Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One of the important roles of the local community development committees is in the whole area of social inclusion. It is important that representatives from State agencies are on these committees such as SOLAS, an tSeirbhís Oideachais Leanúnaigh agus Scileanna, and HSE, the Health Service Executive. These are the agencies delivering day-to-day services in communities. Accordingly, for community development it is important these committees know the policies of such agencies, as well as being able to influence them.

It is also important to have representatives of small businesses, such as the Small Firms Association, and the unions on these committees to share their experiences on economic development and what training needs to be put in place.

To ensure social inclusion, it is very important that the voices of minority groups, such as disability groups, ethnic minorities, Travellers, the LGBT community, older and younger people, are heard at the table on these deliberations about how their communities will be developed. We do not want the top-down approach again with directors of services driving a particular policy agenda and imposing it on local communities. We want the voices of those who need services and want to develop their own communities at the table. That is why we have put forward these amendments.