REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE LAUNCH OF A REPORT ON FATIMA MANSIONS
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE LAUNCH OF A REPORT ON FATIMA MANSIONS ON WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 1998
Firstly let me say how delighted I am to be visiting Fatima Mansions this afternoon – and to see the different community activities that you have here – and most importantly to meet the people of Fatima. I would like to thank you for giving me such a warm welcome on my first visit to your community. Coming from Belfast I have an appreciation of the type of problems and the unique aspects of living in a large community close to the centre of a large city.
Since becoming President I have been visiting communities in every part of the country – in towns, villages and in the cities. The one thing that has struck me in each on the communities that I have visited, is the way people are getting to grips with the problems and obstacles that they face by entering into strategic partnerships with everybody and anybody who has a role to play in addressing the problems as they themselves see them – not as somebody else decides for them.
I know that living in Fatima – as living anywhere else – has its own unique features. Each of you who live in the community has a stake in seeing the area properly developed and enhanced – in making sure that you have adequate facilities for your children’s education and recreation – in seeing that they can progress in a happy and caring environment, where they can live their lives as children and teenagers - and progress on to become responsible adults, proud of what their community has done for them – and ready to play a part in their own community.
You have already embarked on the process of developing your community with initiatives like the Youth Project - the Women’s Programme - the Knitting Co-op – the Children and Adults Development Project – the Community Centre and the Drug Treatment Centre. Fatima Groups United – which brings together all of the voluntary groups and individuals working in your community – are working in a wider partnership with the Fatima Task Force – which has representatives from the eastern Health Board, Dublin Corporation, the Canal Communities Partnership, the Gardaí and public representatives.
“Making Fatima a better place to live” is the result of a research project undertaken on behalf of your community - with the help of the E.S.R.I., U.C.C., and Maynooth University. The preparation of the Report is the first stage in a process that will involve the presentation of the report to the Fatima community – today’s launch – the training of people from the community to facilitate feedback – a block by block examination of the feedback – all designed to allow you, the people of Fatima, to arrive at plans for the future of Fatima. Importantly, it is a process which involves everybody in the community in their own future.
So this is really only the beginning of planning for the future – the next phase in the process is perhaps the most important. The report gives you something to use as a starting point – and from which you can chose the direction in which you think your community should go. Ultimately, you will want to do what is best for your community. You have, as I said, achieved quite a lot so far. You can build on your achievements to meet the new challenges that lie ahead – and to forge links and contacts with others who have similar challenges to meet and with whom you can share experiences, ideas and solutions.
I commend the report to everybody in Fatima – and I wish you well with work – perhaps the most important work – that lies ahead.