The Centre for Effective Services sent a 3-page letter to 'Changing Ireland' in March, in response to an article in Issue 30/31. The letter was too long to publish in our printed magazine, but can be read here.

The Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs are during 2010 working to bring together two Programmes to form a new 'Local and Community Development Programme'. We will keep you up to date (here, on our blog, on youtube and in print) with information, links and debate updates on the new Programme as it unfolds.

Meanwhile, a call for more dialogue was made by an all-party Oireachtas committee which met with Minister of State John Curran on January 27th. The committee report is available online and the committee intend to revisit the issue of Sustaining Community Development shortly. The Minister's has meantime pledged "his full committment" to the integration strategy for the new Programme. He invites people to read his pledge and see for themselves.

14 CDPs have had their funding cut following a review by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. 13 are based in Dublin with one outside the capitol (Clonmel Traveller Development Project) The results of appeals in January saw ten projects survive. Campaigners have said both the review and appeals processes were flawed. The Department stands over its work. The closure led to a protest outside the Dail on February 3rd and it is understood some projects will appeal further. Six projects did not object to the decision of the review board to cut their funding.

Here's the report of the review group (which includes the list of projects affected) and responses from the Community Worker's Co-op.

Last year, we set up a NEW BLOG about the merger of the CDP and LDSIP and highlighted 10 questions and answers in particular. The current edition of 'Changing Ireland' above provides more up to date information.

It was first announced on September 18th, 2009, by Minister of State John Curran that the Community Development Programme, first established in 1990, is to be absorbed into a new programme that also incorporates the Local Development and Social Inclusion Programme.

For more background info click here

This Word file contains almost a dozen reports from the provincial press in late August/early September 2009 as protests mounted over the potential impact on communities of CDP cutbacks

2000+ view our Visiting Prisoners videos

Over 2000 people have viewed our videos about Visiting Prison for the First Time here and on YouTube. The need for information is obvious and pages 22-23 of Issue 29 of 'Changing Ireland' included 33 tips for visiting prison, dealing with requests for drugs, what to tell the children, etc.

Regeneration in Dublin: audio reports

Hear how communities responded to the collapse of promised regeneration schemes in St. Michael’s Estate and O’Devaney Gardens in Dublin.

Listen into these two (41 minute) podcasts which were broadcast on RTE’s ‘Today with Pat Kenny’ show on JANUARY 19th and 28th. Little if anything has changed for the better since then.

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