The first community co-ordinators in the State start work in Limerick today to help local communities solve a range of social problems. Limerick city mayor Cllr Joe Leddin launched the €1 million two-year pilot programme in City Hall yesterday, where he wished the eight co-ordinators every success in their new jobs.
"The community co-ordinators are based on a very successful UK scheme where street wardens empowered local communities to deal with a range of social problems.
"They will engage with the youth, listen to their points of view, encourage them to take part in community activities and also help vulnerable people like the elderly by providing links for them with other services."
Mr Leddin said Limerick decided to pioneer this project in Ireland because the city wants to be pro-active in preventing and solving social problems.
The co-ordinators will also encourage a sense of pride and belonging in communities by improving the local environment through clean-ups and removing graffiti, he said.
The co-ordinators will work closely with community groups in the two initial pilot areas - Janesboro, Rosbrien and Kennedy Park on the southside and Thomondgate, Killeely, Watergate and St John's Square on the northside.
Limerick City Community Safety Partnership is pioneering this pilot project. Its directors are Limerick city manager Tom Mackey, Garda Chief Supt Willie Keane and Health Service Executive area manager John Hennessy.
Supt Keane said the Garda was totally supportive of the co-ordinators and had been involved from the start.
"The aim of the project is to build safer, stronger and more confident communities and the gardaí look forward to working with the community co-ordinators on the ground," said Supt Keane.
"The community co-ordinators will not have any enforcement powers - their role is to work in partnership with the residents and they will also have links with the local community gardaí if they encounter any problems."
The co-ordinators will carry two-way radios that will be linked up to City Hall, and wear casual blue uniforms.
Most of the eight co-ordinators are from Limerick and all of the six women and two men have third-level education.
Their team leader, Ann Marie Hogan, worked as a human resource manager in a large Irish department store before taking up this new post.
"I took this job because I wanted to move from a purely money-making environment to work where I could make a difference to the quality of life of these communities," she said.
Co-ordinator Catherine Andrews from England has had direct experience of local authority estate management in the UK and working with street wardens there.
"I decided to move to Ireland to be with my boyfriend and when I saw this job advertised, I thought it would be a great opportunity to use my experience and continue my career," she said.
Chairman of the joint policing committee Cllr Kevin Kiely and the chairman of Limerick City Council's strategic policy committee on housing, Cllr Michael Hourigan, also attended the launch.