• 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.

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.

 

Review of CDB Structure 2009-2012

Since 2005, the board's core functions have been to oversee the delivery of agreed prioritised actions over a three year period. The board has implemented 9 key actions since 2005 and has reprioritised core actions as part of the 2009 review. The operating structure of the County Development Board for 2009 to 2012 has been simplified to progress new priorities as follows:

• The development of Executive as outlined in the Indecon report
• Development of Economic Sub-group
• Re-development of Social Inclusion Measures Sub-group

 

The Board also operates a small number of developmental action groups to ensure implementation of actions in the following areas:

• The RAPID Programme
• The Interagency Traveller Group
• The Education Disadvantage Action Group
• The Kilkenny/Sudanese Resettlement Programme (UNHCR)
• The Kilkenny Interagency Play Forum

 

The Board were proud that the Kilkenny Resettlement Programme were included in the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government's Good Practice Exchange between CDB's and between CDB's and Statutory Agencies in 2009.

The County Development Board and its subgroups and action groups continue to be supported by the Directorate and staff from the Community and Enterprise Section with new support for the Economic sub-group coming from the Director of Finance.

One of the key changes for Kilkenny County Development Board has been the change of Director of Services with responsibility for Community and Enterprise. The change and challenges brought about by a new economic and political climate has not decreased the Kilkenny County Development Board's initiative to continue to work to increase levels of collaboration in the delivery of actions that will provide for an enhanced level of service provision across the county.

 

CDB Structure 2009-2012

 

 

The RAPID Programme

Implementing the 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 funding programmes can be prioritised in the most disadvantaged urban and provincial areas. The RAPID Area Implementation Team in Kilkenny is made up of all agencies with a social inclusion remit. Each agency has a responsibility to engage with RAPID Communities and prioritise these areas and these communities in work and implementation plans locally.

The underlying principles of all RAPID Priorities include;

• Better Service delivery ~ to improve service delivery and filling the gaps identified in existing service provision.
• Community Participation ~ to involve the communities in development of all plans and all actions.
• Service integration ~ to improve the co-ordination of services to service users ~ to identify existing services and how they can best interlink.
• New Investment ~ to identify new projects and funding for projects based on local need.
• Leadership ~ each theme has have an agency  that takes a lead role in implementing the plan through the chairing of this specific sub-group.

 

Kilkenny City RAPID Programme is focused on seven strategic themes that are ;

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

 

The 2008 - 2013 RAPID plan is divided into projects under the above themes with different agencies leading individual projects. 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 Kilkenny.

2009 saw the completion of three major capital investment Local Authority driven actions;

• Multi Use Games area installation at Bishop Demense.
• Loughboy Estate Enhancement Seating and landscaping.
• Happe House (community house at Hebron Park) refurbishment.