The SPRED organisation based at the back of St Matthews Church moved back into their refurbished building with the help of Ballyfermot RAPID Programme and a grant of €46,000 from the People In Need Trust, €1,500 from the Ballyfermot Environmental Group,€5,000 from the SPRED fund and help from Brian Rochford and Abstract Furnishings.
The old building which was very delapidated got a complete makeover with the work being completed by KPH Developments (Thanks to Ken Hopkins and the lads) and was designed by Gerry Burke, Architect, Dublin City Council.
The refurbishment included a new roof, complete rewiring, disabled toilet, doors, windows, security screens, new kitchen, plumbing, painting, fixtures and fittings.
The new building now provides a positive atmosphere for the activities of the SPRED group led by Sr. Cora McCullagh and includes a revamped band practise room for local bands.
For further information on the SPRED group contact Sr. Cora McCullagh at cherrydom@eircom.net

For information on the band room contact Brian Rochford 087 2460623

The Green Schools Programme in Ballyfermot has gone from strenght to strenght with four Green Schools Flags in the area since April 2008.

The Ballyfermot RAPID Programme fully supports the programme and provided some small assistance to three of the recipients.

However major thanks should go to Helen Burke of the Community Section, Dublin City Council, Christy O’Neill, Housing Manager Ballyfermot Area Office and Mark Doyle and the lads from the Ballyfermot Environmental Impact Group for their invaluable input and assistance.

Finally, well done to ST. Michaels, St. Raphaels, St. Gabriel’s and Kylemore College for their sterling efforts in achieving the Green Schools Status, to the students who did the planting and environment works and to the vision of the four principals in prioritising environmental issues. Well Done to everyone.

Attendees: Local Community groups, Voluntary groups, Residents and Tenants associations

Minutes:          Paula Boylan               Dublin City Council

 (1) Pat Teehan RAPID Co-Ordinator for the Ballyfermot Area welcomed everyone to the meeting.

(2) Kerry Dorrian introduced (as Gailge) IT Forum members to explain how the Ballyfermot RAPID Programme has helped their organisation.   

(3) Monica Giles reports on V-Tech laptop computers received by 18 community playgroups in Ballyfermot and Inchicore outlining positive benefits for children of this initiative, including:

• Over 300 children aged 2 – 5 years now have access to IT equipment.
• Increase in communication skills and IT skills at a young age.
• Learning through play.
• Increase in one to one interaction and group play
• Reduction in language barriers for non-national and special needs children.
Monica also expressed a need for further funding to continue with IT training for teachers and parents to further advance skills in their children.

(4) Joan Connaughton recently appointed It Facilitator for older people in the Ballyfermot Area through funding received through the Ballyfermot RAPID Programme outlined the positive effects of this funding:
• Two year project
• Help older people e-mail etc. to keep up with family abroad.
• Over 400 people trained and more welcome.

(5) Philip Hickey described the website ballyfermot.ie and it’s recent takeover by the Ballyfermot IT Forum Association from Urban. Included on this site are the following:
• Community Directory.
• RAPID Webpage
• Local and National news and much more.
• Nearly 1,000,000 hits this year so far.
Ballyfermot IT Forum have 500 free e-mail accounts to give away in October with all those receiving one entered in a draw for a weekend away with Best Western Hotels in November.
   
(6) Mary Daly principal of St. Dominic’s Secondary School detailed the White Board                                                    initiative that received funding through the RAPID programme.
• 7 schools received interactive whiteboards.
• Advancing IT skills for students and teachers.
Mary also requested funding for Interactive whiteboards for the other 7 schools in the Ballyfermot area.

Prizes were also presented to Orla Lambe and Kerry Dorrian fifth year students of St. Dominic’s Secondary School who came first and second respectively in the competition to design a logo for the Ballyfermot IT Forum. Orla received top prize of a laptop computer and Kerry received an Ipod MP3 player.

(7) Catherine Lane from St. John of God Services explained the leisure activities and garden for retired people with special needs.
• Outdoor garden helps build self-esteem in the participants.
• Encourages mixing with the local playgroup and school children.
• Received funds through RAPID programme for indoor garden to make this a year round activity.

(8) West Dublin Access Radio representative outlined the work done in the local community, and detailed the projects that have received funding through the RAPID programme.
• Located on 96fm, covering Ballyfermot, Inchicore, Clondalkin, Chapelizod and Bluebell.
• 6 fulltime and 2 part-time staff.
• Funding of €31k received to soundproof studio and extend hours (12.45pm to 8.15pm at moment)
• Funding of €49k received to purchase and equip an outside broadcasting unit.
• Providing access to those who don’t get covered by mainstream radio such as teenagers, older people, people with special needs etc.
• Over 100 volunteers from 7years of age to over 80 years.
• Irish language promotion.

