by badminme | Jul 2, 2018 | SPC for Social Development
SPC on Social Development
Housing , sport, libraries.
Opening a homeless one stop shop in late Autumn. Build a new Library.
Yes call a meeting of all Social Housing bodies soon
by badminme | Jun 18, 2018 | Local Community Development Committee, Members News, PPN News, SPC for Social Development
The results of the recent Clare PPN Representatives elections were revealed at our plenary meeting on 14th June 2018
Congratulations to Ann Marie Flanagan who has been elected to represent the Social Inclusion Groups of Clare PPN on Clare County Council’s Local Community Development Committee.
Congratulations also to Trudy Leyden who has been elected to represent the Community and Voluntary Groups of Clare PPN on Clare County Council’s Social Development Strategic Policy Committee which deals with housing culture and sports.
We thank all the candidates who stood for election and everyone who voted and we look forward to working with both newly elected representatives.
by badminme | Jun 11, 2018 | Members News, PPN News, SPC for Social Development
Voting is now open for a community & voluntary representative on the Social Development SPC of Clare County Council.
Clare PPN Community & Voluntary member groups and associated individuals may only cast ONE VOTE at the following link:
Voting ends at 5pm in Thursday, 14th June 2018.
Strategic Policy Committees (SPC) are structured around the main functions of council. They are made up of elected councillors and other representatives of the social partners and other sectoral interests. Each SPC is chaired by an elected councillor and is supported by a director of service. The task of the SPC is to assist and advise the council in the formulation, development and review of policy. Final policy decisions, however, ultimately rest with the full council acting as a body. There are currently four SPCs in Clare County Council.
The Social Development SPC is responsible for all areas of policy concerning the council’s housing, estate management, culture and sport functions.
Trudy Leyden
Trudy has a long interest in Social and Cultural policy.
She has a Masters of Arts in Politics and has qualifications in Cultural Studies and Literature.
She has trained with the Clare Adult Basic Education Services as well as having worked as an After School Homework Tutor with the Clare Local Development Company.
Trudy is involved in volunteering with many organisations. She has been a Brownie Leader with the reformed Ennis Brownie Branch. She was a volunteer with the Fleadh Committee in both 2016 and 2017. She is the current Secretary with the Quin Community Text Alert Service.
She has also held several roles as an Activist with her local Political Party.
Karen Wise
I am 44 years old and have lived in County Clare for the last 24 years.
I have been a disability rights campaigner for some 25 years now. I have been a party to and represented rights of people with Disabilities in courts and tribunals. In doing so I have developed a strong network of contacts within the sector.
I am the current chair of the board of the National Council of People with Disabilities.
I have been a director of multiple Charitable and community co-operatives (many Companies Limited by Guarantee) for well over 24 years. I was the first Honorary Secretary of Caring for Carers Ireland and as such drafted and edited the first aims and objectives. I have been member of the Physical and sensory disability Co-Ordination committee of the then Mid-Western Health Board.
I have been on a National Disability Authority committee on standards and trained in social skills, disability, equality training and group working skills. I have also trained in Business Management and Administration, Company Law directorship, GDPR.
by badminme | May 21, 2018 | Housing, Members News, PPN News, SPC for Social Development
Clare PPN Notice of Elections
21st of May 2018
Acceptance of nominations has been extended to Thursday 7th June at 5pm.
Clare Public Participation Network gives notice of its intention to conduct elections from among its membership for the following positions which have become vacant.
- Killaloe Municipal District Secretariat Member.
- Social Inclusion College Representative to sit on Clare County Council’s Local Community Development Committee (LCDC).
- Community and Voluntary College Representative to sit on Clare County Council’s Social Development Strategic Policy Committee (SPC)
Clare PPN seeks nominations from its member groups for candidates for each of the above roles.
Election Rules and Process:
- Only groups who were members of Clare PPN on 20th of May 2018 are eligible to vote in these elections.
- No person can represent Clare PPN on more than one external committee or body.
- Only groups with registered from addresses in Killaloe Municipal District may nominate or vote for that Secretariat seat. (Position 1)
- Only groups who are members of the Social Inclusion College may nominate or vote for the Social Inclusion Representative Seat (Position 2)
- Only groups who are members of the Community and Voluntary Pillar may vote for the Community and Voluntary Seat on the Social Development SPC (Position 3)
Each member group may nominate one candidate and may cast one vote in the relevant election- it is each group’s named contact person’s responsibility to consult with their own members in regard to this.
