We are making a big push this year to give opportunities to people who have been out of work for some time. Another 10,000 places on employment programmes are being added in 2013. In total, this year 20,000 people will have a chance to participate in JobBridge,
Springboard and the new Momentum programme – all mix training with practical work experience aimed at sectors with job vacancies.

● Momentum is a new programme. There are 6,500 places in
programmes involving certified classroom training and work
experience with a company for people who have been on the live
register for 12 months or getting credits. There are 71 different
offers in Dublin alone – mostly 20- to 40-week programmes.
Visit www.momentumskills.ie or call 8167400 (Baldoyle Training
Centre) or 8671177 (Northside Civic Centre) for more information.

● JobBridge offers an internship of 6-9 months to persons who
have been signing on as available to work and getting a payment
or credits for at least 3 months. Time on completed programmes in
FÁS training, back to education or a community scheme will count
towards eligibility. Participants will receive €50/week on top of
their welfare. See www.jobbridge.ie.

● Springboard offers part-time courses to those signing on. See
www.springboardcourses.ie.

After 199 years of continuous treatment of mental illness, patients and
staff at St Brendans are moving into a new state-of-the-art, 54-bed
mental health facility on the North Circular Road. The new facility will
include a Psychiatric Intensive Care Service, therapy and rehabilitation
spaces, enhanced with courtyard settings. This reflects the huge change in psychiatric care. In years gone by over 3,000 patients were resident behind high-walled security.

Meanwhile progress is being made in the redevelopment of the
Grangegorman site as a centred campus for 20,000 students of DIT. The Development Agency who is implementing the plan has lodged planning applications for the site. The construction will employ up to 2,800 people.

I’m delighted that local clubs have collected €900,000 in sports grants.
This money will go a long way towards improving facilities, buying
new equipment and constructing new infrastructure. These clubs do
excellent work in the community.

Baldoyle Boxing Club €4,250
Clontarf RFC €100,000
DCC – Edenmore Park €17,508
DCC – St Anne’s Park €21,540
DCC – Whitehall Colmcille GAA Club €150,000
Glin Amateur Boxing Club €3,000
Howth Yacht Club Limited €20,000
Sutton Dinghy Club €24,734
Sutton Lawn Tennis Club €296,751
Suttonians RFC €92,650
St Vincent’s Gaelic Football, Hurling and Camogie Club €96,577
St Paul’s Artane FC €55,500
Beann Eadair CLG €32,000