Community

Laois Age Friendly Alliance is a cross agency board who seek to develop and put in place age friendly strategies and the Age Friendly Cities and Counties Programmes (AFCCP).

Laois County Council together with their local Age Friendly Alliance Board, may run programmes to support cities and counties to become more inclusive places for older people by planning for and developing age friendly services.

Laois is getting older, just like the rest of Ireland. Planning for this aging population means thinking about older people first when we develop our county for the future. It's important to listen to older people living in Laois to understand what they need now and in the future.

Laois County Council have set up an Older People's Council and support this council to represent the views of older people, promote inclusion of older people in communities, prevent age related isolation and loneliness, and promote fitness and active ageing.

Laois County Council, together with their local Age Friendly Alliance board, prepare strategies for creating communities which support older people and enable them to stay actively engaged in their community. You can have an input into the strategies through consultation.

Local Action Groups prepare strategies to support and promote economic development, social inclusion and the rural environment in designated rural areas. You can have an input into the strategies through consultation.

Laois County Council, together with Local Community Development Committees and other stakeholders prepare plans to promote and support local community development

Laois Partnership Company prepared the Local Development Strategy 2023-2027 following public consultations held from March to May 2023 with communities and stakeholder across Laois. The LEADER 2023-2027 Programme, co-funded by both the EU and the Department of Rural and Community Development, is a programme to support communities and businesses across Laois to build on what they have in their local area, by overcoming social and economic challenges to protect and enhance their local environment.

The Clár programme provides funding for small scale projects in rural areas. Funding for community, sports and Island facilities

The Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) provides funding for the development of new outdoor recreational infrastructure. It also provides support for the necessary repair, maintenance, enhancement or promotion of existing outdoor recreational infrastructure in rural areas across Ireland. The scheme supports outdoor recreation activities such as walking, trekking, cycling, kayaking and hiking. It helps to make use of the resources of the countryside that contribute to healthy active lifestyles. It supports the economic and tourism potential of the area for both local communities and tourist visitors alike.

The LEADER 2023-2027 Programme, co-funded by both the EU and the Department of Rural and Community Development – is a programme to support communities and businesses across Laois to build on what they have in their local area; overcome social and economic challenges and protect and enhance their local environment.

Laois County Council work with Laois partnership to develop initiatives to attract people to live and work in rural communities such as enterprise and employment projects, transport initiatives, broadband services, digital hubs and e-working spaces.

The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) is a key capital investment scheme which directly supports the objectives of Our Rural Future and the Town Centre First policy.

The Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) is a flagship element of Project Ireland 2040. Under the stewardship of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Fund was established to support more compact and sustainable development, through the regeneration and rejuvenation of Ireland’s five cities and other large towns, in line with the objectives of the National Planning Framework (NPF) and National Development Plan (NDP).

Laois County Council coordinate youth councils which give young people under the age of 18 the chance to get involved in the development of policy and local services and discuss issues that affect them such as homelessness, mental health, physical health, cyber health and bullying.

Laois County Council support Dáil na nÓg, the national parliament for young people, and Comhairle na nÓg, the child and youth council which give young people a say in services, policies and issues which affect them. Comhairle no nÓg members may be elected to Dáil na nÓg to debate and address issues affecting young people such as climate change, mental health, gender identity and the development of facilities for young people.

Community, voluntary, social inclusion and environmental groups can register to join a local authority Public Participation Network.

Local authorities set up and support networks to encourage registered community, voluntary, social inclusion and environmental groups to take part in the council's decision-making and policy making processes, and to monitor local authority activities.

Applications are now invited from Community and Voluntary groups across County Laois for funding from the Local Enhancement Programme. The Local Enhancement Programme (LEP) provides funding to support community groups across Ireland.

Laois County Council provide financial support to community and voluntary groups to develop projects that improve quality of life and community facilities. These may include infrastructural projects, maintenance of open spaces, environmental improvement projects and the purchase of equipment that benefits local communities.

Local authorities may provide financial support to community and voluntary groups to support cultural, artistic and community development projects that improve the quality of life.

Healthy Laois works to improve the health and wellbeing of Laois residents by supporting people to look after their own health and wellbeing and to live healthy lifestyles. We work with Community Groups and Organisations in Laois and look at all factors of health like where we are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the forces and systems that shape our daily life.

SICAP is the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme. The current programme began on 1 January 2024 and will run until the end of 2028. It replaced SICAP 2018–2023.

We're excited to announce that Laois County Council is hosting the Community & Voluntary Awards this November 2024.

You can report graffiti, road defects, faulty street lighting, water leaks, drainage, litter and illegal dumping to the local authority through the website www.fixmystreet.ie.

Local authorities landscape and maintain public parks and open spaces by planting trees, shrubs and flowers, cutting grass and controlling weeds to improve the appearance of these public spaces.

Local authorities may provide and maintain seats, planters, cycle stands and decorative lighting on public streets and in public parks and playgrounds to improve the area.

Local authorities provide and maintain nameplates on public streets and in local authority housing estates.

Laois County Council run initiatives to promote positive health and wellbeing in communities such as Health and Wellbeing Week, Mental Health Week, walking programmes, park runs, tobacco free spaces, breastfeeding friendly spaces and early childhood play areas.

Local authorities, together with other agencies, may take part in the National Healthy Cities and Counties of Ireland Network through their Local Community Development Committees to promote lifelong health and wellbeing and influence national health policy.

Local authorities support communities to develop links with towns abroad to gain a better understanding of nationalities and cultures, develop partnerships with international communities and advance business opportunities for the twinned locations.

Laois County Council, together with An Garda Síochána elected representatives and community and voluntary groups, set up and support committees to discuss local policing issues. These issues include crime, public disorder and antisocial behaviour and recommend ways to help reduce crime and improve public safety.

Laois County Council help Local Community Development Committees to create an integrated approach to community development by coordinating access to funding, developing and delivering projects, and promoting community engagement.

IPB Pride of Place in association with Co-operation Ireland is an all-island competition that acknowledges the work that communities are doing all over the island of Ireland.