Living with Dignity Seminar

A seminar to mark the start of Social Inclusion Week,

Living with Dignity, jointly organised by Limerick City Council, Limerick County Council and Limerick Integration Working Group, took place in Adare, Co Limerick on Monday 18th October. The aim of this day long seminar was in the light of the rapid economic downturn to explore responses to social inclusion issues facing communities in Limerick City and County.

According to one of the event organisers, Eugene Quinn (JRS Ireland), Joint Chair of the Limerick Integration Working Group, “The country is facing not only an economic and fiscal crisis but a deeper crisis of confidence, of leadership and of values. People living at the margins of Irish society are most vulnerable to policy and service changes as the country faces into a 'hair-shirt' budget.”

He continued: “Mental health, debt, rural isolation and integration are real issues for Irish society. Social inclusion measures cannot be just an optional add-on when times are good rather it is a long term commitment by Irish society to ensure all who live and reside on this island can do so with dignity.”