Press release
Minister for Justice Simon Harris updates Government on Cherry Orchard Implementation Board
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Justice Simon Harris today updated Government on the establishment of the Cherry Orchard Implementation Board.
The new Board, chaired by Brendan Foster of Grant Thornton, will implement and coordinate supports for Dublin’s Cherry Orchard community and will report to the Department of Justice.
Minister Harris also announced that the Board and Chair will be supported by a full-time co-ordinator.
Ministers Helen McEntee and James Browne announced the establishment of the COIB in November and Mr Foster, supported by Dublin City Council and the Department of Justice, has been consulting locally to identify the members and supports needed.
The Cherry Orchard Implementation Board will operate along similar lines to the Drogheda Implementation Board, which has been successful in its task of improving safety and wellbeing in Drogheda.
Mr Foster has also been engaging with the Drogheda Implementation Board to identify good practice, as well as with stakeholders across Government, through Dublin City Council, on what is needed for Cherry Orchard.
The COIB will be hosted by Dublin City Council and will include local representatives from relevant agencies including:
Representatives from local Primary Level Education and the Department of Education and a local community representative will also join the Board in due course.
It will focus on coordination and the effective targeting of supports for the Cherry Orchard Community, as well as supporting local organisations, groups and community activists as they work to progress projects and improve safety and wellbeing in the area.
Similar to the Drogheda approach, the independent chair of the COIB will work with government departments and agencies to progress projects and initiatives to improve safety and wellbeing in the community.
Minister Simon Harris said:
“I was pleased to update Cabinet today on the Cherry Orchard Implementation Board. The Board is a positive step forward in supporting the community to be the vibrant and vital residential area the local people deserve.
“Similar to the successful Drogheda Implementation Board, I believe it will provide an example of how we can build stronger, safer communities.
“We are increasingly seeing that communities need specific local responses that include a range of government actors, ranging from health to education, youth service and policing. Community safety requires a whole-of-government response.
“Scenes that unfolded in Cherry Orchard last year were troubling but not reflective of the vast majority of those living and working in the area, and my department is committed to supporting those hard-working people to develop and maintain the strong community, and to ensure nobody lives in fear of criminal or anti-social behaviour.
“Cherry Orchard is a proud, strong Dublin community and I have every confidence that the Board can assist in reinforcing that strength, as is being successfully done in Drogheda.
“I want to thank Brendan Foster for taking on the role as independent Chair and I wish him well in this important work.”
It is intended that membership will be finalised shortly and that the first meeting of the Implementation Board will be held in the coming weeks.
The Implementation Board is intended to build and expand on the work of the Cherry Orchard Development Group through engagement with the local community, stakeholders and providers.
The establishment of the Cherry Orchard Implementation Board is being funded by Dublin City Council, and the Department of Justice through existing resources.
The government has also made a recent number of announcements to support the community in Cherry Orchard.
These include €123,200 to the Equine Centre under the Dormant Accounts Action Plan 2023 which will support Garda Youth Diversion Projects and initiatives to help young people find employment.
In addition, “That’s a Wrap” project from Familibase, which serves Ballyfermot and the surrounding areas was successful under the Community Safety Innovation Fund (CSIF) 2022.
The project will receive over €135,000 to assist with outreach programmes for hard to reach young people.
The Community Safety Innovation Fund was established to reinvest the proceeds of crime seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), into community safety projects.
Budget 2023 increased the funding for the CSIF to €3 million from €2 million.
Information on the initiative in Drogheda can be found on the Drogheda Implementation Board website.