Minister Ahern lauds Muintir na Tíre
The Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Mr. Dermot Ahern, T.D., paid tribute to the work of the Tipperary Community Safety Project during a recent visit to Tipperary Town.
The Minister visited the offices and site of the Muintir na Tre project and was also taken to see the work that had been completed by the project at the home of Paddy and Mary Leahy on the Bansha Road in the town.
The Minister was met on his arrival by Martin Quinn, National President of Muintir na Tre who briefed the Minister on the progress of the project since its launch over a year ago.
Mr. Quinn said that when the project was launched it had a Supervisor and six workers employed on a FS Community Employment Scheme and it began by carrying out small scale repairs to the homes of Older and Vulnerable people in the West Tipperary area.
The works consisted of painting, repairs, general maintenance, heating, bathroom and kitchen works. The subsequent demand for services led to a request to FS for an increase in staff numbers and the project now employs a Supervisor and 17 programme workers.
Mr. Quinn went on to say that late last year the project identified that South Tipperary was not being adequately catered for under the SEAI Warmer Homes Low Income Housing Programme of attic and cavity wall insulation works. A business plan was therefore submitted by Muintir na Tre to SEAI to provide this service in South Tipperary. The application was deemed successful and works under the programme have commenced with the aim of having 135 houses completed by the end of November 2010.
The Minister responded by saying that he had been delighted to launch the project last year and that he was very pleased to return and to see at first hand the marvelous work that had been completed to date. Minister Ahern went on to say that this initiative could and should be replicated throughout the country and he congratulated Muintir na Tre for 'leading the way' in such a pro-active and positive manner.
He thanked Paddy and Mary Leahy for inviting him into their home and for allowing him to inspect the works, and he said that the work completed was to the highest standards and a credit to the project.
The Minister said that the delivery of the Warmer Homes programme would make a huge difference to many homes in South Tipperary. He said that around 60,000 Irish households are estimated to live in persistent fuel poverty and a further 160,000 or so experience intermittent fuel poverty.
Minister Ahern said that SEAI's Low Income Housing Programme was set up to help establish and implement a national plan of action to systematically address the problem of fuel poverty and he was very pleased that Muintir na Tre was now rolling out the Warmer Homes Programme in South Tipperary.
A power point presentation was delivered by Project Supervisor, Brian Ryan and by Project Assessor, Philip McLoughlin. The presentations outlined the work of the project to date and detailed the roll out of the Warmer Homes Project to all of South Tipperary.
The Minister responded by congratulating Muintir na Tre and the Tipperary Community Safety Project on its work to date and said that he looked forward to returning at a future date to review further progress.
Before he departed the National President of Muintir na Tre, Martin Quinn thanked the Minister for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit the project. Mr. Quinn acknowledged the support of the Minister and his Department for the Community Alert Programme, which is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year, and said that the programme would not be sustainable without this necessary support.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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