Co-operative Housing News · Cloughjordan is an eco-village in Tipperary, currently in the process...
Transcript of Co-operative Housing News · Cloughjordan is an eco-village in Tipperary, currently in the process...
Co-operative Housing News Summer 2018
Co-operative Housing News Summer 20182
Staff News
Co-operative Housing Ireland has welcomed a number of new members of staff in the last few months.
Jason Deegan has joined us in the new role of
Marketing Officer. The role of Marketing Officer is
intended to promote the activities of the organisation
and our members, and to support various staff
departments in their work. Conor Bernard has been
appointed as Project Manager. In addition, Charlie
Maples joins our team of Buildings Officers while
David Cunningham and Ann Marie McEvoy join
our Housing Officer team. We are also delighted to
announce the appointment of Tim Porter as our new
Head of New Business. Tim, who has vast experience
in the housing sector, having worked for the Irish
Approved Housing Body, Clúid, and, more recently,
Catalyst Housing Association in the UK, will join us
in August.
In addition, we are thrilled to have officially launched
our new Castleton Housing and Finance IT systems.
This comes after months of hard work from staff
across the country, and will result in a more efficient
and streamlined process, resulting in an improved
quality of service to our members.
Member News
In member news, we are delighted to welcome Ralahine Co-operative Society to the organisation.
Ralahine operates in the Mid-West region of the
country. The Society’s AGM was held in April, where a
large number of members in attendance elected their
Board. We look forward to continuing to support the
members of Ralahine in their work.
In Cork, the Munster Co-operative Society were
pleased to support a member in their efforts to
fundraise for a 3-day trip to Sweden for their son, in
order to participate in an international basketball
competition, playing against teams from Sweden,
German, Italy, Japan and Denmark.
Also in Munster, the Boiler Service & Carbon
Monoxide Installation is close to completion. It
is advised to contact the Munster office if your
boiler service is not complete. In addition, the Rent
Assessment process has been completed, with rent
changes to be introduced in July. Members should
make contact with the Munster office if the relevant
documentation has not been sent or received.
Co-operative Housing News Summer 2018 3
Member Gathering
Our first ever Member Gathering was held on May 26th in Airfield Estate in Dundrum, Dublin.
The event offered an opportunity for members to get
together and share their experiences in involving other
members in events and activities in their local
co-operatives. Lisa Kinsella-Colman from Dublin
South Co-operative Society gave us the low-down on
how best to organise local events and to encourage
engagement and enthusiasm. Charlie Bradley from
Dublin West Co-operative Society gave us an insight
into his work in running art workshops – even for those
of us without an artistic streak! Charlie hopes to roll
out workshops across Dublin. Details of upcoming
workshops will be widely circulated.
We were also joined by Kate Fine from ReCreate on the
day. ReCreate is a social enterprise making art materials
and educational supplies accessible and affordable to
every sector of the community, for all kinds of creative
purposes. Kate offered tips on how best to reuse
everyday materials for artistic purposes, promoting the
idea of waste reduction and community collaboration.
The day ended with a guided tour around Airfield
Estate, Ireland’s only urban organic farm. The estate
is run as a charitable organisation, established by the
Overend Family in 1974 for educational and recreational
purposes. We learned all about (and ate!) their organic
produce, as well as their mission to promote a culture of
sustainability and care for the environment.
Co-operative Housing News Summer 20184
Board Training
Our latest round of Board Training took place across four separate days in Dublin, covering modules in Governance & Strategy, Change & Communication, Policy and Finance.
The provision of training is something that is very
important to us in terms of ensuring that members feel
adequately equipped and comfortable in their role as
representatives of their communities. Thanks to the
Wheel for their development and delivery of the training
and congratulations to members who participated.
Further training rounds will be announced in due course.
Neighbours Day
Dublin West Co-operative Society’s Neighbours Day takes place on August 6th from 2-4 p.m. in Avondale Park. There promises to be plenty of fun, activities, music, a BBQ and maybe even some face-painting! All welcome.
AGM
Our AGM and Elections to the National Board will be held on Saturday, September 29th, in the Ashling Hotel, Dublin.
The Secretary of your Local Board will receive an
AGM pack with further details, and will be in touch
with members to confirm attendance, National Board
nominations and motions.
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Communications
Our website has had a revamp!
We’ve added a splash of colour and have removed
some of the clutter. A member portal is also in the
pipeline. In addition, we’ve launched a brand-new
website for our Childcare Services, which offers details
on our facilities in Brookview in Tallaght, St. Finian’s in
Lucan and Island Key in Dublin 3. Check it out on
www.cooperativechildcare.ie
We’re also increasing our presence on social media.
Follow our Twitter account at @coophousingie
Childcare
Summer remains a busy time in our Co-operative Childcare services across Dublin.
St. Finian’s in Lucan held a Grandparent’s Day,
celebrating older people as part of their theme of the
week at the end of May. Following this, children from
the service visited a local nursing home, singing nursery
rhymes, exchanging handprints and enjoying some
refreshments with residents. Ensuring that our Childcare
services are fully embedded within their community is
essential to what we’re all about.
In Tallaght, our Brookview Childcare service held an
end-of-year party, celebrating the end of year for
children heading off to primary school in September.
Plenty of cake and fun was had by all!
Co-operative Housing News Summer 20186
Outreach
Our Policy and Communications Manager, Fiona Dunkin, attended a conference on ‘Livability and Affordability in the Digitized City’, and the AGM of Housing Europe in Tallinn, Estonia in May. The conference offered an insight into innovation in the housing sector across Europe and methods by which affordable housing might be extended to all. The AGM gave us the opportunity to network with other housing organisations across Europe and share best practice and ideas.
Also in May, alongside our partners in the Better
Europe Alliance, we presented our response to
the European Commission 2018 Country Specific
Recommendations for Ireland. The European
Commission, as part of the EU semester process,
provides an annual set of recommendations to Ireland
with respect to a range of economic and social issues,
including housing, employment, childcare, healthcare
etc. Our response to their report highlighted the
importance of Approved Housing Bodies, including
Co-operative Housing Ireland and others, in the
provision of housing in Ireland and the requirement
to ensure the sector is adequately financed and
supported, in order to continue to thrive and form part
of the solution to the current housing crisis.
We also spoke at ‘Housing Ourselves: A cooperative
approach to regenerating, redesigning and
reimagining housing’ on June 9th, organised by
member organisation Cloughjordan Community
Co-operative Society. Cloughjordan is an eco-village
in Tipperary, currently in the process of developing
co-operative housing. The conference gathered those
interested in the concepts of co-operative housing
and co-housing, as well as representatives from
organisations including O’Cualann Cohousing Alliance
and Community Finance Ireland.
In addition, we continue our provision of support to
individuals and groups looking to set up co-operatives
in their locality. Support provided includes advice on
registration, financing and access to land. This is an
important component of our work in representing
and promoting the co-operative housing movement
in Ireland and is one which we hope to build on.
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Development News
Summer 2018 is shaping up to be an exciting time for our Development Team, with an important project in Dublin coming to fruition.
Orchard Meadows in Cherry Orchard, Dublin 10, a
72-unit development comprising 3-bedroom family
homes and a linear park, developed by Co-operative
Housing Ireland in partnership with Dublin City Council,
is close to completion. All homes boast an A3 BER
rating. Members will be welcomed to the development
this summer. A range of other units and developments
across the country are also in progress.
Co-operative Housing News Summer 2018