elphin local area plan 2009 - 2015 - Roscommon County Council

Chapter 7: Social and Community Facilities
Roscommon County Development Board (RCDB). This involves Forum representatives sitting on the
County Development Board which enables networking and collaboration between RCDB and the Forum,
and the groups and organisations it represents.
Forum representatives also sit on the Strategic Policy Committees and Social Inclusion Measures Working
Group of Roscommon County Council. Their presence on these bodies facilitates two-way communication
between the community and local government by bringing the views of the community organisations to
local government and by feeding back relevant information to the member groups of the Forum. The
Forum also has representatives on a number of other local agencies and regional bodies including:
Roscommon County Childcare Committee
Roscommon Partnership Board
Roscommon County Enterprise Board
Arigna Leader Company
County Roscommon Heritage Forum
The Forum plays an important role in providing practical assistance and support to its member groups and
organisations. This assistance includes helping groups to identify funding sources and make grant
applications, facilitating members looking for particular types of training, as well as helping to deliver
great insurance deals for members.
Funding for voluntary and community groups is available from a wide range of organisations including:
• Government Departments & Agencies
• Dormant Accounts Fund
• National Lottery
• Trusts & Non Governmental Organisations
7.10 SOCIAL INCLUSION AND DISABILITY
Due to inadequate income and other resources people may be excluded and marginalised from
participating in activities, which are considered the norm for other people in society. Social inclusion
refers to a series of positive actions to achieve equality of access to services and goods, to assist all
individuals to participate in their community and society, to encourage the contribution of all persons to
social and cultural life, and to be aware of and to challenge all forms of discrimination. The provision of
facilities such as childcare, health and social infrastructure is fundamental to establishing communities and
promoting quality of life, social inclusion and sustainable settlements. Adequate provision should be made
for sport, recreational and other public amenities in Elphin.
Roscommon County Council is committed to the promotion of disability awareness, supporting policies
against their impact on equality / disability, and providing people with disabilities access to services. The
Council has signed up to the Barcelona Declaration (1995), which aims to meet the needs of disabled
people by developing and implementing inclusive policies in relation to housing, transportation and access
to public buildings and information. Accessibility within the internal physical structures (lifts, toilets etc)
is covered by Part M of the 2002 Building Regulations.
Travellers are a group that have traditionally felt excluded from many aspects of mainstream society.
Roscommon County Council supports a number of educational programmes for Travellers, including
training courses for Travellers and Homework Clubs. The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998
requires Local Authorities in consultation with Travellers to prepare and adopt a Traveller
Accommodation Programme to meet the existing and projected accommodation needs of Travellers. The
drawing up of the programme is assisted by the Local Traveller Consultative Committee which is
representative of Travellers, Members of the Council and Council Officials. The first Programme adopted
was for a period of 5 years. In 2004, The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government,
under Section 10(1) of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998, directed that the next
accommodation programme should be for a period of four years. The current four-year programme covers
Elphin Local Area Plan 2009-2015 Page 68