Chairperson’s Address

As I approach completion of my term as Chair of IRD Duhallow I have great pleasure in presenting my final Annual Address as Chairman. The Board leads and oversees the company ’ s activities during the year, which are set out in this Progress Report.

The Board sets the tone and shared values for the way in which the company operates and recognises the importance of culture to our success. During 2021, the Board continued to assess and monitor our culture to ensure that it is aligned with our region, strategy, and values.

Our Values are stated boldly as Courageous, Innovative, Responsive, Caring, Driven and Trusted; were confirmed by our Board at its annual strategic review and position and guide the company at all levels.

As Chairperson, I am satisfied that the appropriate controls exist and are managed effectively to meet the governance requirements of the Charities Regulator. As a company our Board and senior staff sign up to the Ethics in Public Office standards. To this end I want to thank, my fellow Directors and Vice-Chairperson Michael Twohig, who also chairs our Finance Committee for his support and financial oversight and our Auditors Westboro and Partners, represented by Mary Power and Deirdre Bardsley McGee.

Since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Board has focused on managing the impact of the pandemic on all communities and has overseen the company ’ s response by providing critical guidance and support to our management and staff. Physical Board meetings were not possible during the height of COVID-19 related restrictions but resumed in the latter part of 2021 as these restrictions were eased. I want to thank my fellow directors who embraced the new technology of virtual meetings and had to overcome and circumvent connectivity issues in all manner of ways and thank our staff for facilitating and supporting our Board and Working Group meetings.

The ongoing impact on of COVID on people and communities, young and old, is still emerging, especially the impact on confidence, anxiety, and mental health of the restrictions of social contact, unemployment, remote working, separation from family and friends, and isolation. We have partnered with the HSE and employed a Rural Mental Health Worker who has joined our Social Inclusion team to assist us in addressing these issues over the next three years.

The board acknowledges the work of management and staff from all parts of the company in addressing the challenges of Covid and responding quickly with innovative and targeted interventions from designing and making masks for frontline workers in our Revamp Project to a wide range of community and individual supports like upscaling our meals on wheels deliveries, including creches to providing and expanding our Afterschools service to support frontline workers, expanding our Friendly Phone Call service, carrying out Care and Repair Work and implementing a Community Food Initiative. The LEADER funded Local Walks developed across Duhallow were a lifeline for those affected by travel restrictions giving them safe walking and exercise facilities. All the while the other work of the company continued apace with all our staff in work each day.

One of the lessons from COVID-19 is the greater reliance placed on internet connectivity for many essential areas, including work, education, accessing public services, banking, and healthcare. The lack of or poor level of connectivity in much of Duhallow is still a cause for concern as is the poor level of mobile phone service.

2021 saw the Board able to resume its off-site, externally facilitated annual Strategic Planning, which shaped and pointed the way for a refreshed strategy which will evolve over the coming year with stakeholder engagement and community engagement. We followed up with an inhouse mid-year review with our external facilitator, where Governance including succession planning was identified and followed by reviews by the Chairman and CEO which will draw up succession plans for the Board and its Committees on an ongoing basis to ensure an orderly refreshment of membership, considering our strategy, values, the challenges, and opportunities facing the region and the company and the representation, skills, knowledge and experience required. I want to thank the chairs of the Working Groups that have already undergone this process and implemented changes.

Board rotation this year has seen Annette O Mahony North-eastern Duhallow Community Rep and Sean Wallace Macra na Feirme Rep retired from the Board after excellent service to the company. I am delighted to welcome Amanda O Sullivan, Banteer Branch Chairman as Macra na Feirme Rep and Paul Murphy, Newmarket Sports and Leisure as North-Eastern Duhallow Rep. I want to congratulate Margaret McSweeney and John Lyons of the Mid Cork Region on their re-appointments to the Board for a second term.

Of course, the single biggest issue we as a Board have identified this year, has been the impact of Ukrainian Crisis and the establishment of two major hubs in Duhallow accommodating over 600 displaced people. Our Equality Disability and Migrants Working Group Chair, Pat Brosnan and Director, Geraldine O’Leary Community Representative from Millstreet have shown hands on leadership and support.

The pace at which the company moved from the reaction phase to response proved once again our agility, with over three decades of experience in dealing with unpredicted situations using local knowledge, our standing in the community and the principles of rural community development. We are represented on both Cork and Kerry Ukrainian Response Teams headed by the respective County Council CEO’ s

IRD Duhallow ’ s ability to recruit, hire and retain the best talent from a diverse mix of gender and background, with the skills and experiences to drive innovative thinking to enable sustainable rural and community development is dependent on the level of funding available to the company from the core programmes we implement on behalf of government and the EU. Our HR committee, chaired by Anne Maria Bourke has done an excellent job in difficult financial circumstances over the past year and I want to thank her and the HR working Group members. We are pleased to have achieved the Gold Standard NSAI Excellence through People Award again this year.

IRD Duhallow is widely recognised as having a high-performance culture. I want to acknowledge and thank our CEO Maura Walsh and her management team and staff for their continued hard work, dedication, and professionalism. The commitment they have shown, driven by their passion for the community and loyalty to the company, that motivates them to go far beyond the call of duty, I have yet to encounter in any other organisation or body in all my years in both private and public service.

I must acknowledge the support we get from Government Departments and Public Bodies and Agencies. The programmes we deliver are funded by the Departments of Rural and Community Development; Employment Affairs and Social Protection; Children and Youth Affairs; Agriculture Food and the Marine; Communications, Climate Action and Environment; Housing and Local Government; Justice and Equality; Education and Skills; as well as the HSE; Cork and Kerry Education and Training Boards; SEAI; Pobal; The Dormant Accounts Funds; Skillnet, Ireland; Túsla, National Parks and Wildlife Service, LAWPRO, Kerry County Council CEO, Cork County Council CEO.

I would like to thank all the staff and management of IRD Duhallow for their outstanding efforts during a period of significant change and uncertainty associated with COVID-19 and the current Ukrainian humanitarian crisis. Thank you to my fellow Directors past and present for your commitment to IRD Duhallow and dedication to the wider Duhallow region. IRD Duhallow remains strong and relevant, responsive, and agile with a successful past, strong reputation, and a firm view on the future.

Breeda Moynihan Cronin

CHAIRPERSON