Address by Cllr.Bill Tormey.
I am delighted to be representing the Lord Mayor of Dublin at this very special occasion. Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Pat Carey TD, Ms. Julia Carmichael TD and Councilor Dessie Ellis and also Comhairle representatives, Community Information Centre (CIC) volunteers, Dublin North West Citizens Information Service and community and statutory organisations.
It was actually 31 years ago when the seeds were sown to establish an information centre in the area. That decision was made by the North Glasnevin Community Council in 1974. The following year on July 8 1975 in a ceremony in the Burlington Hotel, Brendan Corish TD Minister for Health, presented certificates of registration to 25 Community Information Centres as they were called. This was the beginning of a fine tradition of information provision that has blossomed in Ireland throughout the past 30 years.
Ballymun has been fortunate to have an extremely dedicated group of volunteers who have served the community with absolute commitment over the years. This dedication to the people of Ballymun is not a passive activity, as the volunteers have had to keep abreast of new legislation and budgetary changes on an ongoing basis. Training is a key component to the successful delivery of an information service and the volunteers have undertaken all necessary training in their own time. All in all the nine volunteers here today have accumulated over 116 years of voluntary service between them — this is indeed a very commendable record!
Another distinctive aspect is the relationship the CIC has with Dublin City Council & library service through its location in Ballymun library. The library staff deserves special mention as they have facilitated the CIC for many years. Linda Jones negotiated the admission of the CIC into the library and Patricia Scanlon actually became an organiser for the CIC.
Ballymun has witnessed substantial positive change in recent times. Change has also been part of the experience of information provision in Ireland with the establishment of Comhairle in 2,000. Comhairle funds and supports the integrated network of 42 citizens’ information Centres throughout the country. During the past 10 years since the establishment of the fulltime CIC in Portlaoise, the total funding to citizens information has been in the region of €30 million — an affirmative indication of the state’s commitment to the provision on a confidential basis of a free, impartial information on entitlements to civil and social services.
In January 2004 as part of Comhairle’s policy of promoting the consolidation of key and local Centres into Citizens Information Service (C IS), Dublin North West CIS was established incorporating the three areas of Ballymun, Cabra and Finglas. Dublin North West CIS operates under the auspices of the Fingal ICTU Centre for the Unemployed and has 9 outreach Centres throughout the three districts. In January of this year Ballymun CIC became part of Dublin North West CIS thus completing its journey from July 1975 to the present day.
We congratulate and commend the volunteers of Ballymun CIC —both past and present. Their spirit of voluntarism is alive and well in Ballymun as they continue to provide the community with impartial and independent advice. Their vision, inspiration and determination have been hugely beneficial to the people of this area over the past 30 years. Happy 30th birthday.
This page was updated on 18th August, 2005