If any group is uncertain about their Municipal District or College they can contact us on 087 1617375 or by email to admin@clareppn.ie
How to nominate a candidate:
Groups wishing to nominate a candidate must seek their consent first and then must send us an email to admin@clareppn.ie with the following information on or before Thursday,June 7th at 5 PM :
- Name of Community Group.
- Position number for which they are nominating a candidate.
- Name of proposed nominee.
- Contact details of proposed nominee.
- A short paragraph (up to 200 words) detailing the nominees’ suitability and experience for the role- this will be shared on social media and on our website in advance of voting.
- A photo of your nominee which we may share with our members and social media followers.
Clare PPN will confirm receipt of nominations by email.
Following the close of nominations Clare PPN will circulate details of candidates to our members and online and voting will be open until June 13th at 5pm.
The names of the successful candidates will be announced at Clare PPN’s plenary meeting which will take place on June 14th 2018. Details to follow.
NB: Even if you have nominated a candidate you will still need to cast your vote to support their election.
Details: Position 1. Killaloe Municipal District Secretariat Member
Clare PPN is managed by a board known as the Secretariat. This secretariat is responsible for running the Public Participation Network in Clare between plenary meetings where the member groups’ views and input are sought. Clare PPN has two part time staff and an annual budget of €80,000 per year in funding which is provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development and Clare County Council. The secretariat which is a flat structure meets at least six times per year with those meetings usually taking place in Ennis County Clare. Candidates will also be required to attend events and meetings organised by the PPN itself for the purposes of consulting with our member groups. Clare PPN is currently seeking nominations for a representative from the Killaloe Municipal District. The ideal candidate will be a person who is well connected with community groups in the area and someone who has a genuine interest in increasing participation by local groups in Local Government Structures. Whilst all correctly nominated candidates will go forward equally Clare PPN would particularly welcome women candidates for this role to assist with gender balance on the Secretariat which is currently 7/3 men/ women.
For more details on the current secretariat see here
Details; Position 2. Social Inclusion Representative on Clare County Council’s Local Community Development Committee.
The Local Community Development Committee is comprised of Council Officials, Elected Councillors, and various business and community representatives. Among other things LCDC has the job of developing and overseeing the community elements of Clare County Council’s 6 year long Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP). This is an important committee for Clare PPN and its members and we have 5 seats on it. The vacancy is for a social inclusion seat and we would encourage nominations of people who have an understanding or experience or interest in any of the following areas; combatting social exclusion, poverty reduction, anti-discrimination policy making, community development, intercultural and anti-racism work. This committee meets 5- 6 times per year and the successful nominee will also be required to participate on occasion in other networking, consultation and policy making events with member groups and Clare PPN secretariat.
For more details on Clare PPN’s representatives on the LCDC see here here
For more details on the Local Community Development Committee itself see here
Details: Position 3. Community and Voluntary Representative on Clare County Council’s Social Development Strategic Policy Committee (SPC)
This committee is made up of Elected Councillors, Council Officials and community and social partner representatives. They have the role of helping to form, advise and monitor all policies relating to housing, estate management, culture and sports in County Clare. The task of each SPC is to assist and advise the council in the formulation, development and review of policy. This committee meets approximately 4- 5 times per year. The successful nominee would be required to participate in other events organised by Clare PPN to inform, network and consult with members on the activities of this committee. For this role Clare PPN are seeking a nominee from the community and voluntary college who preferably has an interest in some or all of the following- arts policy and funding and community art, sports and sports development in County Clare and as this committee deals primarily with issues of housing we would welcome someone who would be willing to participate constructively on matters of housing policy in County Clare.
For more details on Clare PPN’s representatives on this committee please see : here
For more details about the SPC itself from Clare County Council please see Here
For any further information about any of the above roles or Clare PPN’s election processes please feel free to call us on 087 1617375.
