Clare Public Participation Network, the organisation of Community and Voluntary Groups in County Clare, is holding its first county level public meeting of 2017 on Wednesday 1st February at 7 pm in The Old Ground Hotel, Ennis and all are welcome.
Each Public Participation Network is required to hold two county level ‘plenary’ meetings each year and these meetings are the main decision making forums for the whole organisation.
At Wednesday’s meeting the PPN’s board members, ‘the secretariat’ will be reflecting on the great year that Clare PPN had in 2016 and will be calling for input from all member groups about what activities to prioritise in 2017.
Marie Therese Carroll, the representative from Ennis Municipal District explained: “The PPN is a great resource for community groups. In the last year, as well as having our community representatives participating in Clare County Council’s committees we have been able to organise training and workshops for group members in all sorts of things from media and social media to economics and mediation. We plan to continue this in the year ahead and so are really seeking the input from our member groups about how we can cater for their training needs and make sure their experience and expertise are available to decision makers in the county.”
Environmental Campaigner Theresa O’Donohoe, who is a member of the secretariat that organises the PPN’s activities in Clare has called on community groups that are not yet registered with the PPN to do so: ‘Every day our County Council makes decisions that will affect our lives in the county both immediately and in the future. It is vital that the people who live in Clare use every avenue available to them to make their views known. The PPN allows us to put community people at the tables where policies are made.’
There will be an opportunity for those attending to get together with some of the community activists who were elected to represent them on Clare County Council’s policy making committees. Members of Co Clare based community groups will be able to register to join the PPN on the night Groups wishing to join the PPN can register online at http://clareppn.ie/join-the-ppn/
Enquiries about anything to do with Clare PPN can be directed to sarah@clareppn.ie or 087 1617375.