by Gillian McVeigh

A DELEGATION of councillors from both sides of the border, along with a group of people dedicated to resolving issues affecting the lives of men living in social exclusion in the border area, travelled to the Dáil last week to present a paper to nine cross-party representatives.

The cross-border Social Inclusion Group was welcomed by Minister Brendan Smith and Seymour Crawford TD. The group got the opportunity to present a copy of the paper to Fine Gael Leader Enda Kenny and Leader of the Labour Party, Eamon Gilmore. The trip follows on from a similar visit to Stormont that included a private meeting with Minister Margaret Ritchie.

The paper is being presented by the Social Inclusion Working Group of the Irish Central Border Area Network (ICBAN) in advance of its launch at a conference regarding the issues affecting men in the border region in Co. Cavan today. The conference will be opened by the Director of the Office for Social Inclusion, Gerry Mangan. The paper and conference will be drawing attention to the need for services to respond to the social exclusion of isolated men in the central border region. 

The working group arose from an innovative cross-border pilot programme. This is a cross-border organisation backed by ten local councils on both sides of the border. According to the document, issues affecting socially excluded men in this geographic region include educational disadvantage due to early school leaving and social isolation of men who have poor links with non-family members in their communities.

The paper makes a number of recommendations which are expected to generate discussion and debate at the conference. The Social Inclusion Working Group hope that this paper will go some way towards informing fresh discussion with the community sector, to improve the quality of life of the client group. The conference is free and open to all interested parties.  

For more information call Emer Coveney in Cavan County Council on (049) 4378581 or email ecoveney@cavancoco.ie.