Community Safety Initiative Launched in North Cork with Government Backing

A new community-based safety programme has been officially launched in Charleville, bringing together local residents, statutory agencies, and Government support to tackle complex social challenges in North Cork.

Ballyhoura Development CLG hosted the CITICESS Stakeholder Briefing and the formal launch of its Social Safety Approach at the Charleville Park Hotel on Wednesday, 25 February. The event brought together community organisations, local partners, and statutory agencies to mark the next phase of coordinated safety work in the town.

The Social Safety Approach is funded through the Community Safety Fund by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, and is delivered in partnership with Cork County Council, housing charity Respond, and local residents. It aims to strengthen safety, wellbeing, and social cohesion through preventative, partnership-based action.

Minister of State for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Niall Collins TD, attended the launch and acknowledged the challenges facing communities across Ireland, saying:

"I'm very familiar with all of the issues and the challenges that you have outlined, they're very real. I experience them in my own constituency clinics on a weekly basis."

Minister Collins also explained the principle behind the funding stream, noting:

"The funding is derived from the proceeds of crime and is put back into productive use for the communities that have been impacted by crime and criminality. That's what the Community Safety Fund is all about."

He also paid tribute to the work being done on the ground, saying:

"I want to acknowledge the very fine work that you're doing, helping and supporting migrants and communities and families and people who find themselves in vulnerable situations. Everything that you do is contributing to the betterment of community."

The initiative builds directly on learning from the CITICESS (Citizen-Centred Social Services) project and the Ballyhoura Breakthrough pilot, which is currently underway in the Northside Estates of Charleville, including Batt Donegan Place and Hillview Drive. Both areas have been identified as extremely disadvantaged under the Pobal HP Index.

The 12-month pilot, now entering its second half, was inspired by the internationally recognised "Breakthrough Method" developed by the Municipality of Heerlen in the Netherlands. It centres on intensive, weekly, relationship-based engagement with families facing complex and overlapping challenges.

Early results from the pilot point to the importance of trust-building and sustained relationships, flexible decision-making, strong inter-agency coordination, and locally led responses tailored to individual needs. There is already early evidence of families moving from crisis toward greater stability.

The Social Safety Approach will focus on developing a Local Social Safety Plan, targeted stakeholder engagement, preventative community-based responses to safety issues, and strengthening coordination between services and community actors.

However, organisers have sounded a note of caution. Both the CITICESS pilot and the Social Safety Approach are time-limited, and without continued investment and policy alignment beyond 2027, there is a risk of losing the progress, trust, and relationships that have been built up in the community.

Ballyhoura Development CLG serves communities across East Limerick and North Cork and has been operating since 1989. Further information on the Social Safety Approach is available at ballyhouradevelopment.com.