I am encouraging Midlands businesses operating in the Night-Time Economy to take part in new training courses that aim to create a safer environment for all.
Courses aimed at creating a safer environment, including safeguarding the vulnerable and preventing violence against women are being rolled out with support from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
I welcome the courses which have been developed in partnership with the Licensed Vintners Association, Vintners’ Federation of Ireland, Restaurant Association of Ireland, the County and City Management Association and Give Us the Night and with the support of the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána.
My Green Party colleague Minister Catherine Martin recognises the need to provide a safe environment for all those who work and socialise in our towns and her Department is funding a series of vulnerability training courses for businesses and workers in the Night-Time Economy Sector.
I want to encourage all businesses in Laois, Offaly and the wider Midlands, such as pubs, nightclubs, restaurants and all those engaged in the Night-Time Economy to sign up and also encourage employees to take part in this vulnerability training initiative.
Unfortunately, we know all too well that safety is an issue and not just linked to the Night-Time economy. I welcome this initiative as one tool in the toolbox for increased public safety and something tangible that the business sector can do now.
The key objective of this course is to enable workers and businesses in the Night-Time Economy to identify the issues around safeguarding and vulnerability management and violence against women. It will provide staff with an increased understanding of their responsibilities and duty of care to vulnerable people and train them on actions that must be taken to reduce identified risk. A series of policy templates in the areas such as incident and vulnerability management will also be available for businesses to download and use.
There are six training sessions available for registration. As I am hoping there is wide take-up I suggest you book your places as soon as possible. This initiative aims to provide training to over 600 businesses and staff working and engaging in the Night-Time Economy nationwide. You can register for the training here and read the Departmental PR on gov.ie