€10m fund to support communities

A €10 MILLION funding pot will be provided to help communities during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was announced yesterday.

The money will be targeted at organisations that have seen their trading and fundraising income drop significantly as a result of the health emergency.

The new funding was announced by Social Protection Minsiter Heather Humphreys, Public Expenditure Minister Michael Mcgrath and Green Party junior minister Joe O’brien.

Minister Humphreys said: “Our community and voluntary groups, as well as our charities and social enterprises, have played a crucial role during the pandemic.

“Many of these groups are now struggling financially due to for example a significant drop in income through fundraising.

“That’s why Government has decided to step in and provide this €10 million fund.”

The €10 million was agreed as part of the Government’s Resilience and Recovery Plan.

Minister Humphreys said she intends to make a further announcement in the coming weeks in relation to the application process.

A QUIET area of Cork became a horror scene yesterday following a suspected murder.

The deaths of brothers Paddy and Willie Hennessy at the hands of their sibling Johnny have left the country in a state of shock.

Early reports indicate a dispute about land may have been the cause of the argument that ultimately led to the bloodbath.

We may never know exactly what unfolded but we do know three men are now dead and, regardless of the circumstances, nobody should have died.

Lockdown has been exceptionally hard on people but even more difficult on those who live rurally and have to travel outside their 5km to even pick up a pint of milk.

The deaths are all the more chilling as they have macabre echoes of another bloody family dispute on a family farm.

It was only last October when the O’sullivan family from Kanturk made headlines in a similar “murder-suicide” that saw brothers Diarmuid and Mark and their father Tadg dying.

Tensions can flare when people are spending so much time together but it is important to remember all of the resources available for people to get help.

Family disputes are as old as time but it’s how we resolve our differences that count. Get divisive issues out in the open, don’t bottle them up and let resentment curdle into hate.