About Donegal Local Development Company Ltd

Donegal Local Development Company Ltd (DLDC) was incorporated in 1995. It is a true Partnership in that the structures are firmly in keeping with the Partnership model as understood and practiced in Ireland. We are a local development company that exists to address the social, economic and cultural development needs of our catchment. We are working in Donegal towards a better future for all. Our strategy is underpinned by a sound community development approach, where the focus is on equality for all.

DLDC was one of the first rural Partnerships established to deliver the Local Development and LEADER II Programmes from 1995-2000. In line with the Company’s corporate strategy, DLDC successfully bid for follow-on funding for the Local Development Social Inclusion, LEADER + and National Rural Development Programmes 2001-2006. Working in Partnership with several agencies and funders including Pobal, FAS, DSFA, TEAGASC, the VEC, the NWHB as well as the community and voluntary sector, DLDC has developed many unique initiatives to help address the needs of the people in its catchment area including more recently the delivery of the Millennium Partnership Fund for 3rd level dis-advantage. We have initiated pilot projects, research and contributed to policy development debate in a bid to benchmark best practices and mainstream funding for specific target groups.

In County Donegal we are all too familiar with the complex social realities experienced within indigenous rural communities. On a national basis, other regions of Ireland have advanced through successive phases of economic and social development during the “Celtic Tiger Phenomenon,” of the 1990’s. However, in Co. Donegal the picture is quite different, social exclusion remains a prevalent phenomenon, particularly the social-economy continually faces a virtuous catch-up cycle relative to other regions of Ireland and Europe. As a Partnership Company, DLDC is committed to redressing these fundamental imbalances through our core ethos of “Social Inclusion.” Over 30 experienced professionals in DLDC work with individuals, community representatives, statutory agencies and social partners on a daily basis to develop and promote an inclusive society for all our citizens. DLDC is an evolutionary Partnership, and the firm continues to evolve as the inter-related dynamics of the local, national and international economic and social environments unfold. We continue to adopt our programmes and activities, developing solutions that are tailored to clients changing needs.