How to get the digital edition of Changing Ireland

It's now easier to get Changing Ireland then ever before. Here is a quick 'how to' guide on accessing the magazine using various technology.

 1. On your computer - Just click the link below and you can scroll around and turn pages just as you would the print edition.

Open publication - Free publishing - More civil society

2. On your iPhone - Select your browser. Log onto www.issuu.com and search 'changingireland'. This will give you access to our library where you can select issue 40. Alternatively go to www.changingireland.ie and click the link on our homepage.

3. On your Android phone - Go to www.changingireland.ie and select the link on our homepage.

Should you experience any problems, please give Robert a call at 061-458090. Print copies will be with readers soon.

Changing Ireland issue 39 - out now

Open publication - Free publishing - More civil society
The most popular Civil Society magazine in Ireland.

LEAD STORY: Jobs you haven't heard about - 5000 people develop new businesses
Reports from: Canada, Sweden, Brussels, Meath, Donegal, Cork, Offaly, Galway, Limerick & Dublin.

PLUS:

• Volunteers fill the gaps in West Cork

• Meath woman says "Bite the Bullet"

• 12 great websites

• NEW: textbook about Community Development

• EXAMINED: The social impact of adult education classes

• 1-in-6 find jobs with LCDP support

• Solutions and responses to long-term unemployment

• Changing the world; changing ourselves

• Ireland Mark II 

• The Diary of Doris McDermott

• News briefs

25,000 jobs possible, says John Murphy

John Murphy CEO Speedpak

The EU Commission’s ‘Social Business Initiative’ reflects the value and potential the EU Commission sees in models of social enterprises and entrepreneurship right across Europe.

Social enterprises represent on average 5% of GDP in the EU but only 3% in Ireland – so we have some catching up to do. It’s estimated that if over 5 years we could reach the EU average we would create 25,000 jobs.

Zumbathon - a fun way to find funds

An Cosán Zumbathon

An Cosán, a women's centre for learning, leadership and social enterprise based in Jobstown, Tallaght, have taken to some innovative ways to raise money.

Aisling Freeman has a voluntary fundraising role with the organisation. “We hope to do at least two fundraisers a year,” she says, “In 2011, we held a do in the Maldron Hotel which was very successful. We raised €6,000.” 

Her most recent fundraising activity with the group was a Guinness World Record attempt, which took place in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght on February 12th.

Group insulation schemes can jumpstart your local economy!

Gearoid Fitzgibbon writes

Investing in home insulation and energy efficiency gives a better return than most other sorts of investments: it saves the householder money, it gives work to local contractors, it circulates money back into the local economy, and, from a national perspective, reduces our dependence on imported fossil fuels, and lowers our carbon emissions. 

It also counters fuel poverty, which affects 16 % of households (according to a 2001 survey), a figure that will have only increased since the recession.

 
Where once the case was made for such investment from a “green” perspective, it can now be proven from a purely financial point of view. Communities and community groups around the country are hungry for actions to boost the stagnant local economy.

County's First Gay Visibilty Week

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Visibility Week was launched on November 14 in Wexford – the first of it’s kind in the county. It was organised by ‘Gay Wexford’ and supported by LGBT Diversity and Wexford Local Development.

Events included a ‘liberating party’ celebrating LGBT pride, a lecture about Transgender Awareness, a slideshow presentation of the Irish Queer Archive, a Civil Partnership information seminar and a screening of the Hilary Swank movie ‘Boys Don’t Cry’.

3,000 COMMUNITY GROUPS APPLY FOR TÚS WORKERS

BY ALLEN MEAGHER

Across the country, community groups are learning that they don’t have to be a registered charity or even have a bank account to apply for a Tús worker.

Over 3,000 groups had applied for a worker by July with 1,200 of those considered worthwhile placements.

By December of this year, there should be 5,000 people doing 19.5 hours a week in local communities through the Tús scheme and numbers may double or triple in the future.

Community groups that apply need to have a good, meaningful work placement available.

The groups don’t employ the worker and are not responsible for their supervision – that’s for their Local Development Company and across the country around 200 Tús scheme supervisors are currently being recruited to manage that work through the 52 LDCs in the Local and Community Development Programme.

Community groups in urban as well as rural areas can apply. After 12 months, when the worker’s placement finishes, the community group can apply for a new worker.

* * * * *

Rural Social Scheme workers in Co. Cork. Tús is similar.

TÚS FIGURES EAST TO WEST

The following are the figures in relation to the Tús Scheme up to July from six areas, urban and rural:

Clare: 300 letters sent out; 250 replied ‘Yes’ before the closing date; 10 no replies.

Offaly: 120 letters sent out; 82 replied ‘Yes’ before the closing date; 20 sought exclusions; 18 initially did not reply but all subsequently agreed to participate.

Laois: 30 letters sent out; 23 replied ‘Yes’ before the closing date; 2 sought exclusions; 5 no replies.

Finglas postal area: 77 letters sent out; two-thirds replied ‘Yes’ before the closing date; 12 sought exclusions.

Dublin Northside: 30 letters sent out; 21 replied ‘Yes’ before the closing date.

Meath: 45 letters sent out; 36 replied ‘Yes’ before the closing date.

Pobal to continue, despite pre-election talk of closure

Pobal looks likely to continue to be supported by the Government, despite pre-election talk of closure, Minister Phil Hogan has indicated to 'Changing Ireland'.

The Government agency was listed as one of the 145 so-called "quangos" that the State could do without, with Fine Gael proposing the takeover of its functions by local authorities. The body handled €377m of national and EU funding in 2007 and is responsible for managing a range of community-related Government programmes.

Recently, 'Changing Ireland' asked Minister Phil Hogan about Pobal's future.

Minister Hogan pointed out that it was a matter for Government and not for he alone to decide:

“While it is possible that the services provided by Pobal could be provided internally by my Department or other Departments, it is unlikely that significant savings would arise given that staff resources would need to be redeployed, systems would require development and the necessary expertise in providing advice to the sectors concerned may not be readily available. 

“Additionally, because Pobal delivers funding on behalf of a number of Departments involved in supporting services in the not-for-profit, community and voluntary sectors, the Company is in a unique position to bring considerable value-added because of its comprehensive knowledge of the sectors.  The central administration and integration of services offered by the Company across the various programmes and the fact that the same staff work on a number of programmes are considerable strengths which would not be easily replicated if Departments separately implemented programmes.”

'Changing Ireland' also asked about €750,000 which was recently cut from Pobal’s budget to manage the Dormant Accounts Fund. We asked was this re-distributed to community initiatives or sent to ‘Brussels’?

The Minister replied that “efficiency are retained as savings (and) are not redistributed.”

Update in relation to former CDPs and the LCDP

The Department of Environment, Community and Local Government this afternoon released figures to ‘Changing Ireland’ that show the number of projects funded under the Local and Community Development Programme.

The Department’s statement reads:

"The latest phase of cohesion involves the integration of Community Development Projects (CDPs) with the 52 LDCs and the establishment of the approved alternative structures. At one stage there was a total of 185 CDPs/groups being funded under the [LCDP] programme, however this is now 153.