Minister Humphreys and Minister O’Brien announce €550,000 in funding for library supports
- Foilsithe: 24 Meitheamh 2024
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 12 Aibreán 2025
- funding to provide a range of public library equipment to support the elderly and people with disabilities
- investment for assistive technology to support people with visual and hearing impairments
- National Open Day to promote Public Library services
Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys and Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development and Charities Joe O’Brien have today announced €550,000 in funding for library supports.
The funding, under the Dormant Accounts Action Plan, will assist public libraries in reaching out to people with disabilities and other marginalised groups.
Funding of €400,000 has been approved to support the provision of assistive technologies such as hearing loops, electronic magnifiers and wayfinding tools. It will also help people with disabilities to access library services by providing wheelchair-accessible shelving, height-adjustable desks and seating.
Further funding of €150,000 has been approved to support the promotion of public libraries through the hosting of an Open Day in all libraries nationwide that will enable them to showcase what they offer to the public.
Announcing the funding, Minister Humphreys said:
“I am delighted today to announce €550,000 in funding to libraries across the country.
"The projects that are being funded under this initiative will create a more welcoming, accessible and engaging library experience for thousands of people. This will put our libraries at the forefront of reaching out to all members of the community in which they serve – this is a key objective of the new library strategy 'The Library is the Place', which I launched last July at the official opening of the new Portlaoise library.
"This funding will make a huge difference to people’s lives by providing equipment to support our elderly people and people with disabilities. It will also build on the excellent projects which have been delivered over the past five years and will help our public libraries to continue to foster community well-being and build community cohesion in their role as community hubs.”
Commenting on the funding, Minister O’Brien said:
“I am delighted that the overall 2024 Dormant Accounts Action Plan will support 52 different measures across the country with a total value of €47.6 million.
"I am particularly pleased that the assistive technology and furniture that will be supported by this funding will make our public library service more accessible to everyone in our communities.
"This equipment will support the hearing and visually impaired communities, the elderly and those with physical disabilities.
"I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute and thank all our library staff, who play such an important role in cities, towns and villages right across the country.”
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 library authority and the full list of projects is available in this document:
Notes
Contact details for all public libraries are available on Librariesireland.ie or local authority websites.
Dormant Accounts Fund
The Dormant Accounts Acts 2001-2012, together with the Unclaimed Life Assurance Policies Act 2003, provide a framework for the administration of unclaimed accounts in credit institutions (that is, banks, building societies and An Post) and unclaimed life assurance policies in insurance undertakings.
The main purpose of the legislation is to reunite account or policy holders with their funds in credit institutions or insurance undertakings and in this regard, these bodies are required to take steps to identify and contact the owners of dormant accounts and unclaimed life assurance policies.
However, in order to utilise the unused funds the legislation also introduced a scheme for the disbursement of funds that are unlikely to be reclaimed from dormant accounts and unclaimed policies for the purposes of measures to assist:
- the personal and social development of persons who are economically or socially disadvantaged
- the educational development of persons who are educationally disadvantaged; or
- persons with a disability
Public libraries work in many ways to assist people in these categories.
In total, 52 different measures, to the value of €47.6 million will be supported under the 2024 Action Plan.
Funding overview
This funding of €550,000 will support the provision of modern equipment in public libraries that improves accessibility for people with a disability and 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, for example: assistive devices and electornic magnifying devices that will enable the visually impaired to use library resources, wheelchair-accessible shelving, customisable workstations and wayfinding.
It will also support the promotion of public libraries through the hosting of an Open Day in all libraries nationwide that will enable them to showcase what they offer to the public.
A table detailing the funding being allocated to each Library Authority for the provision of a range of public library equipment to support people with disabilities and the elderly is included in Appendix 1.
A table detailing the full list of projects is provided in Appendix 2.
Public Library Strategy - ‘The Library is the Place’
The public library strategy, ‘The Library is the Place’, was launched in July 2023 and was developed by the Department of Rural and Community Development in partnership with the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), the County and City Management Association (CCMA) and local authorities. It is a 5-year plan for the period 2023-27 which sets out the strategic context for further investment in library infrastructure, technology, programmes and services. The strategy contains three overarching themes – People, Spaces and Connections. There are 66 strategic actions listed under nine strategic objectives and three enablers. The Strategy aims to build on the achievements of previous strategies in establishing a modern, progressive library service which connects and supports communities and individuals.
The new strategy was informed by a public survey and stakeholder consultation which identified the expansion of a disability friendly approach to services as one of the priority areas to be addressed. Accordingly, the strategy focuses on removing barriers to access and improving accessibility, with a specific focus on communities and individuals at risk of being socially excluded, marginalised or disadvantaged. It commits to Public Libraries improving life opportunities for all and addressing social and health inequality by providing access, free of charge, to information, ideas, collections, and study and community space. A key objective of the Strategy is that public libraries will support disadvantaged and marginalised users and that people who need assistive technologies, literacy resources and sensory equipment will be able to find them at the library.
How to join your library online
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:
- complete the online form at the following address: Librariesireland.ie/join
- you will be assigned a temporary library number and you can set up a library PIN. With those, you'll be able to access all of the online services listed in this document immediately, all completely free of charge
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: Librariesireland.ie/elibrary.