the Chief Executive of the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), a cross-border body established under the Good Friday Agreement and working to the Government of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Assembly.  She is currently responsible for the European Union’s PEACE IV and INTERREG VA funding programmes, totalling in excess of €0.5 billion and is currently involved in the development of the new PEACE PLUS Programme, worth approximately €1bn.  Having spent most of her career involved with EU support programmes Gina has gained extensive knowledge of the complex cross-border development needs of the region and the appropriate European funding instruments available to meet them. Gina is a qualified chartered accountant who trained and qualified with Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC).

Carol Lambe- Monaghan County Council – Carol Lambe has been Community Development Officer with Monaghan County Council for the past twenty years.  Before working for the Council, she ran her own consultancy business, providing a range of supports to communities, including facilitation, funding advice, strategic planning and promotion.  Her first job out of college was as Development Worker for Inniskeen Enterprise Development Group, which involved helping the group to develop and promote the Patrick Kavanagh Centre.  Within Monaghan County Council, Carol assists communities to develop their ideas into fundable projects, and supports the Council to access funding to turn ideas into reality. Projects developed by Carol include the Ulster Canal Greenway and Muckno Playpark, which was ranked in Ireland’s top 50 playgrounds last year.

Derek Browne – Derek Browne is a Management Accountant with over 20 years’ experience working with a broad range of social enterprises as a Director, mentor, consultant and volunteer.  Over the last 6 years Derek has delivered a Social Enterprise Programme in Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council that has mentored and supported start up and developing award winning social enterprises that have been hugely successful locally and internationally and has helped to build a dynamic culture balancing entrepreneurial ambition and social purpose.  

Paddy Harte IFI, Chairman Mr Harte has been a member of the Board of the International Fund for Ireland since March 2015 and was appointed Chairman in March 2019. He has more than two decades of experience and expertise in economic development and peace-building work. Paddy is a UCD business graduate and is currently a management consultant focusing on strategic, economic and social development in disadvantaged communities. Previously, he was Joint-Programme Director of the cross-border MSc in Innovation and Leadership in the Public Sector, delivered jointly between Ulster University and Letterkenny Institute of Technology (IT), and is a  former lecturer in Leadership and Change at Letterkenny IT. He is a former Board Member of the cross-border finance company Ulster Community Investment Trust (now Community Finance Ireland) and the Collins Institute think-tank. He has served on the boards of a number of economic development boards including chairing the very successful Donegal Gathering. He has also worked as a leadership coach with a coalition of cross-party MLAs at the William J Clinton Leadership Institute, Belfast. He is a past recipient of The Donegal People of the Year Award for his work with communities and has been nominated for this award several times.

Aidan Campbell – Aidan took up the post of Policy and Public Affairs Officer in 2010 although has been with RCN since 2007 as a Community Development Officer.  He has responsibility for developing, managing and coordinating RCN’s work on policy and research, advocating for sustainable change and contributing to RCN’s role as an effective voice for rural communities.Aidan is from Derrytresk in East Tyrone and grew up on a small farm.  He graduated from QUB with a BA in Economic and Social History. He continued his studies at NUI Maynooth undertaking the Higher Diploma in Community Development. Aidan was previously employed as a community development worker with Lenadoon Community Forum in Belfast.

Professor Roger O’Sullivan is the Director of the Ageing Research and Development Division within the Institute of Public Health and visiting Professor at Ulster University’s Bamford Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing. Between 2007 – 2015 he was Director of The Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland. Professor O’Sullivan was awarded membership through distinction of the Faculty of Public Health–UK in 2017 and in 2020 was made a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America.  He has substantially written, edited and published in the area of ageing and older  people.

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IRL Small Grants are now Closed

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

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Have your say – Shaping Our Electricity Future

Irish Rural Link held a series of consultation workshops on EirGrid’s Shaping Our Electricity Future Strategy.

A new report that details innovative approaches to developing the grid to meet ambitious 2030 renewable energy targets. It must redevelop the grid to manage 70% of Ireland’s electricity coming from renewable sources by 2030.

Shaping Our Electricity Future comprises four approaches to achieving this, as well as meeting the projected increase demand for electricity over the coming years.

