From Department of Rural and Community Development
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Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, and Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development and Charities, Joe O’Brien TD, have today announced €650,000 in funding for library supports.
The funding, under the Dormant Accounts Action Plan, is designed to assist libraries in reaching out to older people, the unemployed and other marginalised, socially excluded and disadvantaged groups.
Announcing the funding, Minister Humphreys said:
“I am delighted today to be allocating €650,000 in this funding to libraries across the country.
“Our libraries have responded magnificently to the challenges presented by the pandemic and continued to provide services throughout the past 16 months.
“This funding will help them to reach out and engage further with the communities they serve.
“The kind of programmes being funded through this initiative will benefits thousands of library users, young and old.”
Commenting on the funding, Minister O’Brien said:
“I am delighted to approve these projects under the 2021 Dormant Accounts Action Plan. The projects are diverse in nature and target a multiplicity of groups including Travellers, New Irish, residents of Direct Provision Centres, the elderly who have experienced isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is also funding for groups working to provide autism supports, working with hearing and visually impaired communities, and people with learning differences such as dyslexia. This funding package will build on the excellent projects which were delivered last year and also helps our public libraries to foster community well-being and build community cohesion in their role as community hubs.”
The funding will provide:
Minister O’Brien added:
“I am particularly pleased that this funding supports the installation of equipment in public libraries which will improve accessibility for people with a disability, sensory needs, autism, and older members of our community. Our public libraries are welcoming and inclusive spaces and it is important that everybody can avail of the services that they provide.”
The Ministers also thanked the local authorities and the library staff for their ongoing commitment and support to the public library service.
Details of the allocation per county is set out in Appendix 1: here.
Contact details for all public libraries are available on https://www.librariesireland.ie/ or local authority websites.
This measure will support the provision of modern equipment in public libraries that improves accessibility for people with a disability and those with sensory needs, autism, or older members of our community. It includes Assistive Technology which is equipment that can help a person with a disability perform activities that might not otherwise be possible. Assistive products maintain or improve an individual’s functioning and independence, thereby promoting their well-being e.g. assistive devices and headphones that will enable the visually impaired to use library resources, wheelchair-accessible shelving, customizable workstations, and wayfinding etc.
Library membership is completely free of charge for everyone in every public library in the country. If you are not yet a library member, you can join now by following the instructions below:
If you are having trouble joining online, you can contact your library by phone
or email. You can also email info@librariesireland.ie for assistance.
If you are already a library member, you can access all of the online services shown in this document by following the instructions provided for each one. These can be accessed at this address: https://www.librariesireland.ie/elibrary
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