Alan Dukes

My time with Irish Guide Dogs

Some time in the first half of 2004 I received a phone call from my friend David Stanton, then TD for Cork East. He asked me if I would agree to join the Board of IGD, an organisation which he highly recommended for its work with vision-impaired people. He said that the Board wished to add to its membership somebody who was familiar with the policy-making and implementation processes of government. That sparked my interest, although my only acquaintance with IGD was the occasional sight of a guide dog at work.

I had a long phone conversation with the then General Manager who explained the organisation’s history and work to me and outlined the time commitment expected from Board members. I agreed to have my name proposed to the Board and was duly appointed.

From the very beginning, I found the Saturday Board meetings at the Cork centre engaging and fascinating. Jim Dennehy was President, and his personal history as co-founder was a compelling story of dedication and determination. It was abundantly clear that his example and leadership prompted very strong support, not only from members of the Board but also from people who needed guide dogs and also from a huge number of puppy raisers and branch members.

The world of dog breeding and training was, of course, a mystery to me, and I was hugely impressed by the dedication and enthusiasm of all the staff in the Cork centre and marvelled at their relationships with guide dog owners and puppy raisers. There was an open mind to developments in breeding and training in other countries and an impressive search for further improvements.

Fundraising was always a key preoccupation for the Board and for the many volunteers all around the country. The bank crisis of 2007/8 greatly affected the public mood and fundraising became more of a challenge than ever. Some very difficult measures had to be taken in 2009 but the organisation, the staff and the members proved their resilience and we pulled through. It was at that time that the Board adopted the policy of ensuring that the organisation had a reserve sufficient to fund activities for a year, if necessary.

One of the really high moments for me was the Board’s decision to provide Assistance Dogs, using fully-trained dogs which, for one reason or another, were considered to be unsuitable for vision-impaired people. When the proposal was brought to the Board, with supporting evidence from experience in other countries, it proved to be controversial. Some members of the Board feared that this would prove to be a distraction from the organisation’s core mission. Others felt that this was an opportunity to expand the quality of life for a new group of families facing great challenges by using the assets which we had produced, in the form of highly-trained dogs.

After much discussion, the Board agreed to start the Assistance Dog Programme, and it quickly proved its value.

I had the honour to chair the Board for about eighteen months following the retirement of the previous Chair after many years of service on the Board.

Inevitably, the moment came when I had served nine years on the Board and I retired in accordance with good governance practice. Such is my admiration for Guide Dogs, however, that I was easily persuaded to participate in the Nominations and Governance Committee, where I happily serve to this day.