Minister Jerry Buttimer launches new national campaign to highlight the role of Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs)
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From: Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht
- Published on: 1 May 2026
- Last updated on: 1 May 2026
- LCDCs connect community groups with public bodies
- Clubs and Voluntary Groups encouraged to engage with their LCDCs
Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development and Charities, Jerry Buttimer TD, has today (Friday, 1 May 2026) launched a new national awareness campaign to highlight how Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) connect public bodies and communities across Ireland.
Local Community Development Committees are established in each local authority area to help implement community development initiatives and support community programmes such as the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), Healthy Cities, the Empowering Communities Programme and the Local Enhancement Programme.
Speaking at an event in Cork City to launch the campaign, Minister Buttimer said:
“It gives me great pleasure, as Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development and Charities, to be able to support and highlight LCDCs across Ireland and to raise awareness of the vital role LCDCs play in supporting communities, coordinating services, and improving quality of life across the country.
“Local Community Development Committees bring public bodies and community organisations around the same table so that services are better planned, better coordinated, and more responsive to local needs. Through this campaign, we want every community group and local resident to know that there is a structure in place - the LCDC - that is there to help them work with public bodies, access supports and shape the future of their area”.
LCDCs contribute to the development of local communities, through economic and community actions contained in each Local Economic and Community Plan.
Local Economic and Community Plans set out, for a six-year period, the objectives and actions needed to promote and support the economic, and community, development of the relevant local authority area.
This new campaign to highlight the role of LCDCs encourages anyone who is involved in a club, a voluntary group, or who simply wants better community services in their area to learn more about how their local LCDC can help.
Coilín O’Reilly, Chair of the County and City Management Association’s Rural, Community, Culture and Heritage Committee and Chief Executive of Carlow County Council said:
“Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) are a key part of local government and play an important role in supporting the social, cultural, and economic development of communities. By bringing together local authorities, public bodies and community interests, LCDCs promote a joined-up approach to planning and delivering programmes at local level, helping to strengthen local democracy. The CCMA welcomes this campaign as an important step in raising awareness of LCDCs as a vital community service and of the role they play in supporting communities across the country.”
Rebecca Loughry, Director of Services, Corporate, Community & Cultural Affairs, Cork City Council added:
“On behalf of Cork City LCDC, I would like to welcome the launch of this important campaign. This is a great opportunity to highlight the important work done by LCDC’s around the country. As chief officer of the Cork City LCDC I am particularly delighted that Minister Buttimer has chosen Cork City as the location to launch the LCDC national and local communication communications campaign of awareness.”
The campaign entitled - “Our LCDCs - Building better communities together - le chéile” - will run from 1 May 2026 for three weeks across radio, podcasts, print and online media.
Visit gov.ie/lcdc to find out more.
Notes
The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht has statutory and strategic responsibility for the operation of the 33 Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) and the development and implementation of the six-year Local Economic and Community Plans (LECPs) in each local authority area.
The purpose of the LCDC is to develop, co-ordinate and implement a coherent and integrated approach to local and community development.
As part of DRCDGs ongoing efforts to enhance the awareness and understanding of the LCDCs, the Department engaged a communications consultant, Match Marketing, in December 2024, following a public procurement process, to develop a communications campaign to be rolled out in May 2026. The campaign is overseen by a Working Group with representatives of the LCDCs, City and County Management Association (CCMA), and their main stakeholder groups as well as relevant departmental representatives.
The overall objective of the campaign is to raise public awareness on the role and function of the LCDCs and how they contribute to the development of local communities, through actions contained in each of the Local Economic and Community Plans.
Visit gov.ie/lcdc to get more information on the LCDCs.Find a direct link to each of the 33 LCDCs here.