Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad today and wish him well in his Department.

Today, I seek to highlight the need for the Attic House CLG to be successful under the 2021 community development pilot programme. It has a proven track record of community service in Longford and is ideally located to pilot a community development initiative. This superb facility has a state-of-the-art campus that is ideally located at the heart of the most marginalised communities in the county. The existing project has been supported by many agencies to address the needs of young people in the community. Now it is time further develop on what has been built and offer Attic House as a community development for Longford town. Why Longford town? The statistics show that we have a very diverse population that is experiencing considerable disadvantage and there are many who would benefit from the project. The Pobal HP deprivation index of 2016 shows that within walking distance of the town centre two-thirds of the people's living areas were classified as being between disadvantaged and extremely disadvantaged, higher than the national average of non-white residents and four times the national average of Traveller families. The Attic House has developed an integration programme to ensure inclusivity of the migrant community. Many of these communities live independently of each other and that can lead to a divided population, which, in turn, can lead to conflict. The Attic House has very successfully engaged with a high number of these communities.

The Attic House started as a youth café in 2006. Following consultation that identified a lack of services and supports, for youth and family support services, the need for a dedicated centre was raised. In 2015, the Attic House was established as a volunteer-managed youth and community project, which has now become a central hub in Longford for youth and other agencies to work together to provide opportunities for all in the county. Funding to develop the facility was sourced from the LEADER programme, Longford County Council and the local enterprise office but more than €500,000 was raised locally to develop the project.This gives the community of Longford a sense of ownership and pride in its achievements so far. It is governed by a management committee of members drawn from a broad section of the community who bring a wide set of skills to the governance of the facility and to the project itself. Stakeholders who work with and provide services include Foróige, Tusla, Longford direct provision, Mens Sheds Ireland, Longford Sports Partnership, Templemichael College, the EDI Centre Longford and Templemichael Parish Resources. The list of partner agencies include Backstage Theatre, the Traveller health project, the local Youthreach service, Longford County Council, County Longford Youth Service, the Lus na Gréine and Bridgeways family resource centres, Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board, the HSE, the local public participation network, Longford Africans Network, the Polish community network, the volunteer centre and all of the local schools.

This is a community development programme that has, thus far, been financed and run by volunteers. What could it achieve if given the resources to allow it to expand with a full-time project manager? Its unique position, with an existing state-of-the-art facility, means that any project investment will result in considerable value for money. This organisation has experience, is embedded in the community and can hit the ground running, allowing it to reach more people in our community. I ask the Minister of State to prioritise Attic House for funding under the current programme.