REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE CIVIC SOCIETY: RESILIENCE IN TOUGH TIMES FORUM
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE CIVIC SOCIETY: RESILIENCE IN TOUGH TIMES FORUM ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN
Dia dhíbh a chairde go léir agus fáílte chuig Áras an Uachtaráin inniu. I am grateful to each one of you and especially those of you who have travelled long distances to be with us today; you’re all very welcome. This forum is discussing resilience in tough times and most people characterise these times as particularly tough. They are disappointing times for we have lived through a period of virtually full employment and strong economic and social development. The surging confidence of those days has given way to a time of worry. Our coping skills are being tested. Just how resilient are we?
As President, I have the privilege of regularly seeing at first hand the quiet, life-changing, life-enhancing, hope-generating work that is being done by individuals and all sorts of community and voluntary groups throughout this island. The floods and big-freeze gave us a very public insight into the great resources we have in the solidarity of our communities and the culture of volunteering. Nature did its worst and human nature did its best. Today, with your help, we hope this forum will look at the resilience and coping skills we have at work already within us as individuals and as communities and how we can galvanise that spirit of resilience to help get us through these times. There are literally thousands of volunteer organisations at work in Ireland each day helping us to cope better and more effectively with a massive variety of issues and problems and we are going to hear from some of them today. Organisations like SpunOut and Jigsaw which as we will hear are doing their best to encourage people under pressure to focus positively on their mental health well-being. Or the Saint Vincent de Paul which knows intimately the economic pressure people are facing because it is right there with them trying to hold back the tide of fear. Social Entrepreneurs are encouraging greater imagination and innovation in solving problems to do with poverty, under-achievement and marginalisation. We’ll hear from the Civil Defence who have a unique insight into what goes on in communities in times of need and from the academic sector, we’ll hear about the vital importance of upskilling and getting involved in ongoing education and training.
Within these four walls we have people of great experience, expertise and proven resilience. When times were good, they were not always good for everyone and these people worked to include everyone in. When times got tough, these people got tougher and the vast majority of the newly unemployed who came to their doors came ironically not just as people seeking help but as people offering their help. The desire to help, to make a difference is the hallmark of the volunteer and faith in our ability to change things for the better is the seedcorn of hope. Our speakers and audience are just a tiny fraction of Ireland’s army of weavers and spinners of resilience and of hope.
No one of us has all the answers but by putting our experiences and insights together we have a better chance of putting together the pieces of the jigsaw that will show how we can face today and tomorrow fired by new possibilities, new ideas, new challenges and above all real faith and hope in ourselves and in our country. Thank you for taking time out from your busy lives to play your part here today. Go n-éirí go geal libh agus go raibh míle, míle maith agaibh.