Year: 2016

An information meeting on the topic of Positive Moves in Mental Health will take place this Thursday night (22nd September) in Cahersiveen.

For full details please poster below

 

If you are interested in applying for LEADER funding, attached are some key Information Documents to advise and assist you in the process.

project-funding-guidance-document-version-1-5-skdp

Co. Kerry Local Development Strategy

The strategic actions summary document will be available from tomorrow, Wednesday 14th of September

Potential applicants are being advised that there are major changes to the process involved in accessing LEADER funding under the new programme that is due to start in Kerry in October. Both South Kerry Development Partnership Ltd. (SKDP) and North, East & West Kerry Development (NEWKD) will be holding a series of public meetings in the coming weeks to advise those interested in applying for funding of the new requirements. Circa €10m is available under the new LEADER programme in Kerry which represents a 60% drop when compared to the last programme.

SKDP CEO Noel Spillane said that in light of the major budget cuts for Kerry, which are down by some 60%, in addition to a number of other significant changes resulting from government policy decisions, significant changes have been made in the way the LEADER programme will be rolled out in the county this time. “Both the business and the community & voluntary sectors will be affected by these changes and we strongly recommend that as many people as possible attend the upcoming information meetings in order to ensure they are fully informed of the requirements” Noel said. He added that both SKDP and NEWKD will be putting information on the new LEADER programme on their websites in the coming weeks to help people become acquainted with the changes”

Eamonn O’Reilly, CEO of NEWKD pointed out that the LEADER programme will be rolled out on a consistent basis across the county to help minimise confusion for those interested in applying. “One of the major changes under this round of LEADER is that applicants will have to submit projects seeking funding during specific periods or calls which is completely different to the approach taken under the previous programme” Eamonn said. “The approval process under the new round of LEADER is also likely to be significantly longer due to the Government policy changes” he added.

SKDP’s public meetings will be held on Tuesday 13^th in Kenmare (Brook Lane Hotel), Wednesday 14^th in Cahersiveen, (Community Centre) Tuesday 20^th in Killarney (Travel Inn) and Wednesday 21^st in Killorglin (Library Place). All meetings start at 8pm.  Beidh crinniu ar leith sa ceantair na Gaeltachta í gCiarraí Theas í mBaile na Sceilge ar an 4ú Deireadh Fómhair, aris ar a 8 a clog.

NEWKD will hold their meetings in Dingle (Skellig Hotel) on Wednesday 21^st, Listowel (Seanachaí Centre) on Monday 26^th, Castleisland (River Island) on Tuesday 27^th and Tralee (Áras an Phobail) on Monday, 3^rd of October.

Expressions of Interest from applicants will be sought for projects under the headings of Rural Tourism, Enterprise Development, Rural Towns and Basic Services when the programme opens in the county on the 3^rd of October. Full details of the LEADER Programme and its operation will be given to potential applicants and both Development Companies are encouraging people to attend.

 

A LIMITED NUMBER OF Scholarships are now available under The Kingdom Education Trust Fund for students who are engaged in accredited further/third level education courses & who may not be in a position to continue their education because of financial difficulties.

Please see attached poster for additional details Kingdom Trust Fund

Please download the APPLICATION FORM here Kingdom Trust Fund Application Form

Kerry Action Plan for Suicide Prevention 

There are 5 public engagement sessions planned for September.  Please see attached a poster with the relevant details of dates, times and venues of the engagement sessions across Kerry.  These public sessions are very important as we are developing an action plan for suicide prevention for the county so getting the views of an many members of the public is crucial. Full Details of Meetings are available by clicking Kerry CfL Poster

There is also an online survey which people can complete if they are unable to make the public meetings.

This is a direct link to the online survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/kerrypublic

We in South Kerry Skillnet aim to provide the highest levels of training and up-skilling to Companies in the region and the network is currently performing extremely well.

 In order to build on this success for 2017, we need to hear from you as to your training and skills development requirements for the next year. Therefore, I would kindly ask you to provide us with some key information through the following survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6QM39K2 and help us continue to help you.

SKDP are hosting a public information meeting for residence of the Cromane area on Wednesday 7th September at 8.30pm.

For full details please click

CROMANE COMMUNITY MEETING

A “Steps to Success” course aimed at helping people in many areas of their lives is being held this September in Killorglin. For full details please on eligibility for this free course as well as booking details please click on the link:

STEPS TO SUCCESS – Killorglin

The Development Strategy for County Kerry, on which the new LEADER programme for the county is based, is now available for download.

Please click  Co. Kerry Local Development Strategy

The three Local Development Companies (LDCs) in Kerry have acknowledged the signing of the LEADER 2014-2020 contract for Co. Kerry by Minister Humphries, LCDC Chairperson Norma Moriarty and Kerry County Council CEO Moira Murrell last Friday but have pointed out that the programme is still not ready to be rolled out. Minister Humphries signed the contract on 8^th July 2016 and the programme will be implemented in Kerry by NEWKD, SKDP and IRD Duhallow in conjunction with the Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) and Kerry County Council.

Speaking following the signing, the three LDC’s CEOs said that while the contract is now in place, the Department has yet to finalize a number of programme operational issues, meaning that it is unlikely the programme can be launched locally until the autumn. The new programme will also see significant changes in the way the LEADER programme is rolled out in the county in addition to the significantly reduced budget available for applications under the new programme.

Speaking following the contract signing, IRD Duhallow CEO Maura Walsh said that the three implementing partners for the new round of LEADER funding – NEWKD, SKDP and IRD Duhallow – have an extensive track record in successfully delivering rural development programmes for more than 20 years. “We, as community-led organisations, will continue to work with groups in our area to ensure the new programme supports economic, community and environmental development in our three areas” Maura said.

Eamon O’Reilly, CEO of NEWKD cautioned however that while the level of interest from both the business sector and community & voluntary organisations is very strong, unfortunately there is a much reduced budget under the new programme. “Kerry had some €25m in funding available under the last programme while the current allocation for the county is just €10.2m under this new LEADER round” Eamon noted. He said that this will clearly impact on the number of projects that will be able to supported this time around.

In addition to the reduction in funding, there will be significant changes to the application process under the new programme CEO of SKDP Noel Spillane pointed out. “The details of how this will work are still being finalised but the implementing partners in Kerry will continue to engage fully with both the community and business sectors to ensure they are fully aware of the new arrangements for accessing LEADER support” Noel concluded.

Three core themes, Economic Development, Enterprise Development & Job Creation; Social Inclusion and Rural Environment will be targeted under the new programme under which there are a total of nine sub-themes.