by badminme | Jan 19, 2018 | Current, Members News, PPN News, SPC for Social Development
Creative Ireland Clare – Focus Group, January 16th 2018 Lead by Deirdre Enright
I was invited to attend the above focus group as a representative of Clare PPN last week. We received short notice of the invitation and so I asked on social media if there was anything in particular that people wanted raised at the focus group- here’s how I got on and what I learned-
The first thing to say was that this focus group was about how Creative Ireland Clare might achieve its aims in 2018. Creative Ireland is a national initiative which was started as a result of the perceived success of the 1916 100 anniversary commemorations around the country- as I remember the idea behind it was to try and capture the energy and enthusiasm for events at local level organised by communities and local authorities into something lasting which could build on culture and community for everyone’s benefit. More on Creative Ireland here https://creative.ireland.ie/en
Part of Creative Ireland’s plan involved setting up Creative Ireland Teams in all local authority areas which include Arts office staff, Library Staff, Heritage Staff, Rural and Social Development Staff and others. Last year’s Creative Ireland Clare Plan is here https://creative.ireland.ie/en/local-plans/clare
The purpose of this focus group seemed to be to examine how Clare County Council’s Creative Ireland Team and in particular the Arts Office could best use the funds available to help make the arts thrive in Clare. The total funding per county for Creative Ireland is €94,000 this year. This does not include local government funding for the arts or arts council funding etc it is just a Creative Ireland fund. Creative Ireland has also got an ambitious plan to enhance arts and cultural participation in schools but that is funded separately to the general Local Authority Fund.
The discussions were on the need for arts infrastructure, for artists to be supported with places to make large works, for the money to go directly to artists, for the money to be used to help provide professional arts staff who might be able to support artists/festivals in getting work done and made.
Because it was a focus group rather than a strategy session things were more brainstormed than decided upon but in an attempt to sum up the main themes of the discussion or the main points of agreement-
Clare could do with a creative hub or space where people could make work and network –an arts place.
The arts and cultural scene in Clare has a severe lack of human infrastructure- staff paid in sustainable positions to promote and develop the arts in Clare – and to help artists and festivals with the business of keeping themselves working- funding, grant applications, promotions, work spaces etc. The Arts Office has only one full time staff member and so growing the arts and being available and accessible to people county wide is a huge ask at this level of staffing.
The arts office could also do with its own dedicated website separate from Clare County Council’s main page. This would help it communicate, promote arts events and be more accessible to people in the county.
Clare needs to ensure that artists can where possible earn sustainable livelihoods in Clare and that those who are from the county and leave for university or to go further afield are included in the artistic life of the county where possible –so attention should be paid to artists living and working in Clare and to the internal and international diaspora many of whom are engaged in the arts.
A suggestion was also made to investigate the possibilities of corporate supports such as businesses that might want an artist in residence etc as a way of putting arts at the core of life in Clare.
The focus group concluded with that with the next step being for Deirdre Enright the consultant to collate the findings from all the sectoral focus groups they conducted and to help draft a creative Ireland programme for 2018 from it.
This is not the County Arts Development Plan 2018 – although some issues raised at the focus groups may be reflected in that plan. Apparently there will be consultation on that in the near future- I will keep you posted if I hear anything about that.
by badminme | Oct 17, 2017 | Current, Housing, Local Community Development Committee, Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee, PPN News, SPC for Social Development
Clare Public Participation Network Statement: Date: 17/10/2017
Clare PPN calls for emergency plan to be put in place for roadside-dwelling Travellers during weather alerts.
Clare Public Participation Network’s Social Inclusion Representatives commend Clare County Council and the county’s emergency services for their swift actions and clear and frequent updates during the status red weather alert which accompanied ex hurricane Ophelia on the 15th of October. It came to the representatives’ attention however that there had been no provisions made to ensure the safety of the members of the Traveller community who live on the roadside in temporary dwellings. People contacting the Council’s emergency number were advised that no plan was in place for roadside dwelling Travellers and that they should ‘stay put’ until the storm abated. Clare PPN calls on the Council management and on elected representatives to ensure that a contingency plan is immediately put in place for any future such weather events which would at a minimum offer temporary secure shelter to all of those who need it. Clare PPN’s Social Inclusion Representatives are concerned that a failure to do this could result in injuries or fatalities which could be prevented by advance planning and so it calls on all those responsible to take action before the winter sets in fully.
Signed:
Mary O’Donoghue, Local Community Development Committee.
Sarah Clancy, Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee.
Dermot Hayes, Social Development Strategic Policy Committee.
George Atijohn, Clare Public Participation Network Secretariat.
Damon Matthew Wise Âû, Physical Development Strategic Policy Committee.
Details: Enquiries about anything to do with Clare PPN can be directed to sarah@clareppn.ie or 087 1617375.
Notes:
Clare PPN is a network of community, voluntary, environmental and social inclusion groups from Clare. It exists to facilitate the formal participation by the community sector in Clare County Council’s decision making structures. It is funded jointly by the Department of Community and Rural Development and Clare County Council but is autonomous and its activities are directed by its members through an elected secretariat.
Clare PPN’s website is www.clareppn.ie and they are on twitter @clare_ppn and https://facebook.com/clareppn/
