About Galway Rural Development

What area do we cover?

GRD is one of the new Local Area Groups established through the Dept of Rural, Community & Gaeltacht Affairs and covers the east of the county as shown in the map below.

Who are we?

Galway Rural Development Company Ltd. (GRD) was established in July 1994. It is a Partnership of 23 directors, representing statutory agencies, social partners, business, farming, community and voluntary sectors. For details of the current Board Members click here: Galway Rural Development currently has thirty four members of staff, based in Athenry, and out of other locations throughout the county. For details of staff click here.

What do we do ?

GRD administers the Local Development Social Inclusion Programme (SIP), and the Rural Development Programme (RDP). GRD also administers the Rural Social Scheme, the North East Galway Rural Transport Programme, the Salmon Hardship Fund, Homestart and sponsors a Community Employment Special Aid Housing Scheme for the Elderly.

GRD recognises that funding alone will not result in sustainable development, GRD therefore has two roles. a) Developmental support - over the course of the above programmes GRD works to ensure that communities and individuals in the rural areas of County Galway are provided with relevant information, enabled to identify their own local needs and act on these. Through our staff, GRD offers support and guidance to local communities and individuals. This is facilitated through promotion campaigns, public meetings, workshops and seminars. b) Grant aid for specific projects – while the work within GRD is carried out synonymously across both the Social Inclusion Programme and the Rural Development Programme, there are separate guidelines for each.

Eligibility for grant aid varies according to each programme and measures therein. This is outlined in the relevant sections on the different programmes. The company operates across its programmes under three teams.

• Community Development
• Enterprise/Services to the Unemployed
• Education/Training and Youth

Where are we?

The main office of GRD is situated within Mellows Campus, the premises of Teagasc, on the Dublin Road two miles out of Athenry. We can be contacted by telephone on 091 844335, by fax: 091 845465 and by e:mail at grd@grd.ie

The outreach offices for the GRD Mediators are as follows:

Dawna Concannon – Mediation Service Ballinasloe

Unit 4, River View,
Main Street
Ballinasloe,
Tel: 09096 45111
Mob: 087 2312197
Email: dconcannon@grd.ie

Outreach to Portumna & Ballygar

Angela Mahon – Mediation Service Loughrea

Unit 1,Bride Street
Loughrea
Tel: 091 8476111
Mob: 087 6535761
Email: amahon@grd.ie

Outreach to Gort & Woodford

Adrian Feeney – Mediation Service Tuam

c/o Tuam Social Services Office
Tuam
Tel: 093 25616
Mob: 7994407
Email: afeeney@grd.ie

Outreach to Headford, Glenamaddy & Dunmore

The offices for Community Development are as follows:

Breda Coyle - South & East Galway

Unit 1,Bride Street
Loughrea
Tel: 091 847487
Mob: 087 9676758
Email: bcoyle@grd.ie

Outreach for Rural Resource Officer - Frank is outreach to Glinsk, Lawrenstown and Woodford.

Miriam Stewart - North Galway

c/o Irish Wheelchair Association
The Glebe
Tuam
Tel: 093 26211
Mob: 087 4196422
Email: mstewart@grd.ie

Outreach Clinics

Community Development

Community Development is the process of helping people to participate and have a say in their community. To this end, community development works to help communities and groups to look at and assess their situation and get together as a group to influence how decisions are made. Community Development recognises that the ability to participate fully in society applies to some groups and individuals more than others.

The work is broad and is both issue and area based.

Area-based Community Development

GRD is committed to working with community groups and in particular with groups at early stages of development and in the more remote parts of the county. This work is undertaken by local community development officers, who offer a range of supports and guidance such as forming a group, carrying out research on local needs, producing a local development plan, training options, developing projects and sourcing grant aid.

Issue-based Community Development

GRD is committed to working with particular groups and issues that it has identified as priorities through our consultation process. These are traveller and disability issues, women, childcare, rural transport, social housing and other housing issues, youth work, work with the elderly, refugees and asylum seekers. The issues-based workers liaise with other agencies and jointly work to develop a strategy to meet these needs.

The Special Housing Aid for the Elderly Scheme

Galway Rural Devleopment administers the Special Housing Aid for the Elderly Scheme in conjunction with FÁS and the Western Health Board. This initiative enables elderly persons who may not be able to afford to carry out house repairs to get them carried out through this scheme. The scheme operates with two teams based in Connemara and Loughrea, and the participants on the scheme undertake construction skills and health and safety training. Typical work carried out would be general repairs and upgrading such as insulation and the provision of bathroom and toilet facililities.

Enterprise/Services to the Unemployed

Galway Rural Development provides a range of enterprise supports through both the Rural Development Programme (RDP) and the Local Development Social Inclusion Programme (SIP). Support ranges from facilitating small private enterprises and community enterprises to expand and improve their businesses, working with farm families to explore their options, and facilitating long-term unemployed people to explore employment and training options and to become self-employed through the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme.

The GRD Employment Mediation Service

The Employment Mediation Service provides a system of supports to long-term unemployed people and farm families re-entering the labour market. Mediators work with clients on a one-to-one basis, helping them to explore their employment, training, education and personal development options. They offer help with career path development, interview technique training, CV preparation, accessing education and training opportunities available, and accessing potential employment available.

Farm Family Programme

The aim of the Farm Family Programme is to seek to improve the viability and sustainability of farm families in the county and to implement mechanisms to address their needs in partnership with the statutory agencies. GRD will instigate and welcome initiatives from farmers and their families or farmer groups by providing information and support to farm families on the various schemes available, pilot skills training programmes, advice concerning alternative on or off farm enterprises and research around the needs of low-income farm families.

Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme

This is operated through GRD in conjunction with the Department of Social and Family Affairs. The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme is a self-employment support for people in a situation of long-term unemployment. Participants on the scheme receive a reducing scale of social welfare payments over a two-year period, while developing their self employment projects. Other supports offered include training in marketing/promotion, accounts and bookkeeping, individual business advice with a professional mentor, small development grants and guidance on sources of funding.

Enterprise

GRD assists both communities and individuals to explore and develop their business ideas. Development Officers are available to assist community groups to explore social economy projects and business planning advice is available through our enterprise officer. Other supports such as mentoring and training will be undertaken based on identified needs. GRD also offers tailored training programmes to meet the needs of small businesses in areas such as tourism business development and renewable energy.

Education/Training and Youth Education

Training and Youth support takes place within the Local Development Social Inclusion Programme: Community Based Youth Initiatives / It has been proven that early school leaving can perpetuate a cycle of disadvantage for some families, by reducing people’s capacity to reach their full potential in the labour market and in society. GRD’s strategy to combat educational disadvantage in the county focuses on providing additional supports within the school, linking these into the wider community, increasing parental involvement and developing alternatives for those who have already left school prematurely. To date work is focused on the more remote parts of the county such as Ballygar, Ballinasloe, Dunmore, Glenamaddy,Tuam and Woodford,