  1. Generation-Led: Government policy would influence where renewable energy is generated – favouring locations where the grid is already strong
  2. Developer-Led: In this approach, we continue to connect new sources of renewable electricity as requested in any location
  3.  Technology-Led: This approach uses technical solutions to make the grid more resilient so it can better handle the variable nature of renewable energy
  4. Demand-Led: Government policy determines where large energy users locate in Ireland

The workshops aimed to get the thoughts of rural communities and individuals on the four draft approaches in order to reach the 2030 targets.

Speakers included;

  • Liam Ryan, Eirgrid Chief Innovation and Planning Officer
  • Brian O’Gallachoir, UCC
  • Bill Kelly, Community Power / Tipperary Energy
  • Chaired Seamus Boland, Irish Rural Link.

People can find out more about the public consultation and how to have their say in Shaping Ireland’s Electricity Future by visiting consult.eirgrid.ie

Presentation & Video – Thursday 15th April 2021 – South West Region

Event Video

South West Region- Shaping Our Electricity Future Public Consultation Workshop – YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVcAqY-RO6U

EirGrid South West Region Presentation

https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021_04_15_IRL_SouthWest.pptx

Presentations & Videos – South East Region Tuesday 30th March 2021

MaREI https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MaREI-Why-increase-renewable-electricity.pdf

Community Power https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CP-TEA-presentation-to-Irish-Rural-Link.pptx.pdf

EirGrid https://www.irishrurallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Eirgrid-Presentation.pptx.pdf

Video link https://youtu.be/XL_TSFnmlmI

Presentation & Video – Tuesday 27th April 2021 – North West Region

Video – Thursday 29th April 2021 North East Region Workshop

(15) North East Region- Shaping Our Electricity Future Public Consultation Workshop – YouTube

Presentation & Video – Wednesday 5th May 2021 Midlands Region Workshop

(10) Shaping Our Electricity Future Public Consultation Workshop Midlands Region – YouTube

Video – Friday 7th May 2021 – Border Region Workshop

(15) Border Region- Shaping Our Electricity Future Public Consultation Workshop – YouTube

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Press Release

Irish Rural Link Welcome Publication of new Rural Development Policy – Our Rural Futures

Irish Rural Link (IRL) – the national network representing the interest of rural communities has welcomed the launch today, 29th March 2021, of the new Rural Development Policy – Our Rural Futures 2021 – 2025.

IRL are hopeful that this policy document will set out a roadmap of how rural communities can develop over the next 5 years while also set out measures to recover from the impact of Covid-19.  IRL have engaged with the Department and Minister for Rural and Community Development over the past two years and at the first look of the policy document we welcome that some of the lessons learnt from Covid-19 will be built on.

Rural communities have a lot to offer in terms of how they want the future of rural to look like.  They also have key roles to play in addressing climate change and transitioning to a zero carbon society but communities must be engaged with every step of the way and supports made available to both households and communities who need to make the necessary changes to help achieve this.  Workers, some who have already lost their jobs and with more losing theirs in the coming years as we move away from peat harvesting must be engaged with early on in the process and have courses to upskill and/or reskill available to them before the jobs end. 

Incentivising people to live and work in rural areas must be met with proper investment in public services – such as a robust public transport system, high speed broadband, access to clean water and waste water systems and decent and affordable housing close to these services and local village are available.

IRL saw first-hand the importance of community in rural areas during the Covid-19 pandemic and the strength of people coming together to make sure no person was left behind.  This must be a pivotal aspect of this new policy document. A lot of this was made possible by more people working from home and we have long supported remote working as a way of creating jobs and building sustainable rural communities.  We welcome that more investment will be made into co-working spaces in rural areas, which will allow people to continue to work close to where they live once the pandemic is over.  We call for support from employers, whether SME’s or large multinational organisations to facilitate their employees to work from these hubs and have a better work-life balance.

The role of community and voluntary organisations in delivering health and social care services, such as meals on wheels, is critical to communities. Supporting the development of such organisations so they can continue to support people age in their communities must be a key factor in this new rural policy.  These services were crucial during Covid-19 and will remain crucial into the future as we address the needs of an ageing population.  

