Minister Joe Walsh Announces Family Rescource Centres for Beara

On Saturday evening last, Minister Joe Walsh, Department of Agriculture, Food & Rural Development, announced that both Castletownbere & Adrigole were to receive funding toward Family Resource Centres in each area.  He stated that Beara needed more that a scenic amenity and that our Peninsula deserved the facilities as much as any other part of the country.  He introduced Mr. Brendán Ó Riordáin, from the Regional Office of the Dept. Social, Family and Community Affairs, who addressed members of voluntary organisations in Beara outlining the details of the grant-aid.  There are 100 such Resource Centres nationwide and Beara will have 2 in the coming year to address the needs of the communities in Elderly, Childcare, Lone Parent Families, Youth Care etc.

Over the past three years, Beara Action Group have spearheaded this application, co-ordinating the meetings between Sean O'Siochrú of U.C.C. and subsequently Philip Mortel with the various organisations in the area.

The grant-aid of upwards to £70,000 per centre will go towards the employment of 2 full-time or 1 full-time and 2 part-time personnel in each centre and the rental of a premises and overheads occurring in each centre.  The next step will be in the New Year when the Department's 'Team Works' group will begin meetings with all the groups in Beara and elect a local Management Committee.  A Business Plan will then be drawn up following management training in that area and some 6-8 months down the line, Beara will commence their Resource Centres.

Denis Regan, Chairman of Beara Action Group, thanked both Minister Walsh and Brendán Ó Riordán for the very welcoming news and expressed his delight that the work put into this in the past was now coming to fruition.  Also present was Anna Fitzgerald from the Resource Centre in Bantry, who advised that she and her colleagues would be more than happy to meet with anyone to discuss the procedures of running such a centre.

The Castletownbere Centre would cover the area west to Dursey north to Urhan and south to Bere Island, while the Centre in Adrigole would cover the area over the Healy Pass to Ardgroom and Lauragh, west to Rossmackowen and east to Glengarriff.

In attendance on the evening (pictured above - back from left) Phil Murphy, Community Care, Canon Pat Sheehan, John Nolan, Donal Harrington, Beara Action Group, Mary Martin-Sullivan, Beara Action Group, Brian Murphy, Community Alert, Michael O'Neill, Beara Action Group, Denis Regan, Chairman, Beara Action Group, Anna Fitzgerald, Bantry, Paul Stevens, Co-Action Beara, Aileen O'Neill, Cahermore N.S. & James Leahy.
Front from left: Fr. Sean O'Shea, Community Care, Brendan O'Riordan, Dept. Social, Community & Family Affairs, Minister Joe Walsh, Dept. Agriculture, Food & Rural Development, Hilary Leahy, Beara Action Group, Marie O'Sullivan, Beara Action Group, Maureen O'Sullivan-Greene, Community Childcare & Creche and Anne Marie Cronin, CTBere Business Development Association. Missing from picture: Gda. Martin Hegarty, Community Alert.