Irish Guide Dogs is Ireland’s national charity dedicated to helping people who are vision impaired and families of children with autism to achieve improved mobility and independence.
Our core purpose
To enable people with sight loss and families of children with autism to lead better lives, become more independent and more mobile.
Our mission
To provide the highest quality of services in partnership with our clients while planning for the future and valuing clients, Volunteers and each other.
Our funding
We receive over 85% of our income through voluntary donations and fundraising through a network of Volunteers across the country. It will cost over €5 million to run our organisation this year.
Our headquarters
Our National Headquarters and Training Centre is located on the Model Farm Road two miles outside Cork City. All our training programmes are run at this location. Some of our courses last up to three weeks, with clients staying at the Centre for the duration of their training. Full aftercare is provided for all clients in their homes and communities.
Our strategic plan
In January 2018 we began to share the details of our strategic plan for the next 3 years (2018 to 2020).
The strategic plan was developed by the management team at Irish Guide Dogs in consultation with stakeholders and the process was led by Ms Jacqui Browne, Chair of our Nominating and Governance Sub-Committee. It was approved by the Board in December 2017.
You can download the summary documents in PDF and in Word formats.
Our affiliations
Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind is proud to be a member of VISPA (Vision Impaired Service Providers Alliance), which includes Fighting Blindness, Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, NCBI (National Council for the Blind of Ireland) and ChildVision the National Education Centre for Blind Children (formerly St. Joseph’s Centre for the Visually Impaired).
Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind is also an accredited member of The International Guide Dog Federation and Assistance Dogs International.
We are also a member of the Charities Institute of Ireland.
