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Introduction From Our Interim Executive Director It’s almost impossible to look back at 2019 without recognising how much life has changed since then. At the time of writing this message, the COVID-19 pandemic had taken a hold of the country and the world. In line with the Irish government restrictions imposed in March 2020, the staff of Léargas and NCGE were no longer able to travel into the office. Fortunately, our business continuity plan facilitated the continued operation of the organisation, which enabled staff to continue to work remotely from home. The health, safety and the well-being of our staff has always been a priority for Léargas but never more so than in dealing with this crisis. At this time we are making preparations to facilitate a return to the office environment, albeit a staged return with staff capacity recommendations being strictly observed. Communication, both internal and external, on all planning and developments has been at the forefront of managing our way through this difficult time. The staff of Léargas and NCGE have worked together commendably during this period of uncertainty, and it has been a true testament to the strong cultures of both organisations. Another significant event at the time of writing this message, was the retirement of Jim Mullin at the beginning of April 2020. Jim led the organisation through continued growth and change during his 29 years of leadership. We all owe him a huge debt of gratitude. Unfortunately, we were unable to properly acknowledge and celebrate his achievements at the time of his departure. We very much hope to have an opportunity to do this in the very near future. This 2019 Annual Report then represents the last year under Jim’s stewardship, as well as the penultimate year of the seven year Erasmus+ funding cycle. We continued to build on our strategy to provide a supportive service to people in Ireland who wish to take part in our programmes. We continued to promote our programmes and create increasing visibility through our online campaigns, networking and a wide variety of events.
