Jack O’Connor selected as Labour’s election candidate Dementia supports New grant for projects with creative flair
TRADE Unionist Jack O’Connor was selected as the Labour candidate for Wicklow at the party’s selection convention last Wednesday evening in the Glenview Hotel.
Following his selection as the party’s General Election candidate, Mr O’Connor said that ‘investment in high quality public services and the provision of decent secure long term jobs’ were ‘the key to a better, fairer future.’
‘Instead of returning to the cynical practice of buying peoples votes with their own money, we should be deploying the revenues of the most rapidly growing economy in Europe towards housing our people and rebuilding our public health, education and childcare services as well as restoring pension provision to our senior citizens and abolishing lower entry rates in the public service.
Mr O’Connor said that Ireland can’t afford to be putting hundreds of millions of euro aside in a rainy day fund when ‘its bucketing down on our public housing, healthcare, education and childcare services’ right now.
‘Parallel with this we must prioritise decent secure long term jobs instead of the growing phenomenon of insecure precarious work, by increasing public investment in scientific research, supporting new companies subject to a quality employment standard, focussing on continuous re-skilling of our workforce for the age of digitalisation and legislating for the right to representation at work for all who wish to avail of it,’ he said.
‘The economic recovery, which is due to the sacrifices the people have made, affords us the unique opportunity to make dramatic progress, without increasing taxation, while simultaneously meeting our commitments under the Paris accords on climate change.
‘The housing waiting list increased by a shocking 39% here last year as against 9% nationally and 32% in Dublin,’ he said. ‘Meanwhile there is no plan for major development of the strategically important ports of Rosslare, Arklow or Wicklow even in the light of the imminence of Brexit.’
Jack O’Connor has been active in the Trade Union and Labour movement all his working life and currently sits on the Executive Council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU). He represents Ireland on the Executive Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation, and on the General Council of the International Trade Union Confederation.
From 2003 until recently, he was President of the country’s largest trade union, SIPTU. WICKLOW Dementia Support are looking for volunteers for their AlzPals befriending service which supports people with dementia who are living at home.
Wicklow Dementia Support is a registered charity which supports people in County Wicklow with dementia and their family carers. They are a voluntary organisation, set up and run locally by a small group of committed activists.
The overall aim is to retain as much independence as possible for those living with dementia and for them to remain in their own homes for as long as possible.
To help achieve these ends, a variety of services have been established by Wicklow Dementia Support, including Carers Support Groups, AlzPals, AlzInfo, and AlzClubs.
Anyone who has a couple of hours a week to spare and who lives in County Wicklow would be welcome to volunteer for AlzPals. Full free training will be provided with Garda vetting reference checks, support and ongoing mentoring.
The closing date for enquiries is Sunday, April 22. Contact (089) 4286928 or send an email to wicklowds@ gmail.com. A NEW grant scheme aiming to nurture creativity and cultural heritage among communities is now seeking applications from not-for-profit organisations, local community groups, arts, heritage and cultural groups, venues and societies.
The Creative Wicklow Grant Scheme 2018 will be used to support projects that foster the aims of the Creative Ireland programme.
The nominal amount of funding to any one project will typically be between €500 and €2,500 and applications received will be assessed based on an agreed selection criterion. The grants will be administered by Wicklow County Council.
Applications by individuals must be in partnership with a community, cultural or heritage group.
Michael Nicholson, Director of Services for Community, Cultural and Social Development, said: ‘Wicklow County Council aims to place creativity and culture at the heart of communities throughout Wicklow, recognising that creativity provides us with a strategy for individual wellbeing, social cohesion and economic success.’
Collaborations between artists and heritage practitioners are encouraged, as are events, activities and projects that ‘Make a Connection’ in line with the theme of European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, and those projects that seek to lay the foundations for longer term engagements.
The closing date for receipt of applications is Thursday, May 31. Posted applications and accompanying additional documentation should be sent to Wicklow Creative Ireland Grant Scheme 2018, Community Social & Cultural Development Section, Wicklow County Council, County Buildings, Wicklow.
Alternatively, a signed version of the application form may be scanned and emailed to creativewicklow@wicklowcoco.ie.
Application forms and guidelines are available on www.wicklow. ie and queries or requests for hard copy application forms can be sent to creativewicklow@wicklowcoco.ie.