COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, June 13, 2011

MOTION NO. 15

MOTION: Councillor C. Jones

That this Council will produce a booklet (email and hardcopy) for Residents Associations and Community Groups in order to guide them in getting established and while navigating Council services and funding.

REPORT:

The Community Services Department provides a range of services to meet the needs of community organisations. The provision of funding/grant aid to community groups is outlined in the Community Grants Booklet .The booklet is available in either hard copy or electronic format.  To date almost 2,000 copies have been distributed.

 The Community teams provide hands on support and advice mainly through meeting and assisting fledgling groups in getting started. The CONNECT website along with the Council's own  web site provide links and information on all of the council's services. 

In addition, the Council's Housing Department  Estate Management Team provides a comprehensive range of services to residents and community and estate management associations across the County.

While a booklets such as the one suggested can be very useful, they can often have a relatively short useful life span because contact details and programmes change periodically and the booklet becomes outdated, which can prove frustrating for users. It has also been our experience that people prefer the direct human contact with Council staff or through social media.   However, the suggestion will be considered and discussed to see if there is value in producing such a booklet.