Changing Ireland BLOG

The pipes are calling to promote a thriving industry

2012-02-02T17:20:00.001Z

PHOTO-REPORT from ICTU's mass rally in Dublin, Nov 27

2010-11-29T18:55:00.001Z

We've posted photos from the mass rally outside the GPO on Saturday on our Facebook page.For the record, our estimate of the numbers who took part are: 70,000 people on O'Connell Street and approx 100,000 who took part at one point or another in the march. The speeches included powerful and well-received contributions from Siobhan O'Donoghue, Fintan O'Toole and Christy Moore among others. Christy

Minister Carey's comments on the budget and 10% cut to Dept funding

2010-11-26T17:53:00.000Z

The overall reduction in the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs budget for 2011 will be of the order of 10%. For more information on the budget cuts, click here for Minister Pat Carey's statement on the four-year plan.This is what he had to say about funding under the following sub-head: Developing Communities "There will continue

The Local & Community Development Programme (LCDP)

2010-11-26T16:55:00.000Z

The Local & Community Development Programme (LCDP) is managed by POBAL on behalf of the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs. It forms part of the National Development Plan 2007 -2013.The Programme is an amalgamation of two former programmes, Local Development Social Inclusion Programme and the Community Development Programme.AIM: The LCDP aims to tackle poverty and social

HUNDREDS OF BUSINESS STARTS AND JOBS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT

2010-11-25T22:57:00.000Z

Thousands of people have been directly helped to set up in business or find suitable work since the start of this year, through the Local and Community Development Programme.For instance, Donegal Local Development Company directly supported over 153 small family businesses to open up in the first 11 months of this year. That compares with 146 people who directly set up in small businesses upon

€32m fund giving free training to job-seekers - is your community benefitting?

2010-11-25T22:17:00.000Z

GEAROID FITZGIBBON REPORTS IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF 'CHANGING IRELAND':While the effectiveness and cohesion of national economic policies are questioned, there are in fact a raft of minor initiatives aimed at boosting the economy. Community and voluntary groups including Local Development Companies have yet to take full advantage of these initiatives.Many of them are funded under the €32m Labour

Where CDPs now stand

2010-11-25T21:59:00.000Z

The Local and Community Development Programme (LCDP) was instigated at the beginning of this year and most CDPs – we don’t yet know the final tally – are on schedule to amalgamate their work with that of the Local Development Company in their area by year’s end. At the same time, quite a number of projects proposed alternative models and negotiated successfully in a number of instances with the

2010-11-25T11:48:00.000Z

Thanks to Finbar from Mayo for the above.The cut to the minimum wage has been widely criticised. The €1 cut equates to 11.5% of salary if you're on the minimum wage. Business leaders have welcomed the proposal saying it will cuts costs.However, Fine Gael have said they may revisit the proposal.

Cuts of €35m over 4 years to Dept of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs

2010-11-24T15:47:00.000Z

Cuts of €35m are planned for the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs from 2011-2014.The chart below covers some details of the cuts for the coming year, 2011. It comes from the Government's official four-year plan which is downloadable from this page.The Community Workers Co-op have published a 7-page response to the budget from a Community viewpoint:http://www.cwc.ie/