Kildare disability service provider achieves 'Gold' standard certification
Fiona O'Neill (Senior HR Officer, Kare), Margaret O'Neill (CEO, Kare) and Austin O'Sullivan (HR Manager, Kare) with Kare's Excellence Through People gold certification.
NON-PROFIT disability service provider Kare, which provides supports to over 550 children and adults with intellectual disability across Kildare, west Wicklow and east Offaly, has been awarded Gold certification in the Excellence Through People programme, recognising the organisation’s strong commitment to people management, staff development/wellbeing and organisational culture.
Excellence Through People (ETP) is Ireland’s national standard for human resource development, operated and awarded by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), which measures and sets out best practice in areas such as leadership and people management, learning and development and employee wellbeing. Achieving Gold ETP certification places Kare among organisations nationally that demonstrate excellence in how they support and invest in their people.
The Gold award follows a rigorous independent assessment process in late 2025, which included four days of on-site evaluation and 46 one-to-one interviews with randomly selected staff members from across the organisation. The assessors examined how Kare supports, develops and engages its workforce, and how this translates into the quality of services provided.
Commenting on the achievement, Kare’s CEO, Margaret O'Neill, said the certification is a significant milestone for the organisation and a reflection of the dedication shown by staff at all levels:
“This Gold Excellence Through People certification is a real credit to our staff and the professionalism, care and teamwork they bring to their roles every day. The assessment process gave colleagues the opportunity to speak openly about their experience of working in Kare, and it is very encouraging to see such strong alignment between our values and how staff support the people who use our services.” The assessment report stated: "There appears to be a very positive environment within the organisation with staff who were interviewed reporting that they are happy in their jobs and that the organisation treats them fairly and with respect."
