'Struck by the energy' - Minister praises South Donegal organisations
Minister Jerry Buttimer visited the Bundoran Community Centre along with organisations in Laghey, Donegal Town and Rossnowlagh
The Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development said he was “struck by the energy,” and “compassion” of various community groups during a visit to South Donegal.
Minister Jerry Buttimer of Fine Gael, toured South Donegal on Friday, September 4, visiting the Bundoran Community Centre, Laghey Town Hall Development Committee, The Bluestack Centre in Donegal Town, before travelling to Creevy and Rossnowlagh ahead of the European Youth Lifesaving Championships which are to be held at the area.
At Bundoran, Minister Buttimer was welcomed by Bundoran Community Centre and former Donegal County Councillor, Barry Sweeny.
Also in attendance was Senator Manus Boyle, and several Donegal County Councillors, including the Bundoran-based, Cllr Michael McMahon of Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil’s Cllr Micheál Naughton, and Fine Gael’s Michael Boyle.
The Minister spoke to Donegal Live at the Bundoran Community Centre about his visit to South Donegal, and how the issue of vacant buildings could be better resolved.
Minister Buttimer was treated to a display of wool-spinning from Rebecca Sweeney, who teaches classes at the centre, and met with the Head Boy and Head Girl of Magh Éne College. He also met with Ukrainian refugees, Yuliia Melnyk and Alla Syz, who explained their involvement in hosting a youth club at the Bundoran Community Centre.
He was also told about the role plays in local education, surfing, community classes, counselling, and the fundraising initiatives of the Paddle The Bay campaign.
In welcoming Minister Buttimer, Barry Sweeny said: “Thank you for coming along. There are representatives from the Donegal County Council and Manus Boyle.
“We are delighted to have you here in the Bundoran Community Centre. It has been built over the last 17 years, since it was formulated and we are just after celebrating our tenth anniversary in this building.
“As you can see, it is a good, strong community centre. Maybe we will be going for 100 years, but we won’t be celebrating.
“I would like to acknowledge the work over the last 10 and 17 years of the volunteers who have worked so hard. All age groups are welcome to use the centre.
“It has been a place of learning, leisure, interaction, refuge, and information gathering. It is really important to keep those elements.
“I would like to thank you for your support and your for social enterprises. We are a charity but we are also a social enterprise and the support of a strong network and strong momentum that has been pushed on by yourself.”
When speaking to Ukrainian refugees Yuliia Melnyk and Alla Syz about a youth club run at the centre, Yulia said: “Bundoran was very supportive and welcoming. In 2024, we passed the youth leadership training, under the Donegal Youth Services. They said, ‘OK, you are ready to set up a youth club,’ and Bundoran Community Centre has been our youth club since 2024.
“It was originally led by Ukrainian volunteers, but in a couple of months, we opened up the doors, so we are an inclusive club with local participants, but of course, the majority of participants are still Ukrainians. There are lots of them in this place. We are trying to cover local culture.”
Speaking to Donegal Live, Minister Buttimer was asked about a review of his visit to South Donegal. He said: “First of all, to thank the people that we have met, the groups and organisations who are cultivating and creating a huge sense of community within the county of Donegal.
“I am stuck by the energy, the compassion and the pathway in terms of employment, in terms of opportunities and just to see the level of activity, the breadth of work and also the investment that we, as a Government, make in collaboration with Donegal County Council, is a pathway for empowering and making our communities a better place.
“I am really struck by the plans for the future from all the groups that we have met who are just not happy to rest on what they have achieved. They want to get out and do more, and we are lucky that in our department, it is people-centred; it is driven by enhancing community, building better communities and making lives better for people. It is also about integration, diversity and supporting the great people that we have here in Donegal.”
When asked how, in his role as a Minister of State for Community Development, he could influence the reduction of vacant buildings in South Donegal, Minister Buttimer replied: “We see here in Bundoran, where a former bank has been turned into a community-driven project centre, and we have seen that across the country. What I am looking for as a Minister, in conjunction with my colleagues, is to make sure that we invest in people.
“Secondly, that we put into good use buildings that could be used for housing, but also, whether it is childcare, community development, a community centre, that we can invest in the people. Bricks and mortar are one thing; it is the people that use them which are the critically important numbers.
“What we have here is a place of welcome, to revitalise the town, bringing people into the town. We see it written (on the wall within Bundoran Community Centre) ‘Choose Your World.’
“We see it with old libraries across the counties, where we are investing in libraries, we are reimagining buildings, repurposing them and having them as a place of community use, and that is what we are trying to do in some cases.”