OAK Partnership

Working to Combat Disadvantage 

OAK Partnership is a local development company working in North Offaly and North West Kildare, covering an area from Kilcock and Clane in Co. Kildare to Ballycommon and Geashill in Offaly. The Partnership will promote and co-ordinate local development activities in the area in the period 1996-1999. 

Partnerships are made up of representatives of community groups, state agencies and "social partners" (employers groups, farming organisations and trades unions). The task of a Partnership is to help overcome the problems faced by the people in a particular area. This is done chiefly by involving people and organisations in that area in the recognition of the problems and the formulation of responses to those problems. The target groups of OAK Partnership are: 

• People who are long-term unemployed;
• People who are in danger of becoming long-term unemployed, and
• People who are socially excluded. 

The OAK Partnership has produced an Action Plan to cover the years 1996-1999. The Plan was compiled after a wide-ranging consultation process involving contact with many groups in North Offaly and North West Kildare. Problems and priorities identified at this series of meetings were taken into account in the writing of the Action Plan, which groups activities under five main headings: 

• Services to the Unemployed;
• Infrastructure and Environment;
• Enterprise and Employment;
• Education and Training, and
• Community Development. 

Already, OAK Partnership has been active in addressing many of the issues raised during the compilation of the Action Plan. Under the Enterprise and Employment heading, 35 people are benefiting from the Area Allowance Scheme while establishing their own businesses. In Community Development, two reports have been published dealing with the needs of young people in the area, and a handy pocket-sized guide to commonly abused illegal drugs has been produced for parents. 

OAK Partnership is committed to the empowerment of people. If you would like any further information on any of the above activities, or on any other aspect of OAK's work, you can contact any of the following people: