People with Disabilities in Ireland
4th Floor Jervis House
Jervis Street
Dublin 1
Telephone: 01 87 21 74 4
Fax: 01 87 21 77 1
Email: info@pwdi.ie
Donegal Hosts Latvian Delegation
The Donegal Network of PwDI recently hosted a delegation from Latvia to view employment projects for people with disabilities in Donegal. The visit was hosted by James McClean, Chairman of the Donegal Network, national Board member and PwDI representative on the European Disability Forum.
The group of ten people are members of Latvian organisation Sustento, an umbrella group representing people with disabilities in their own country.
As well as viewing various programmes in Letterkenny and in Gweedore, Sustento also enjoyed a civic reception at the Public Services Centre in Letterkenny to welcome them to Ireland. This was hosted by Patrick McGowan, Chairman of Donegal County Council and Dessie Larkin, Mayor of Letterkenny and a number of other Councillors.
Having viewed several Donegal employment projects the group travelled to Dublin where they spent several days and were hosted by PwDI national office. A site visit to Cheeverstown House also formed part of the visit.
"It really was a whistle stop tour", says James. "Sustento found this study trip of great benefit to them as employment - related services to people with disabilities in Latvia are at developmental stage. It is their hope that they will learn from our successes, and sometimes failures, so that they can help shape policy and services for people with disabilities on their return to Latvia. We in PwDI believe that a firm bond of friendship and partnership has been formed with Sustento and we learned much too from this very worthwhile project."
James paid tribute to a host of public and voluntary organisations in Donegal for their assistance, among them: Worklink; Taca; Gweedore Training Centre; Kilmacrennam Road Training Centre; Ballyraine Training Centre; Paddy Boyle and the Training and Occupational Support Services of North Western Health Board; FÁS; the Department of Social and Family Affairs; the National Council for the Blind in Ireland; Cheshire Apartments; Donegal Centre for Independent Living; the MS Society, Donegal; the North Western Health Board; Donegal County Council; An Garda Siochana and the Donegal Special Olympics Committee.
Kerry Network Offers Advocacy Course
Kerry PwDI Network will be running a course in Basic Level Advocacy
.
The location of the course, which will be free of charge, will depend on the number of people wishing to participate. This timely initiative promises to be a very rewarding experience, enabling participants to be trained and ready to play an influential role in the national Advocacy service of the future.
(For more information please see Advocacy - The Future recently published by PwDI's national office).
If you are interested in this special course please contact the Kerry Network Tel: 066 7180611 or email: kerry@pwdi.org
Directory of Kerry Based Support Services Published
Workway has just published a Directory of Kerry Based Support Services.
The Directory has been developed by the Workway project, an IBEC/ICTU partnership initiative designed to raise awareness about the employment of people with disabilities in the private sector.
Conceived in 2001 under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF), and funded by the National Development Plan (NDP), Workway is the first partnership project in Europe to tackle unemployment among people with disabilities. The project operates four networks in Cork, Kerry, Galway and Donegal.
This Directory profiles a number of the organisations in the Kerry region that currently provide local supports and services to employers and people with disabilities seeking employment. The Directory has been developed in response to an identified need among local employers and people with disabilities involved in the Kerry Workway Network for greater access to information regarding disability and employment. The Directory outlines what supports are available, who provides these supports and their relevant contact details. The information in the Directory deals exclusively with the area of employment.
The Directory will prove useful to:
. Employers who currently employ a person/people with disabilities;
. Employers who are looking for more information on disability in the workplace;
. People with disabilities currently seeking, or in employment, and,
. Service providers.
The Directory is available free of charge from the Kerry Network office.
Kilkenny Network Opens Office
The Mayor of Kilkenny City, Cllr. Martin Brett officially opened the Kilkenny Network office on 12th October. PwDI is sharing with the Centre for Independent Living Kilkenny (CILK) and the arrangement is working well. PwDI would like to acknowledge publicly the co-operation it is receiving from CILK in taking telephone calls on behalf of PwDI. Having no partnership in Kilkenny City or County, it is proving difficult to secure funding for a member of staff.
A social evening for young people with disabilities in Kilkenny is planned, the initiative of new Youth Officer, Paul Crilly. It will bring young people with disabilities and their friends together, to promote and share the benefits of PwDI membership and to listen to the concerns of young adults. Issues in Kilkenny include the lack of services, the almost total restriction on the Disabled Person's Grant, the lack of consistency in the laying of new pavements with some being dished and others not.
Meath PwDI Opens Office
Meath PwDI Network has just opened an office in Navan at, Claremont Stadium, Commons Road, Navan, Co. Meath. This new facility provides a focal point in the County and will assist greatly in growing the organisation. All people with disabilities, their families and carers are welcome. The contact person is Peter Byrne. Telephone: 086-0595954.
PwDI Chairman Elected onto Waterford Strategic Policy Committee
The Waterford PwDI Network continues to broaden its sphere of influence with the recent appointment of Tom Power, Chairman of the Network and national Board member being elected onto the Strategic Policy Committee of Waterford County Council representing the disadvantaged sector on the Housing and Corporate Affairs Committee.
Westmeath Office Opened by Minister of State Pat The Cope Gallagher
Westmeath Network office was officially opened by Pat The Cope Gallagher, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government on 24th September. The office is located at 96 Sean Costelloe Street, Athlone, Co. Westmeath. Telephone: 0906 470044
<< Previous Article | Next Article >> | List of Articles | Back To News Page