16/03/2012

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

South Dublin County Council Launches Beginners Guide to Irish Society to Third Country Nationals

The launch by South Dublin County Council of ‘The Republic of Ireland – A Beginners Guide to Society, Culture & Politics’, a handbook for leaders of new communities in Dublin, will take place on Wednesday March 21st at Rua Red, Tallaght.

The handbook, compiled by Dr. Elaine Byrne and Ciara Begley of TCD, has been produced by the project Civic Participation of New Communities through Local Authorities. The project is led by Dublin Employment Pact and the New Communities Partnership, in conjunction with the four Dublin local authorities

South Dublin County Council launched its Integration Forum last November, which consists of representatives of twenty new communities in the county, and this follows the development of similar structures in Dublin City and Fingal County Councils.  The handbook forms the basis for an interactive workshop led by Dr. Elaine Byrne – which will give new community leaders an insight into Ireland; its arts, culture, geography, history, norms and values.  

The project is primarily aimed at developing participative structures for new communities in local authorities, as well as building the capacity of representatives of new communities to actively engage and participate in local authorities as a means to furthering their opportunities for economic, social, civic and political participation.

The Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Cllr. Caitriona Jones, who launched the handbook and the training workshop, said: “A sense of place is a vital component in developing a sense of citizenship and so it is important to encourage citizens of diverse origins to identify with their County and Country.   The workshop which we are providing today will inform and train 20 community leaders from different ethnic groups.   We believe it is very important to recognise the contributions made by non Irish citizens to the creativity, vitality and prosperity of our city. "

The programme is one of a series of actions in a three year plan under which the four Dublin authorities will assist in enabling third-country nationals to establish a foothold in and integrate with Irish society.  It is hoped that the successful implementation of the project in Dublin will pave the way other local authorities nationally to emulate this project,  facilitating local integration and thus reduce the sense of civic exclusion among new communities.

Philip O’Connor, Director, Dublin Employment Pact and manager of the project, said: “We are delighted to have worked with Dr Elaine Byrne of TCD, to help build a superb programme aimed at promoting a greater understanding among new communities of the history, culture and values of Irish society so as to foster a sense of belonging and shared citizenship. 2011 saw a dramatic increase in the number of people naturalised as Irish citizens by 16,000, and this will likely double in 2012. The programme will enable trained Community Leaders to represent the needs of their communities with local authorities in areas as diverse as housing and services, community relations and conflict issues. This launch by South Dublin County Council shows the strong commitment of the Council and the State to successful paths to integration for new communities.”

Dr Elaine Byrne, TCD, who compiled the programme, said: “The full participation of migrants in Irish society is an essential part of a successful integration policy. I’m very proud to have the opportunity to teach about Irish democracy and citizenship, and hope that this will help facilitate greater interaction between migrants and the wider Irish population.”

Leading up to the launch, Issah Huseini, New Communities Partnership, commented: “With Dublin becoming increasingly diverse and multicultural as new immigrants are arriving and contributing to its growth in a variety of ways, this project could not have come at a better time.   We are looking forward to an Ireland where social exclusion becomes a thing of the past and each and every Irish citizen can play a key role within Ireland’s economic, social, civic and political arena.”

If you would like to speak with People involved in the project:

Philip O’Connor, Director Dublin Employment Pact: 087 2768718

Issah Huseini, New Communities Partnership, 087-9073498

Maria Finn, Social Inclusion Officer, South Dublin County Council

Tel: 086 3803060

For Further Information

Valerie Craigie (Craigie Communications)                             086 8210427