Council set up Covid-19 crisis response coordination team

KERRY County Council has established a new body to co-ordinate the response to the Coronavirus crisis.

The newly established COVID-19 ‘Kerry Community Response Advisory Group’ will coordinate how volunteers are managed and targeted to ensure that vulnerable members of the community can avail of all necessary support services over the coming weeks and months.

In addition to Kerry County Council, the

Community Response Advisory Group includes representatives of 14 organisations covering the entire county.

They are the HSE; the gardaí; Kerry Red Cross; Kerry Civil Defence; the Kerry Volunteer Centre; North East and West Kerry Development; South Kerry Development Partnership; IRD Duhallow; Kerry GAA; the Kerry Public Participation Network (which represents around 700 individual community groups across the county); Kerry Age Friendly Network; Local Link Kerry and the Citizens Information Service.

The coordination group was set up under the terms of the National Action Plan on COVID-19, which tasked local authorities and other agencies to work closely with the Department of Community and Rural Development to coordinate the community and volunteering response to the current crisis.

“The new group’s core aim is contributing to the community-wide effort to limit the spread of COVID-19,” said Kerry County Council Communications Officer Owen O’Shea.

“The group wants to harness the energy and generosity of people who have come forward to offer support to people in the community who require assistance and advice,” he said.

“The aim is to ensure that a coordinated, safe and reliable volunteer support network is available to those in need and that people in need of that assistance know who to contact for advice. Its work will complement much of the voluntary work which is already taking place in communities across Kerry,” Mr O’Shea said.

The Advisory Group is currently discussing how best to coordinate an inter-agency volunteer-based service for those in need of support and will announce details of support structures and arrangements in the coming days.