Funding to establish Traveller Community Development Project Secured for Clare

Clare Local Development Company (CLDC) is delighted to announce that a collaborative application to the Department of Rural and Community Development’s Pilot Project Community Development Fund has been successful. This application was made on behalf of four organisations in Clare which include CLDC, Clare Women’s Network, Clare Public Participation Network and the HSE’s Mid-West Traveller Health Unit and endorsed by many other community and voluntary organisations around the county.

More than 120 projects around the country applied for this funding and the Clare collaborative group are delighted to have been one of only 7 successful applications to the one million euro fund.  Doirin Graham, CEO of Clare Local Development Company welcomed the news saying that this much needed funding would secure a Traveller specific initiative. ‘We want to ensure that Travellers are involved at every level of this project and are front and centre in the decision making roles. With our organisations’ support we can lend the institutional and governance guidance to help to get the project up and running and to support it until it is on a solid footing’.

The application itself highlighted the urgent need for a Traveller specific organisation in Clare and where effective methods of participation by the Traveller community in the decisions that affect their lives have not been established. One of the issues for the Traveller community in Clare is accessing funding available for training, mentorships, social enterprises, educational and political advocacy. Without a dedicated organisation there is no entity working with the community to support them to identify these needs and to apply for funding to respond to them.

It is this gap in targeted support that prompted the four collaborating organisations to apply for this fund. It is their explicit aim that over the proposed three years of the scheme the Traveller Community Development Organisation will become fully independent and Traveller –led and develop a strong grassroots voice to address social exclusion, poverty, and to advocate for Traveller’s Human Rights.

On hearing the news, Sarah Clancy of Clare PPN, noted that in recent years “Ireland has seen members of the Traveller community making huge strides in fields of education, literature, sports, music, politics, law and the art and she hopes that this fund will be a stepping stone towards equality for the Traveller community and that it will be able to build on previous work done by Ennis Community Development Project, the Traveller community themselves and other such organisations in Clare”.

It is hoped that the final details of the project will be finalised over the coming weeks and CLDC and their collaborating partners welcome people who would like more information to contact Darina Greene on 0879086561 or dgreene@cldc.ie.

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Clare Local Development Company through its SICAP program aims to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion and equality in Clare through supporting communities and individuals using community development approaches, engagement and collaboration.

Clare PPN is a network of community, voluntary, environmental and social inclusion groups from Clare. Its primary purpose is to facilitate the formal participation by the community sector in Clare County Council’s policy formation structures.

Clare Women’s Network supports and encourages the coming together of women’s groups and individual women in Clare. Its work is guided by women’s equality, inclusion, community development and feminist principles.

The Traveller Health Unit (THU) is underpinned by the social determinants of health that are at the root of Traveller health inequalities. This approach enables a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.