Programme for Improved Cohesion
When announcing the establishment of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in June 2002, the Taoiseach stressed the need for Government to address issues of regional and social balance in a more effective way as well as securing economic development.
He explained that the Department was being set up to produce a more co-ordinated engagement by the state with communities around the country as they pursue their own development.
In pursuit of this objective, the Ministers for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Justice, Equality and Law Reform, advised the Government in February 2003 that they were initiating a review process to secure the most positive impacts for communities from expenditure through programmes in this area.
A key outcome of this review has been the programme for improved cohesion, the core objective of which is the alignment of local, community and rural development organisations to achieve the following by the end of 2006:
- Full county / city coverage to be achieved. (In major urban centres this means full city coverage by Partnerships. In all other areas it means full coverage by the unified structure referred to at b, for the purpose of both the local and rural development programmes)
- In rural areas, LEADER and Partnership groups to secure a unified structure where they have not already done so.
- Unified overarching structures based around the county boundaries with strong links to community-based groups are preferred.
- All LEADER and Partnership groups to strengthen linkages with / supports to community based groups in their respective areas.
The role of the County Development Boards and the Social Inclusion Measures working group is to promote, support and facilitate the development of proposals by the local, community and rural development sectors and to co-ordinate the process at local level. View KCDB submission to the Dept. of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs at
