The 5th meeting of the Local Action Group, Ireland took place on the 22nd March 2021 by Zoom. The stakeholders represented were, Louth County Council, TU Dublin, Louth Age Friendly Alliance, Louth Age Friendly Co-ordinator, Age Friendly Ireland Regional Manager, Louth Economic Forum and the EU_SHAFE Project (Ireland) Co-ordinator and researcher.
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The aim of the meeting was to provide updates to the stakeholder group on the project progress and to discuss the proposed Pilot Action submission, the upcoming Inter-regional meeting in Louth and the EU Green Paper on Ageing.
The meeting began with a warm welcome from Joan Martin, Chair of the LAG. Following this Grainne Cumiskey, EU_SHAFE Project Co-ordinator, Louth County Council, updated the group on the two most recent submissions made by the Louth EU_SHAFE Partner, TU Dublin and the Louth Age Friendly County. One submission was made to the Louth Draft County Development Plan 2021-2027 and another to the National Development Plan’s “Review to Renew” consultation. The submissions contained inputs on AF Housing, Public Realm projects and Nursing Homes and long term care.
The Project Co-ordinator then informed the stakeholders of the requests for proposed Pilot Actions from the Lead Partner and the initial approval from the Joint Secretariat to proceed to a formal Pilot Action request. Mary Deery, Louth Age Friendly County Co-ordinator then gave detail on the project which is based on the concept of a Super Connector Pioneer within Nursing Homes in the area. The Pioneer will help to connect older persons to online communication platforms while also pioneering the programme with other nursing home staff members.
The group were then updated on the progress on the Inter-regional meeting to be hosted by the Louth Partner on 27th May 2021. The format for the meeting was discussed and which speakers had been engaged. A very positive discussion took place on the project and the opportunities it was providing to promote SHAFE initiatives and to improve policies.
Finally, Rodd Bond, Chair, Louth Age Friendly Alliance, gave an overview presentation on the EU Green Paper on Ageing consultation. The stakeholders discussed the paper and agreed that a submission should be made. It was agreed that the Project Co-ordinator would highlight the consultation to the other EU_SHAFE partners to encourage a consortium wide submission.
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