(9) Pat Teehan gave a brief presentation on RAPID programme – Revitalising the Area through Planning, Investment and Development along with a rundown of projects for 2006 and projects planned in 2007. Over 50 community projects in the Ballyfermot Area have been the beneficiaries of more than €4 million in departmental funding streams to date with the assistance of the Ballyfermot RAPID Area Programme.

(10) Minister Ó Cuív thanked all who attended and congratulated competition winners.  Acknowledged the huge progress made in the Ballyfermot Area since RAPID status received.  Acknowledge questions received previously regarding funding and discussed the increase in the quality of life RAPID funding had brought people using the projects concerned.  Thanked Co-Ordinator and Interim Area Implementation Team for work done and emphasised the importance of community involvement in development and in expanding the range of services that will facilitate change into the future.  Requested community participation for new ideas to move forward and to interact to mould the RAPID programme to the needs of the community. 

(11) Question and Answer session.

Question 1:

Teresa McGouran – Ballyfermot Partnership Board member
Why if a member of the Oireachtas can run as many times as they want can a member of partnership board only serve three years and then must step down for one year?

Minister reply – After consultation and discussion with PLANET the governing body for Partnership it was agreed and signed off to implement this change – The matter will be noted and looked into.
 Question 2:

Réalta Beag at Ballyfermot Star as part of the Ballyfermot Childcare Network raised question regarding the new subvention scheme for Childcare facilities and the level of impact this will have on working parents on low income.  Also raised was the situation were a new child care facility is ready to open but cannot be due to lack of funding for staff meaning 30 child places are missing from the community.

Minister Reply – Theses changes are from 1st January 2008 and there will be a six month adjustment phase.  The funding has not changed, only the method it is distributed meaning that it will work in favour of the more disadvantaged.  Minister Brendan Smith has been looking at this and will take points on board.
Question 3:

Patrick Akboveta from Generation Next Youth group asked whether a scheme for financial assistance for smaller projects without a large support network or Ethos could be made accessible.

Minister Reply – Under the RAPID programme grant procedures for requests under €10,000 have changed significantly and have been made easier to attain by smaller groups.  He also stated that change was underway to make the application process equivalent to the amounts requested but stressed the importance of accountability in all of these schemes. 
Question 4:

Sean Ardagh TD – Are there any opportunities that are not being explored to the same extent in Ballyfermot as in other areas? 

Minister Reply – Nothing came to mind that hasn’t been accessed but did state that planning ahead is important and to presume that money will be coming for projects and to keep pushing forward.

Sean Ardagh TD also offered to arrange a meeting between the Childcare Network and Brendan Smith to address their concerns.

The meeting concluded with Pat Teehan thanking Minister Ó Cuív for his time and support for the Ballyfermot RAPID Area Programme. He then invited the Minister and all present to avail of light refreshments. The Minister used this opportunity to meet with individual members of the community including the Ballyfermot Heritage Group who presented him with a book on the history of Ballyfermot written by local Ken Larkin and presented by Henry Harding and members of the group. He also received an assessment of the REALT BEAG project run by the Ballyfermot STAR with a request for funding to open the project.

The opening ceremony was performed by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr Eibhlin Byrne who paid tribute to the huge amount of work that the centre has performed in the community in the past. She also paid tribute to the managers and workers of the project past and present including St Bridget, St. Bernadette and the current manager Marie Delaney.
The centre now boasts of large meeting rooms, new kitchen, state of the art computer room and smaller more intimate meeting rooms for counsellins etc.
Cllr Vincent Jackson also presented ECDL certificates on the day to those who had recently completed the course.
Monica Murphy, Dublin City Councils Social Inclusion Manager with Dolores James and George Ryan of the Ballyfermot IT Forum presented two new laptops to the winners of the Ballyfermot.ie Bloggers competition.

The extension, jointly funded through the RAPID Additionality Fund, the Family Support Agency (Department of Social & Family Affairs), Dublin City Council Community Development Section, Older Persons Unit and local Ballyfermot Office and other funding donations cost well over €350,000 will provide even more services to the community of Cherry Orchard and is a vital component in the social structure of the area.

St Matthews Family Resource Centre on Drumfinn Avenue opened the doors of the newly extended and refurbished centre earlier 2008. Costing over €180,000 the centre will now cater for more people with new programmes and activities.

The refurbishment extended the centre at the rear, redesigned and extended the playroom, provided new toilets, rewired where required and provided the fixtures and fitting needed.

Ballyfermot RAPID assisted in obtaining the required funding and in finding additional  resources to make this project happen. Thanks to Gerry Burke, Architect Dublin City Council, Community Development Dublin City Council and KPH Developments for the assistance.

Also thanks to Mary Poland and Marie Hartigan for the tea, cakes and inspiration to do the job.

