An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir November 2018 www.dfmagazine.ie 22 | Moving Forward Together BY SGT WAYNE FITZGERALD PHOTOS BY ARMN JAMIE BARRETT O NE (the Organisation of National Ex-Service Per- sonnel) held its annual convention in the Talbot Hotel, Carlow, on the 29th Septem- ber 2018. Over 200 delegates, representing branches from around the country, voted and discussed veterans' affairs and how to take the organisation forward. Items discussed ranged from strategic planning, to veterans support centres, public relations, and governance. The conference opened with a prayer from ONE Na- tional President Tom James, who then read out a list of recently deceased mem- bers. Tom then thanked his predecessor and the staff of ONE's homes in Letterken- ny, Athlone and Dublin. CEO Ollie O'Connor was next to the podium, and began with the news that the ONE was in close negotiations with the DoD and the OPW to purchase a building in Cobh that will be turned into another veterans support centre, and possibly a small resi- dential home for home- less veterans. "We have a bit of a way to go, and then the home will need to be renovated and hopefully we can access grants to bring it up to a liveable standard," Ollie told delegates. He went on to say that ONE intends to open more support centres, with a view to every barracks in the country having one. Regarding the Fuchsia Appeal, Ollie thanked the county councils who flew the Fuchsia flag during the year, and he announced that the first annual Fuchsia coffee morning will be held in every bar- racks on 30th November. On the subject of veterans policy and the government White Paper, Ollie said ONE had met with the Association of Retired Commissioned Officers (ARCO) and the Irish United Nations Vet- erans Association (IUNVA) a number of times throughout the year to discuss the issue. Speaking about the homes ONE manages for former DF veter- ans in need of accommodation, Ollie said: "The way the homes are managed is second to none; they are really hostels, but we like to call them homes, and I'd like to thank Aiden, Pat, Dick and Sinead for their great work." ONE Chairman Brig Gen Colm Campbell (retd) then gave an inspiring talk on the organisation, and its strategic goals. "Civvies have colleagues, soldiers have comrades," he said. "That's why we get on so well together, because no matter where you served, or rank or position you held, we can relate to each other." Speaking about the branches, he said: "The members are ONE. We have to focus on what the branches do. We need to look more at local politics and we must develop the veterans policy. We need to look at a better set of certificates for personnel leaving the Defence Forces than the current LA89 – which doesn't really tell you about the person or the skills they have attained in their careers." The chairman finished by saying that ONE needs to look more at applying for grant aid and at corporate sponsorship of its homes and support centres. He then took some questions from the floor. One questioner asked "would it be possible to bring branch committee members up to National HQ to undergo training in their relevant appointments, such as treasurer, for example," to which Brig Gen Campbell replied that he thought it was "an excel- lent idea" and that he would immediately add it to the strategic plan to make it happen. Ollie O'Connor then spoke about the veterans support centres in detail, saying a number would be up and running by the end of 2018. He said that ONE would work hand in hand with Personnel Support Services (PSS) in developing and utilising the centres and that they ONE board members Lt Col Ollie Barbour retired, and Derek Ryan give very informative talks on the veterans support centres and public relations and social media respectively. ONE's CEO Ollie O'Connor addressing conference. ONE Delegates voting at conference.

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