Ability West praised for world class standards

Galway charity Ability West has proven its pedigree in its work through many guises – but now it can add international recognition for its health and safety record.

The charity was one of 30 private, public and SME sector organisations receiving awards recently from the Minister for Small Business, John Perry, at NSAI (National Standards Authority of Ireland).

The Galway based charity  joined the likes of Dawn Meats, Datapac, the Fire & Rescue Services of both Carlow and Clare in achieving world class standards under a range of headings including Health and Safety Management, Environmental Management, Medical Devices Quality Management Systems and Excellence Through People – the national human resources management scheme.

Ability West received certification to NSAI’s Excellence through People (ETP) scheme. The company provides services and supports to over 520 individuals with intellectual disability throughout Galway city and county and aims to provide quality supports and services to children and adults, in line with the Vision and Mission Statements and Strategic Plan 2014 – 2018.

The mission is to provide an individual and holistic service to each person availing of the services, with each person supported and valued within an environment which promotes their overall autonomy, health and wellbeing and enables them to reach their potential.

The Minister joined Maurice Buckley, Chief Executive of NSAI to present the awards, congratulate the attendees, and recognise their important investment in standards.

“Finding a competitive advantage is crucial for businesses both at home and abroad and the impressive organisations here today show that companies believe that standards really do give their business that advantage.

“Companies are investing in standards because they can see the return on investment and are seeing the benefits. Standards can open up doors to new opportunities for business and in and many cases these companies present today have already seen this and are representing Ireland on the international stage,” said Minister Perry.