Children in Dublin are set for an enhanced learning experience as Vtech, the Ballyfermot RAPID Programme, the Ballyfermot IT Forum, and Dublin City Council have joined forces to provide teachers with a learning aid which will excite and interest children across 18 pre-schools in Dublin.

This unique project brings together a group of organisations who have been able to address an identified need in the area. Technology has become such a major part of life in recent years that every opportunity must be taken to introduce children to this technology in a non-threatening way. The earlier this introduction takes place the greater the educational opportunities for these young people as the fear of technology in the school environment is dispelled. In pre-school, the emphasis is on fun in education and Vtech provides fun educational technology, therefore the partnership between the two seems ideal.

On the 16^th January 2007 The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr. Vincent Jackson, presented the Ballyfermot/Inchicore Playgroup Federation with a total of 36 VTech laptops to be used in 18 pre-schools in the areas. The Community Development Section of Dublin City Council will also present a cheque for €5,000 to the Ballyfermot IT Forum, which will be used to provide essential managerial support to the initiative.

When discussing the scheme the Lord Mayor of Dublin stated, “children must be challenged from an early age, but this challenging must be done through varying means and must be fun so that children will stay engaged. This is a new departure for pre-school education and will, having assessed the technology and learning tools available from Vtech, prove very beneficial to the children, increase their education potential and ensure that pre-school education contains sufficient fun and challenges for their stimulation.”

Having pioneered the category of Electronic Learning Computers, VTech’s wide range of laptops and desktops offer the best in quality, content and value. VTech computers are pre loaded with age appropriate learning activities covering a variety of subjects including English, maths and science. The curriculum is cleverly woven into challenging games that kids love to play and master. There are many special features including stereo sound, foreign languages, typing tutors and logic games that make learning fun. Training has been provided to the teachers and helpers in the preschools on the technology and its application in the preschool format. The Ballyfermot IT Forum Association specifically designed this training. Through the Ballyfermot RAPID/ IT Forum’s initiative it is hoped that the VTech Laptops will provide teachers with a more diverse learning tool to help encourage and motivate children to develop their learning.

The Ballyfermot IT Forum is a voluntary non-profit, non-sectarian, non-political, not for profit organisation. Their aim is to enable every resident in Ballyfermot to have awareness and affordable access to information technology to enrich the quality of their lives and to seize life opportunities. Pat Teehan, RAPID Co-Ordinator comments, “We are delighted that VTech have agreed to help us with this project. The Laptops VTech are providing will, I believe, make a difference to the learning experience of hundreds of Pre-Primary School children in the Ballyfermot/Inchicore area. The general ethos of the company and the quality of their products is something we are proud to be associated with and we are grateful for their generous contribution to this project. This project shows what can be achieved when groups and organisations get together and combine resources. This integration of services is a fundamental tenet of the Ballyfermot RAPID Programme”

VTech believe that the age appropriate curriculum utilised in all of their products will be a benefit in the classroom. Managing Director of VTech, Andrew Dickson comments that, “The Challenger Laptop which is being provided has the potential to make a real difference to children who are struggling more with certain aspects of the curriculum, e.g. if the child struggles with fractions the laptop will focus on fractions but deliver the questions in a fun and engaging way. The Ballyfermot IT Forum is doing an important job for the community and we are extremely pleased to be supporting such a great initiative.”

We had a very successful holistic day on the 16^th May 2008 with a great response from the users of the centre and local residents. Approximately 200 people attended on the day.

There were 7 therapists offering: Reflexology, Iridology, Acupuncture, Facials, Angle Card Readings and Beauty Treatments.

The treatments were free of charge due to a grant from RAPID

We also turned one room into a little café with homemade bread jams and cakes and fresh sandwiches available.

The success of the day can be measured by the fact we are constantly being asked to repeat it.

Thanks also to John Egan, Dublin City Council for his invaluable support.

Family Resource Centre in memory of Paddy Harmon who died recently. Paddy spent many years volunteering his services to the centre and to Ballyfermot.

The Uaisle Retirement Group, Ballyfermot RAPID Programme, The Ballyfermot Resource Centre and the Ballyfermot Environmental Impact Group all came together to honour Paddy and to ensure that all visitors to the centre never forget the work and dedication of this great man

 Convent Lawns and Bridgeview benefitted from the RAPID Programme with new playgrounds in each area. Dublin City Councils came up trumps with additional funding for both playgrounds including  security railings. PlayZone is the Convent Lawns Playground and Happy Days is the Bridgeview   Playground. The children of each area named their playgrounds and the RAPID Programme is very proud of the work accomplished. The playgrounds were designed and installed by GoPlay with the funding from the HSE RAPID Leverage Fund. The playgrounds provide a safe secure environment in which children can play. The equipment comprises of solo play items, group play items and items designed for children with disabilities and have passed the most stringent safety guidelines.