The British ambassador, Mrs Veronica Sutherland, visited Waterford last weekend specifically to inspect an example of practical interregional co-operation which has developed without Government intervention. Groups of Welsh and Irish young unemployed people have been training together in a programme aimed at equipping them to make choices and decisions which can help them to find work or enter further education.
The Stepping Stone Project is a co-operative initiative of the Youth Committee of Waterford VEC with the Prince's Trust charity in Pembrokeshire. The two bodies select small groups of individuals, aged between 18 and 25, whose personal development has been inhibited, perhaps by social disadvantage, perhaps by lack of education or career opportunity, perhaps simply by lack of confidence and motivation.
They undergo a broadly-based 12-week training course, split between Pembrokeshire and Waterford. It introduces them to aspects of creative arts, information technology and outdoor pursuits. As reported in this column in June, the purpose is to deepen cultural links, develop confidence, self-motivation and teamwork abilities, and provide the participants with a relevant cross-regional vocational qualification.
After her visit, during which she met the organisers and the current batch of trainees, Mrs Sutherland said she had wished to inform herself about this very encouraging project, which is believed to be the only one in which the Prince's Trust is involved in the Republic. "I thought it was an outstandingly good conception," she remarked. "I was perhaps there to encourage them, but I found the young people encouraging too. They seem to have gained a good deal from it."
The ambassador pointed out that the devolution idea is having interesting effects, often in unexpected ways, throughout Britain and Ireland. This project was an example of what could be achieved "when you start making links between different parts of the islands, rather than between the capitals."
Mr Joe Gough, the Youth Development Officer of Waterford VEC, said that the young Welsh and Irish combine well in the courses. They take part in work experience placements with local enterprise, and can gain a sense of purpose and motivation.
There are already concrete examples of how the course can help such young people to find a focus and avoid relegation to the role of long-term dole recipients. A Waterford trainee from the first of these courses had been unemployed for six months, but is now doing a third-level course in forestry.
The European Interreg II programme is providing 75 per cent funding for the Stepping Stone Project, and the balance is sourced from the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs. This is the second year of the project, and it is hoped that support will be forthcoming for a third year.
Mrs Sutherland's visit prompted the attendance also of representatives of the funding bodies to assess the work, and endorsed the concept of extending such co-operative initiatives on both sides of the Irish Sea. She invited a group of participants to the ambassadorial residence in Dublin next year to report on their progress.
The Mayor of Waterford, Cllr Tom Cunningham, hosted a reception for her in the City Hall, and she recalled that she had previously visited the city several times, once to open the Light Opera Festival, and also to tour the Waterford Crystal factory.