• Kilkenny County Development Board
• The RAPID (Revitalisation of Areas by Planning Investment and Development) Programme

 

Kilkenny County Development Board

Kilkenny County Development Board (CDB) continues to focus on the co-ordinated and integrated delivery of services in the county. The 30 members of the board come from the Local Authority Sector, Local Development Sector, State Agency Sector and the Social Partners. Its membership is set out below:

Since 2005, one of the board's core functions has been to oversee the delivery of the agreed Review Strategy for Economic, Social and Cultural Development; this review document contained 9 priority actions for implementation.

The Board is cognisant of the key principles underlying the County Development Board model and has actively sought to enshrine these principles in all of its work for the future. These principles include involvement of local communities, social inclusion, participation, and democratic legitimacy, recognition of voluntary effort, participation and process as part of the solution.

In October 2008, the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government distributed guidelines for the review of City and County Development Board Strategies.

The purpose of this review document is to build on the existing review in 2005, to revise and update relevant information and to once again focus on the key priorities and actions for the next three year cycle as well as to examine ways to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of service provision in Kilkenny city and county.

 

Review of CDB Structure 2009-2012

As an outcome of the CDB review in 2005 Kilkenny County Development Board has operated as an integrated board at executive level with 9 action groups and the Social Inclusion Measures sub-group. The board has also operated working groups and steering committees to progress issues that have been identified nationally for the CDB to implement locally.

As part of the review 2009 the board has identified an operating structure to progress new priorities identified; these are:

• The development of Executive as outlined in the Indecon report membership and terms of reference.
• Development of Economic Sub-group as outlined in Circular LG 16/08.

Re-development of Social Inclusion Measures Sub-group-membership and terms of reference.

• The operation of a small number of steering groups/working groups overseeing developmental pieces of work.

 

CDB Structure 2009-2012

 

Prioritised Key Actions 2009/2012

The Rationale

Kilkenny County Development Board has identified six core actions that have the overriding aim of improving the existing co-ordination and delivery of public services at local level. Three prioritised actions will be monitored by SIM Group and three actions monitored by the Economic Sub-group.

There are also a number of actions that have been identified nationally as on-going developmental actions; as well as key actions identified locally that have been identified to continue into the 2009 - 2012 period. It is envisioned that these will continue to be implemented and the associated structures that oversee implementation will remain in place.

It ia hoped that over the next three years, these collaborative priority actions will contribute to an increased strengthening of the effectiveness and efficiency of service provision in Kilkenny

 

The RAPID Programme

Implementing social inclusion measures of the National Development Plan requires actions to be taken at local level. The RAPID (Revitalisation of Areas by Planning Investment and Development) programme provides a mechanism by which Exchequer funding programmes can prioritise investment in 46 of the most disadvantaged urban and provincial areas. Social inclusion issues are also incorporated in the work of local authorities through their Corporate Plans and through their various programme groups, including planning, housing and infrastructural provision.

The RAPID Programme is a focused Government response aimed at helping communities living in areas, which have not fully shared in our recent prosperity. RAPID stands for Revitalising Areas by Planning, Investment and Development. As the name implies RAPID is about prioritising in a coherent, targeted and accelerated way, new and improved services and infrastructural investment to the communities living in RAPID areas. The RAPID process co-ordinated by the Kilkenny Local Authorities in partnership with existing agencies and community groups continues to work towards identifying real needs through community participation

The 2008 - 2013 RAPID plan is a follow up from our Strategic Plan submitted in 2003. The Strategic plan was completed following extensive consultation with the identified RAPID areas in Kilkenny. The new plan focuses on larger scale projects with emphasis on the eastern environs and emphasis on neighbourhood regeneration. The Kilkenny RAPID Strategic plan is a working/flexible document building on existing structures striving to target the most disadvantaged people in the City. The Kilkenny City RAPID Programme plan 2008 - 2013 seeks to build upon the Strategic Plan(2003 - 2006). Being guided by the local communities, the Kilkenny City RAPID Programme will focus on seven strategic themes that are ;

• Community Safety
• Family Supports
• Health
• Youth Support
• Physical Environment
• Education
• Employment and
• Training.

 

Five of these themes have been launched at National Level and locally our sub-groups have been formed. These strategic aims and objectives will form our work plan for the coming years combining new investment projects closely with objectives working towards better service integration and improved customer services for communities of the RAPID Areas. This review is broken down into each theme to provide a clearer view of actions and priorities in each area. All strategic plans when completed will be compiled to form Kilkenny's Rapid strategic plan to 2013.