Expressions of interest sought by Offaly Community Forum

Active members of communities in Offaly have been invited to express their interest in joining the committee of Offaly Community Forum.

The forum is the collective voice of over 450 community and voluntary groups in the county, and its members - including 25 community representatives - meet once a month.

There are currently eleven vacancies on the forum - south Offaly area rep, mid Offaly area rep, Housing and Cultural SPC, Midland Regional Drugs Taskforce, County Childcare Commmittee, Heritage Forum, Birr JPC, Tullamore JPC, Offaly Local Development Company, Planning SPC and County JPC.

At the forum’s AGM on July 2 last Tom Finnerty was re-elected as chair, with Hugh Farrell secretary and Jody Gunning treasurer.

Forum priorities for the coming year are to support the Community Watch network of Neighbourhood Watch and community alert groups, linking with agencies to make Offaly more age-friendly for older people and an Offaly Mental Health Talk Campaign for the third year.

Anyone interested in playing a role and representing the community voice on any of the vacant agency posts are asked to contact the forum by phone, post or email to express an interest. Please note that you must be a member of a group affiliated to Offaly Community Forum however.

Offaly Community Forum can be contacted by emailing forum@offalycoco.ie or by calling 057 9357460. The closing date for expressions of interest is Monday, August 26.