The Genesis Programme is a consortium made up of Partner Organisations including the Early Learning & Care Centres, Schools, Community Groups, Louth Children & Young People’s Services Committee, Louth County Childcare Committee, Dundalk Institute of Technology, the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Tusla – the Child & Family Agency including four School Completion Programmes. Louth Leader Partnership is the lead agency. See the Partners Section of this site for a full list of organisations.
The Genesis Programme was established in May 2013 as a response to a call from the Department of Children & Youth Affairs (DCYA) to areas across the country to submit proposals for what was termed an area-based response to child poverty.
The ABC Programme was set up in 2013 in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government to adopt an area-based approach to tackling child poverty. The Programme was launched by former Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore, and former Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald, in 2013.
The ABC Programme is a prevention and early intervention initiative targeting investment in effective services to improve the outcomes for children and families living in areas of disadvantage.
The Genesis Programme submitted a proposal and was advised in November 2013, that it was one of thirteen successful applications made. For the next twelve months a comprehensive Implementation Plan and Logic Model were developed and a project team was put in place.
The work of the The Genesis Programme began in earnest on the 1st December 2014, when we entered contract with Pobal who were acting on behalf of DCYA as fiscal agents..
It was funded initially by DCYA in partnership with The Atlantic Philanthropies (Atlantic). Since 2018, it has been solely funded by DCYA and is now aligned and managed by Tusla.
The Genesis Programme has also become a partner in other projects such as The Changing Lives Initiative.
The Genesis Programme has continued to evolve to meet emerging needs and participated fully in the national evaluation of the ABC Programme which was overseen by the Centre for Effective Services (CES).
The Genesis Programme is currently delivering the following programmes:
Louth Leader Partnership is the lead agency for The Genesis Programme, providing governance and are the employers of the project team.
The Programme Management Committee provide technical expertise and have overall accountability for the successful delivery of The Genesis Programme. The members of the Programme Management Committee are:
| Claire Woods (Deputy Chairperson) | Manager, Louth County Childcare Committee |
| Dr. Edel Healy | Head of School, Health & Science, Dundalk Institute of Technology |
| Hugh Doogan | Programme Manager, The Genesis Programme |
| Benny McArdle (Chairperson) | Former HSCL, St. Joseph's NS, Dundalk |
| Joanne Murphy | Coordinator, Louth Children & Young People's Services Committee |
| Ciarán Reid | CEO, Louth Leader Partnership |
| Caitlin McKinley | Chairperson, Area Coordination Team (Drogheda) & Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services |
| Niall Weldon | Chairperson, Area Coordination Team (Dundalk) & School Completion Programme Dún Dealgan |
| Kieva Bradley | Chairperson, Area Coordination Team (Mid/Rural Louth) & New Leaf Project |
In March 2016, following widespread consultation and discussion, it was agreed to establish Area Coordination Teams (ACTs) to coordinate the delivery of the programme at a local level.
With the The Genesis Programme now delivering upwards of one hundred programmes each academic year there was a growing need for greater coordination of these at a local level as different services engage with the programme.
The ACTs cover the areas detailed below and each one is supported by one of The Genesis Programme project team.
The key function of the ACTs is to improve outcomes for children and families in the local area by ensuring appropriate interventions and continuity of support throughout a child/children’s early years.
Specific tasks include:
Membership is drawn from local community stakeholders.
| Area Coordination Team (ACT) | The Genesis Programme Project Team Representative |
| Drogheda | Yvonne Forde |
| Dundalk | Claire Gleeson |
| Mid/Rural Louth | Laura Sherry |
