Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I beg the indulgence of the House to discuss an initiative I started in February 2019. The Feel Good Project is a community-based initiative set up with the aim of providing support services and education to people on a range of issues, from addiction and drug use to mental health and wellness. The hub of the project is in Duleek and it provides free access to mental health and well-being programmes on Tuesday evenings. In March, I tried to broaden the reach of the Feel Good Project nationwide. The simple concept was to erect some bright floral signs in towns across Ireland to show the effects of the lockdown and remind people of the important things in life - love, family, joy, peace, hope, courage and faith. Some 56 independent councillors from 23 counties put up signs in their local communities.

I was curious to find out the effect of the campaign and whether it had succeeded in its objective of generating positive emotions and thoughts. I commissioned a report to investigate this. The consultants performed a survey on social media and analysed the results, which were detailed in the report I received yesterday. I was delighted to learn that the response to the signs had been overwhelmingly positive. Of the 604 people surveyed, almost 95% experienced positive emotional reactions and only three people had a negative response. The executive summary of the report states that the signs provided a subject matter for local conversation. This had a very important impact and helped counteract the effects of isolation caused by the national lockdown and the fixation on Covid-19 in the news and media.

The positive reactions of people were perhaps encapsulated in the following comment by one of the persons surveyed:

I think it was a brilliant idea. It reminded me that the community was there for me on tough days and that I needed to believe brighter days are ahead.

I express my sincere thanks to all the councillors who participated in the project. I have no doubt it brought great cheer to those in their communities.