Changing countryside – LEADER backing Dublin’s rural communities, Eilish Harrington

Eilish Harrington, CEO of Fingal LEADER Partnership and responsible for the delivery of Dublin’s rural development programme in conversation with Billy Linehan.

LEADER backing Dublin’s rural society

Describe the programme?

Dublin Rural LEADER is a community led, and European Union funded, rural development programme. Surprisingly for some, there are large parts of the greater Dublin region that are very much countryside.
LEADER covers all of Rural Dublin, which is divided into 3 Areas: Fingal (70% rural), South Dublin (23% rural) and parts of Dun Laoighaire Rathdown (7% rural).

The LEADER programme provides funding for projects across the County that promote social inclusion, develop the local economy through enterprise and tourism, and protect the environment.

Describe the organisation?

The programme is managed by Fingal LEADER Partnership, a local development company. Overseen by Fingal County Council the ethos is bottom-up, taking a holistic view of the individual and the community. Services are integrated so employment supports, enterprise grants, social inclusion, training, well-being, and environmental supports are available under one roof.

How are you funded? How is your performance judged?

Under the current LEADER Programme for 2014-2020, a budget of €6.4million in grant aid was provided to support Rural Dublin. We report on a monthly basis to the Local Action Group who have the responsibility of oversight for this programme.

How do you work with your local partner, Fingal Council?

We have a very good working relationship with Fingal County Council who are our Financial Partner.

Where are you based, what other services do you offer?

We are based in Swords Business Park, where we deliver the LEADER programme and a range of Employment Services Programmes such as TUS, Rural Social Scheme, Jobs Club, Ability and the Care and Repair Programme.

Who are your target market?

Community Groups & Youth Groups
Social Enterprises
Tidy Towns groups
Voluntary Sporting Organisations
Start-ups, Small businesses and SME’s
Farmers & Farming Families
Environmental Groups
Charities

Happy to support this great project ??? Pleasure working with @BalbrigganRFC @FingalLeader @TMurphyFingal https://t.co/H6KTi2sVvw

— Dublin Rural LEADER (@DublinRuralLAG) December 9, 2020

What have been your biggest wins to date?

The biggest win for Dublin Rural LEADER has been successfully delivering the current programme and allocating all the funding to the Rural Communities within the specified timeframe. We brought in extra funds of €354,000 in Food Initiative money by supporting artisan food businesses in the rural Dublin.

Examples of groups we support are;

The Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre,
Rush Multi-Purpose Youth Centre
Keogh’s Farm Crisps,
Lusk Community Cultural Centre
Ballyboughal Hedgerow Society
Glenasmole Community Centre

https://twitter.com/AlanFarrell/status/1336705880549715968?s=20

How have you found your first time as a CEO?

A personal win for me has been adapting to my role as CEO over the past 2 years and ensuring the company is in a stable and positive position to deliver to the communities that we serve. I have learned a lot quite quickly, with support from the Board, and it has been very enjoyable at the same time. Coming from a rural area, Union Hall, West Cork, I really love the LEADER programme and seeing the impact and difference the funding can make in rural communities.
Another win has been collaborating with the Local Authorities in our area (Fingal and South Dublin) to deliver high value projects for local communities.

What advice would you give to applicants for LEADER support?

Get in touch!!
We have a dedicated Team who will assist all applicants and if we cannot help or an idea is not eligible, we will always endeavour to signpost people to other funding streams. Just pick up the phone and see if we can help is the first step!

Tell us about your team?

Fingal LEADER Partnership has 22 staff spread across the 5 programmes we deliver. They range from Employment Facilitators, Finance Officers to Rural Development Officers. The team is very enthusiastic, and all strive to add value to the communities and area we work in. Most live in Fingal  and enjoy seeing the impact of the services we deliver.

How have you managed working in the pandemic?

I think like all companies it was strange at the beginning and anxiety levels were heightened with the ‘unknowns’ the pandemic brought back in March. Now though I think it has become the norm and I think we can see many benefits to the current working model.

Any new perspectives in the last year?

That there is a lot of resilience out there! The team and the communities we work with all reacted amazingly and after the first few weeks of uncertainty things picked up and work continued as normal, albeit in a new normal. There were great initiatives across Fingal which assisted the vulnerable groups in society which was great to see and a massive spike in volunteers nationally looking to get involved. I think this year has really highlighted the importance of ‘local’ and to support local businesses and groups as much as we all can.

Changes in the rural nature of County Dublin?

Yes there is increasing urban sprawl, and rural areas are being lost. Identities of small villages are weakening, and will take years for neighbourhood cohesiveness to return. Small shops in rural areas are losing out to new shopping centres in nearby towns.

LEADER backing rural Dublin. What are your plans for the future?

I would like to build on the success of our programmes and respond to the needs of our communities. A greater focus on meeting the challenges of climate change at a local level, safeguarding natural habitats and protecting biodiversity as part of our natural heritage. The circular economy is becoming more important, and we will investigate how to support remote working projects such as Smart Villages.

How can people get in touch with you?

Check out our Website 
Follow on Twitter @DublinRuralLAG,
Email [email protected]

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