SICAP

SICAP beneficiaries and community voices took centre stage today in celebrating the achievements of the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) at a showcase event opened by Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development and Charities, Jerry Buttimer. Almost 250 delegates from Local Development Companies, City and County Councils, the Community and Voluntary sector and national representative organisations were in attendance.

Leitrim may find new fame as the origin of a game generating national and international interest. The boardgame Letter Lingo makes time go faster while people are learning or improving their English, for example in Failte Isteach groups. They are also having more fun because of the game, and as word has spread demand has soared. Looking a little likes ‘Snakes and Ladders’ it was launched in April by Leitrim Development Company (LDC) and already people are signing up to join waiting lists for the game.

Local Development Week 2025, held last week, was marked by over 50 activities and events all over the country and here we provide a snapshot. In Co. Donegal, Inishowen Development Partnership had a huge turnout for its Insight into Employment and Training in Inishowen workshop at its Buncrana office (pictured above). It provided an insight into employment and training opportunities available on the peninsula. The event was led by the organisation's employment support team in collaboration with Connecting Communities officer Patricia Higgins.

Pat Mellon from County Wicklow grew up on the family farm in the Vale of Avoca, which he now runs, and he has firm views around poverty, which is especially harsh for older people living in rural areas. For years, he worked in rural recreation, social inclusion and social enterprise and this has equipped him well for his current role as national co-ordinator of the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament (ISCP). The national organisation has 200 affiliated organisations and 50,000 members advocating for the rights of older people and one of Pat’s priorities is to improve the lives for seniors living in rural areas.

When I was growing up, Eastern Europe was a mysterious entity reduced to caricatures from spy movies. My knowledge about Ukraine, before the Russian invasion, was limited to Chernobyl, soccer star Andrey Shevchenko, the Klitschko brothers (boxers) and the 2014 War. The fact that the country and its people were as eclectic as those in Western Europe was lost on many of us and it has been a pleasure to get to know Ukrainians, even though we should never have had the opportunity. Here are 12 things I have learned about Ukraine and its people since February, 2022.

Notes on above figures: • Figures for 2007-2009 refer to the Community Development Programme and the Local Development Social Inclusion Programme (combined). • These programmes were amalgamated into the Local Community Development Programme (which operated between 2010 and April 2015). • This programme evolved into the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) that has operated since 2015.

The Sligo LEADER Partnership held a community showcase as part of Local Development Week in early October with hundreds of attendees gathering at the Clayton Hotel, Sligo, to celebrate this milestone event. 

Galway Rural Development (GRD) are among the largest Rural Social Scheme (RSS) operators in the country with a quota of 220 places for farmers (or their family members acting as the participant). Steve Dolan, CEO Galway Rural Development writes: