More than 100 community sector workers, activists and service users from across County Galway gathered on 6th November in the Raheen Woods Hotel, Athenry, for a major public meeting under the banner “Together, We Are Community”.
The event brought together representatives from a wide range of local organisations to discuss the growing threats to community services, including chronic funding uncertainty and job insecurity, which is leading to an erosion of essential supports that thousands of people across the County depend on.
Speaking after the meeting, Coordinator of Galway Together, We Are Community, and Rural Social Scheme Supervisor, Sean Larkin, said: “The turnout in Athenry shows how strongly people feel about protecting their communities. Workers and organisations are united in calling for an end to short-term funding and insecure employment. Those delivering essential services deserve stability, and the communities they serve deserve certainty about their future.”
The Galway meeting followed a successful gathering in Tralee in October and forms part of a nationwide series of events aimed at building momentum for a coordinated campaign to secure the long-term future of the community sector.
Main contributors speaking from the floor on the night were Fergal Landy, CEO of Family Resource Centres; Deirdre Birmingham and Mairead Closkey of Youth Work Galway; Citizens Information Centre worker, Manus Reid; Early Years Educator, Avril Green; Community Employment Supervisor, Maire Jackman; Blaze Aylmer of the Community Training Centre; and Western Alzheimer’s representative, Sinead Finan.
TDs in attendance included Fianna Fáil’s Albert Dolan, Sinn Féin’s Louis O’Hara, Fine Gael’s Peter Roche and Independent Minister Sean Canney, all of whom signed a pledge on the night to commit to supporting the campaign for better funding for the sector.
SIPTU Organiser and community activist, Clem Shevlin, said the meeting highlighted both the value and vulnerability of the sector. He said: “Community workers are doing extraordinary work under huge pressure supporting families, older people, young people and vulnerable groups, but too many are in precarious jobs and face constant uncertainty about their services’ future. The sector is vital, and it deserves real investment, not short-term fixes.”
Attendees at the meeting pledged to continue building the Together, We Are Community campaign locally and nationally, calling for fair pay, sustainable funding, and long-term government commitments to safeguard the services that sustain communities across Ireland.