We welcome that one of the aims is to grow regional employment by creating an environment that supports entrepreneurship and enterprise growth in rural areas.  There are a lot of emerging sectors in terms of the green and digital economy where rural areas can be at the forefront of job creation.  Access to finance and funding continues to be one of the main barriers for entrepreneurs to start up a business but also to grow their business. This and other barriers to starting a business and how these can be addressed will be important to achieve this aim. Collaborations between entrepreneurs, business groups and universities/technological universities will be key over the next 5 years to ensure the creation of innovative new businesses and jobs in rural areas. 

The tourism sector has been one of the hardest hit by Covid-19 but is one of the key sectors in rural areas with a lot of communities depending on the sector for job creation. Supporting those businesses to recover from the pandemic must be a key priority but also making jobs in the sector more viable.  As the sector reopens there is an opportunity to make it more sustainable, ensuring communities can directly benefit while at the same time the environment and cultural and heritage sights are not negatively impacted by over-tourism.

While the policy document looks good on paper, the success of its implementation needs the political will from all of Government and policy cohesion with other Government policies. The measures outlined must be properly resourced with adequate budget allocations to ensure that all measures are realised within the given timeframe. There is also a responsibility on all of us to engage with different schemes and services that are available and make use of these to develop our local areas.

IRL look forward to working with the Government on the implementation of this policy.

The new Rural Development Policy is available on https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/4c236-our-rural-future-vision-and-policy-context/ -Ends- 

For further information, please contact (anytime): 
Seamus Boland (Chief Executive) 086 2491153 or Louise Lennon (Policy and Communications Officer) 086 1069244

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RUBIZMO Café talks & virtual visits May 2021 session

UBIZMO Café talks & virtual visits
May 2021 sessions
 
Meet us every Tuesday at 11:00 AM CET!
 
REGISTER HERE


Creating or growing a sustainable business requires interaction, inspiration… and a lot of perspiration! But right now, some of these key ingredients are missing. Its why a European initiative identifying new opportunities for rural economies is launching an extensive program of online “café talks” and virtual visits open to all.
RUBIZMO has studied hundreds of high potential business models – and the conditions to make them successful. They are now making more of their insights available for authorities, associations, businesses and entrepreneurs for free to help fuel a green recovery for rural Europe.
A series of quick and easy to access 30-minute “Café sessions” and virtual visits is taking place every Tuesday 11-11:30 CET since November and to June 2021
The quick sessions are designed to fit in with even the busiest days; but anyone attending is invited to hang out for a virtual coffee and ask as many questions as they would like.
 
Join the RUBIZMO virtual Academy and network with our experts to discover new business ideas and take rural entrepreneurship to the next level!
 

WHEN: Every Tuesday from 11 to 11:30 AM CET (Brussels)
WHERE: Online (Zoom)

PROGRAMME
6th April- Camille Poutrin and Bruna Malinaro, Greenflex
What is carbon neutrality in agriculture?
 
13th April- VIRTUAL STUDY VISIT – Ecosystem Services (1h30 hours)
Dunhill Ekopark (Ireland)
Partnership for the Barycz Valley, Poland
 
20th April – Ola Petersson, RISE
Fossil free energy solutions of today and tomorrow
 
27th April – Tora Råberg, RISE
What is biochar and how to use it?

REGISTRATION
Participation is free of charge, however, please note that places are limited. Click here to register and save your spot!
 
 
WHAT IS RUBIZMO?
RUBIZMO is a European initiative working to foster sustainable growth and job creation in rural areas by discovering the vital ingredients for developing entrepreneurship and successful business models in high potential sectors such as food and agriculture, new bio-based value chains and services.
 
Learn more at www.rubizmo.eu


 

 
    
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 773621.

 

 



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Creating or growing a sustainable business requires interaction, inspiration… and a lot of perspiration! But right now, some of these key ingredients are missing. Its why a European initiative identifying new opportunities for rural economies is launching an extensive program of online “café talks” and virtual visits open to all.
RUBIZMO has studied hundreds of high potential business models – and the conditions to make them successful. They are now making more of their insights available for authorities, associations, businesses and entrepreneurs for free to help fuel a green recovery for rural Europe.



 




         This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 773621.     Twitter YouTube LinkedIn   Website

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Irish Rural Link CEO Assumes Role as President of EESC Diversity Europe Group

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