Remarks by President MARY McAleese AT Sligo Leader Partnership Company Thursday 5 November 1998.
Remarks by President MARY McAleese AT Sligo Leader Partnership Company Thursday 5 November 1998.
Firstly, I’d like to thank Sligo Leader Partnership Company for inviting me here this afternoon and to say how happy I am to be in Sligo. It’s no secret that I love visiting the West of Ireland - and there are few places in the West as beautiful as Sligo – beside Roscommon of course!
The Sligo Development Centre is renowned as a hive of activity - as are the outreach centres at Grange, Tubercurry and Ballymoate - not only with the Leader II and Local Development Programmes being administered by your Partnership Company, but also the Programme for Peace and Reconciliation. I know that these programmes – which are vital to the future development of Sligo - represent many varied and exciting challenges - challenges which your staff have met with enthusiasm and dedication, and which they have proven well equipped to meet.
The success of the Local Development Programme - a programme that depends for its very existence on the partnership approach to solving and tackling local economic and social issues – has been well demonstrated. Over the past eleven years, we’ve seen the tremendous success of partnership at National level - both in terms of economic and social development – where the Social Partners have come together in a unique alliance to bring about an economic renaissance that has transformed the country’s profile. The success of the partnership approach at local level has mirrored that a national level – and has been having a profound impact in communities in towns, cities and villages throughout the country.
But of course the partnership approach is not in itself a new concept for Ireland – because in many ways it has been an integral feature of Irish life for neighbour to help neighbour - and friend to help friend - especially at times when an extra pair of hands were needed. Nowadays not only are “willing hands” welcome, but open and creative minds with new ideas, to help and support communities as they come together to harness their strengths and talents for the good of all, such as you find in the parish-level support of local development initiatives. There is a new spirit in Ireland – a self-confidence in our abilities – a “can do” philosophy – which is bringing us to new levels of achievement.
Despite the recent success of our national economy, there are still many in our society who have not benefitted from our changing fortunes in any meaningful or tangible way. Many people, through no fault of their own – through economic or family circumstances – find that they have been left behind - and that it becomes more and more difficult to catch up with the rapid pace of progress.
At Sligo Leader Partnership you have a dedicated team of professionals committed to tackling these problems -strengthening community and rural development activity in Sligo town and county. The problems facing many rural communities in the West of Ireland reflect the demographic shift arising from the changes in agriculture that have been taking place over the last twenty five years - where many areas have suffered the effects of population decline as people moved to towns and cities. While the last census shows a small increase in the population of the West of Ireland - closer inspection reveals that the increase was mainly in larger towns at the expense of rural areas.
That is why Programmes such as Leader II and Local Development are so important - and have made a major difference in Sligo - as they have in other areas. Initiatives like the Whole School Programme, aimed at tackling educational disadvantage - and the Area Allowance Enterprise Scheme, aimed at providing financial security for those setting up small businesses - though quite diverse in nature, have sent one message - that the West, and most definitely Sligo, is awake and fighting back. We have a rising tide and are grateful for it because while it doesn't, contrary, to the theory, lift all boats it does lift a lot more than an ebb tide. But even at the highest tide some boats are still too far up the beach - they need a push - and that is what you are providing - that helping push - without which lives find it hard to get the kick start they need.
I congratulate you at Sligo Leader Partnership Company on your successes to date – and I hope that you will continue with the important work that you are doing – and that you will grow and develop the successful partnership that has served Sligo so well up to now. I thank you for your warm welcome to me today, and I look forward to hearing of your Partnership’s further achievements.