PPN News

‘Be Winter Ready’

The Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD) is taking the lead this year in producing the ‘Be Winter Ready’ leaflet. The focus this year will be on ‘Community Supports’ and  DRCD would welcome input from community groups and other stakeholders. The leaflet is intended to provide helpful information about how to prepare for the winter in terms of community supports available (or that should be available) to the public during times of particularly severe weather.  We hope to publish the leaflet in autumn 2018.

Extreme weather conditions are a challenge for communities and, as the recent example of Storm Emma has shown, combatting the effects of extreme weather calls for a community effort. While a whole of Government approach is coordinated through the work of the Office of Emergency Planning, solutions are implemented at a community level. We would like to tap into this experience and speak to community groups about the lessons learned over the last year. Particularly of interest is how information is communicated in an emergency situation: from the Office of Emergency Planning to the public and from the public to the Office of Emergency Planning.

The Department would like the next ‘Be Winter Ready’ leaflet to be informative, practical and concise. We would also like the leaflet to reflect our unique mission – to promote rural and community development and to support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland. We believe that the work of our Department provides clear benefits to communities throughout the year. Supports like the Senior Alert Scheme provide peace of mind while our libraries are vital community hubs where people can access information and meet friends and neighbours.

In this way, while considering in general terms what information should be contained in the leaflet, we are also interested in your thoughts on which elements of the Department’s work are particularly relevant to supporting communities during spells of severe weather. Potential issues to be considered may include:

• Access to food
• Access to medical supplies/ treatment
• Dangerous road conditions
• Emergency services
• Flooding
• High wind speeds
• Home heating
• Loss of critical utilities (e.g. water shortage, electricity failure)
• Low temperatures
• Snow and ice

Those wishing to make submissions should consider the attached ‘Be Winter Ready’ leaflet, and outline how they feel the leaflet may be improved. The Department welcomes submissions in any format and does not wish to impose a template for responses. However, we would request that submissions are kept as brief as possible owing to the limited space available on the leaflet.

Queries and completed written submissions should be directed on or before 5pm on Thursday, 28 June 2018 to:

Ben Richardson Community and Voluntary Supports and Programmes

Department of Rural and Community Development

Trinity Point, 10-11 Leinster Street South, Dublin 2, D02 EF85

Dublin City University Research Study & Questionnaire on Storm Emma.

The Department, together with the Office of Emergency Planning, is assisting Dublin City University with research on the experiences of citizens in the light Storm Emma with a view to assisting Government bodies plan for future weather events of this nature.

Accordingly, the Department requests that the attached link/questionnaire be distributed to PPN members for their awareness and with a request that they assist in this research by completing the questionnaire at http://bitly/2ry7TS3.

Powerful Communities Conference

Good Energies Alliance Ireland (GEAI) is delighted to invite you to the Powerful Communities Conference which will be held in the I.T. Sligo on the 15^th of June 2018.

At this conference, we will launch our Powerful Communities project and bring you up to date with new renewable energy opportunities open to communities.  These will include new sources of heat and electricity, grants for communities to get together to plan their own energy futures and examples of what is going on around the country. The conference will also include an opportunity for communities to discuss their own way forward.

This year we welcome Paul Kenny from Tipperary Energy Agency to give us insights on opportunities and barriers to larger-scale community projects in Ireland.

Please register via Eventbrite beforehand as places are limited:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/powerful-communities-conference-tickets-46437476743

DRCD Community Enhancement Programme 2018

Community Enhancement Application Form 2018

Community Enhancement Application Guidelines 2018

Applications are invited by Laois Local Community Development Committee under the Dept of Rural and Community Development’s Community Enhancement Programme 2018.

The Programme will support projects that would improve the quality of life for residents in disadvantaged urban areas providing tangible supports.  The funding will relate to capital projects only and should demonstrate added value. Match-funding is not a requirement for approval.

Deadline for receipt of completed applications is Monday 30^th July 2018 at 5.00pm. Late applications will NOT be accepted.

An Application Form and Application Guidelines are now available from:
Laois LCDC, c/o Laois County Council, Community Development Section, Áras an Chontae, JFL Avenue, Portlaoise, Co Laois, Tel. 057 86 64060/4150 or email dce@laoiscoco.ie