Galway Volunteer Centre has welcomed the publication of Ireland’s first National Volunteering Strategy, launched by Minister Joe O’Brien earlier today. The five year strategy lays out a comprehensive plan to foster and support volunteering well into the future.

The strategy is the culmination of years of hard work and collaboration between local Volunteer Centres, Volunteer Ireland, and Government. Ireland is known across the globe for our generosity in giving time and lending a hand, currently sitting at number one in Europe and number ten in the world for volunteering time.

According to Galway Volunteer Centre Manager Donncha Foley, Galway and Ireland’s high levels of volunteering make the strategy all the more important. “We already have a strong culture of volunteering with over a quarter of the country giving their time each year. This strategy is about grounding and supporting that culture so that it exists well into the future and has the chance to grow. This year in particular has shown us the importance of volunteering to our communities and the positive impact volunteering has on society.”

“Volunteering is constantly evolving – how organisations engage volunteers is changing and how people want to give their time is changing. This strategy aims to enhance existing supports and structures to ensure that volunteers and organisations continue to flourish and we can continue to meet their changing needs.”

On Galway Volunteer Centre’s role in delivering the strategy, Donncha added “Along with Volunteer Ireland and the network of Volunteer Centre across the country, we have represented the views of volunteers and organisations throughout the process to ensure a robust and focused strategy. The key now will to be ensuring there are adequate resources to deliver the actions within the strategy and that an implementation group is convened without delay.”

“As a driver of volunteering in Galway City and County, we look forward to delivering many elements of the strategy in partnership with Government and other stakeholders in the sector. Ireland has always been a leader in volunteering and volunteer management; this strategy gives us the chance to embrace that role and pave a way forward.”

Since 2006 Galway Volunteer Centre has been supporting members of the public to find suitable volunteer roles in Galway City and County through selecting roles on our daily updated list of volunteer opportunities that it advertises on behalf of non-profits and community organisations in Galway.

The Galway Volunteer Centre team meets with people to help them choose volunteer roles that match their interests and availability.  ‘We are always amazed by the amount of people who come to us with a desire to do something to help others, and we provide a confidential service that gets people doing something that they like and benefits others at the same time’, said Donncha.

For more information on Galway Volunteer Centre and to view currently available roles, please visit www.volunteergalway.ie , phone 091 581727 or visit 27 William Street West, Galway

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Residents and businesses in surrounding areas of Headford will be without a supply of water from now until 5 tomorrow evening (sat)

This is due to a burst watermain between Carheens and Caltra Cross.

The areas affected include Kilconly GWS, Ratesh, Shrule, Liss, Logawannia, Rockwood, Shrule Road Headford, Bally Fruit GWS, Cloghanower GWS and Keekill GWS.

Headford Town will continue to have water.

Also, the road between Carheens and Caltra Cross will have to be closed for a period of time between 8 tomorrow morning and 5 tomorrow evening to allow for the repairs.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 6 additional deaths related to COVID-19.

There has now been a total of 2,086 COVID-19 related deaths in Ireland.

As of midnight Thursday 3rd December, the HPSC has been notified of 265* confirmed cases of COVID-19. There is now a total of 73,491** confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ireland. 

Of the cases notified today:

• 133 are men / 131 are women
• 66% are under 45 years of age
• The median age is 33 years old
• 84 in Dublin, 28 in Louth, 27 in Limerick, 19 in Donegal, 15 in Wicklow, 15 in Galway and the remaining 77 cases are spread across 18 other counties. 

As of 2pm today, 232 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 27 are in ICU. 14 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.

Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said: “We are now entering an important phase in our collective efforts to suppress spread of the virus. We have made significant progress and reduced transmission in our homes and communities, but it will take a consistent individual effort from everyone to keep up that momentum in coming weeks.

“The recent stabilisation in cases that we have experienced is fragile, but it is within our grasp to maximise our protection against the spread of COVID-19. I urge you to use the public health advice on regular handwashing, social distancing and wearing of face coverings to safeguard you and your family from the devastating impact this virus can have, especially on our most vulnerable people.”

Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health said: “If you are heading out this weekend, please make every effort to keep safe. Plan ahead, meet outside where possible and keep your contacts to a minimum. Avoid crowded or poorly ventilated spaces and leave if your environment doesn’t feel safe.”

The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community.

ENDS//

* A technical issue that delayed uploading of laboratory results to the HPSC has been resolved. It led to a reduced number of cases reported in recent days. The reporting will be reflected in a higher number of cases tomorrow. There has been no impact on the management of cases or the timeliness of contact tracing.  Day on day variations such as these are taken into account in all epidemiological analyses.

**Validation of data at the HPSC has resulted in the denotification of 2 confirmed cases. The figure of 73,491 confirmed cases reflects this.

Today’s cases, 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 population and new cases in last 14 days (as of midnight 03 December 2020) (incidence rate based on Census 2016 county population)

Ireland’s current 7-Day incidence rate per 100,000 population is 38.2.