That’s a wrap on a fantastic day here at the Department’s All Staff event. In the later sessions of the day we heard from more colleagues and people who have been positively impacted and supported by the work of the Department. These included:
- Julia Tarrant, Principal Officer in the Mother & Baby Homes, Finance and Research Division, who introduced Patricia Carey. Patricia is the Special Advocate for Survivors of Institutional Abuse. She spoke about the importance and impact of the Action Plan for Survivors and Former Residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions, and the National Centre for Research and Remembrance.
- Hannah Graham, Assistant Principal Officer in the International Protection & Integration Division, introduced Radwan Aboujahar. Radwan came to Ireland under the Refugee Resettlement Programme in 2014, fleeing the war in Syria with his family. Radwan told us about his role as an Integration Support Officer with Laois County Council, helping people facing the same challenges he once did as a refugee to integrate and thrive in their new communities in Laois. Radwan said his advice to refugees and international protection applicants is to “seize every chance to give back to this generous nation” and on the impact of the Department’s work he said that it “creates hope”.
- Mark Considine, Principal Officer in the Early Years Division, spoke about the impact of the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM), which ensures children with disabilities can access the ECCE pre-school programme and engage fully with it. Mark quoted Lorraine Dempsey, a parent whose child benefitted from AIM, on the impact of this work which “may be as simple as making happy memories for every child in this country”.
- Sadhbh O’Brien, Administrative Officer in the Equality, Participation, Youth, International & Adoption Division, introduced Charlie Beaudelot. Charlie spoke about the importance and impact of youth participation, particularly Comhairle na nÓg, as providing “safe and inclusive spaces” for young people, as well as an “incredible community”.
- Minister Roderic O’Gorman who spoke about the dedication and focus of the colleagues he has worked with in his years as Minister.
- Finally, we had a wonderful guest speaker in the form of Katriona O’Sullivan and a lively discussion panel of colleagues from across the Department reflecting on everything we’ve heard today before our Secretary General Kevin McCarthy closed out the day.
A huge thank you and well done to all our speakers today, particularly those who brought home to us the impact and importance of what the Department does. If you attended today, we’d love to hear your thoughts. If you missed it, we’ll be posting some reflections on everything we discussed and learned in the coming days.
