Local man Michael Keogh appointed as chairman
Minister for Justice Heather Humphreys TD has announced the establishment of a new board, with a Drogheda native at the helm, to drive and co-ordinate a plan to increase safety and wellbeing in Drogheda.
The move comes following the report by Vivian Geiran former director of the Probation Service, which was published by Minister Helen McEntee earlier this year which she commissioned by Minister McEntee in August 2020.
The Drogheda Implementation Board, as the new body is to be called, will be chaired by Michael Keogh, a Drogheda man and former senior official in the Department of Education.
The new board will be the core driver and co-ordinator of change in Drogheda through the actions to be outlined in the Drogheda Implementation Plan, which Minster Humphreys said will be brought to Cabinet and published before the summer break.
Minister Humphreys also welcomed a commitment from Martin O’Brien, the chief executive of the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board, that the LMETB will host new structures to deliver services in Drogheda.
“In addition to the local structures hosted by the LMETB and chaired by Michael Keogh, the Department of Justice will provide national oversight to ensure the Drogheda Implementation Plan is delivered upon” she said, adding that she looks forward to visiting Drogheda in the coming weeks.
Local Fine Gael TD, Fergus O’Dowd, has welcomed the news as “a very important step in Drogheda’s development.”
“The Vivian Geiran report on community safety and wellbeing in Drogheda identifies up to 70 key recommendations for Drogheda that aims to address the criminality, societal issues and urban depravation that has plagued our town over recent years which culminated in a criminal feud which rocked the town’s core ” he said.
“… we have already seen two additional teaching posts for each of the three schools recommended for supports in the Geiran Report (St. Brigid’s and St. Patrick’s N.S, St. Joseph’s CBS and Presentation NS) and we await confirmation of much needed funding that has been recommended for the Red Door Project.
“The Drogheda Implementation Board will be a key driver in terms of taking the recommendations of the report and delivering them on the ground in Drogheda, I have been working very closely with the Minister for Justice, Heather Humphreys, and Minister Helen McEntee who is currently on maternity leave to make sure this report provides much needed and improved wrap around supports for our town.
“I would also like to welcome the appointment of Michael Keogh as chairperson, Mr Keogh is someone that has vast experience across the Department of Education, Revenue, the CSO and the Department of Social Protection and he has an acute understanding of the issues Drogheda has faced over recent years.
Councillor Paddy McQuillan, who has been at the forefront of public opposition to the violence in Drogheda and succesfully campaigned to have the proceds of crime allocated to agencies helping people with addictions, also welcomed today’s news saying it was a positive step forward which would greatly improve wellbeing within the community.
He said that he had been lobbying local TDs relentlessly on the issue and thanked them for pushing nationally for it. “Drogheda needs this plan to be implemented, we’ve waited long enough.”
