by badminme | Mar 6, 2023 | Members News, PPN News
Clare PPN would like to give notice of election for the following position:
Shannon Municipal District Secretariat member of Clare PPN (and optional trustee of Clare PPN CLG)
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.
Clare PPN has three part time staff and an annual budget of €120,700 per year which is provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development and Clare County Council. The secretariat which is a flat structure meets ten times per year with those meetings usually taking place on Zoom. The successful candidate will also be required to attend events and meetings organised by the PPN itself for the purposes of consulting with our member groups. Secretariat members will be invited to become trustees of Clare PPN CLG although this is not mandatory.
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 and policy development by local groups in Local Government Structures
Election Rules and Process:
- Only groups who were members of Clare PPN on Monday, 6th March 2023 are eligible to participate in this election.
- Only groups who are members of the Shannon Municipal District can participate in this election.
- No person can represent Clare PPN on more than one external committee or body,
- Each member group may nominate one candidate and may cast one vote. (It is each group’s named contact person’s responsibility to consult with their own members regarding this).
How to nominate a candidate:
Groups wishing to nominate a candidate must seek their consent first and then must send an email to admin@clareppn.ie with the following information on or before Friday, 17th March at 5pm:
- Name of PPN member group.
- Position 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 relevant member groups on Monday, 20th March. Online voting will remain open until 1pm Monday 27th. No votes will be accepted after this time. The successful candidate will then be contacted and offered the position.
If you need any more information or wish to discuss the role further please email admin@clareppn.ie or call 087 1617375
NB: Even if you have nominated a candidate, you will still need to cast your vote to support their election.
by badminme | Mar 6, 2023 | Members News, PPN News
Clare PPN would like to give notice of election for the following position:
Killaloe Municipal District Secretariat member of Clare PPN (and optional trustee of Clare PPN CLG)
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.
Clare PPN has three part time staff and an annual budget of €120,700 per year which is provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development and Clare County Council. The secretariat which is a flat structure meets ten times per year with those meetings usually taking place on Zoom. The successful candidate will also be required to attend events and meetings organised by the PPN itself for the purposes of consulting with our member groups. Secretariat members will be invited to become trustees of Clare PPN CLG although this is not mandatory.
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 and policy development by local groups in Local Government Structures
Election Rules and Process:
- Only groups who were members of Clare PPN on Monday, 6th March 2023 are eligible to participate in this election.
- Only groups who are members of the Killaloe Municipal District can participate in this election.
- No person can represent Clare PPN on more than one external committee or body,
- Each member group may nominate one candidate and may cast one vote. (It is each group’s named contact person’s responsibility to consult with their own members regarding this).
How to nominate a candidate:
Groups wishing to nominate a candidate must seek their consent first and then must send an email to admin@clareppn.ie with the following information on or before Friday, 17th March at 5pm:
- Name of PPN member group.
- Position 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 relevant member groups on Monday, 20th March. Online voting will remain open until 1pm Monday 27th. No votes will be accepted after this time. The successful candidate will then be contacted and offered the position.
If you need any more information or wish to discuss the role further please email admin@clareppn.ie or call 087 1617375
NB: Even if you have nominated a candidate, you will still need to cast your vote to support their election.
by badminme | Feb 15, 2023 | Current, Members News, National, PPN News
Seven years a growing – some Clare PPN highlights since 2016
When you’re involved with a community organisation, it can be so busy that years go by before you get a chance to stop and stock of your activities and achievements. Clare PPN recently had cause to sit down and reflect on the highlights of the seven years since the network was set up in 2016. Below is a whistle-stop tour through just some of the community events and other projects Clare PPN has been involved in.
A good deal of Clare PPN’s work, which isn’t represented here, is behind the scenes – submissions, public consultations, training and supporting our member groups – but we always love having the opportunity to get out and about in the community.
Rural Rejigs conference
“What an absolutely brilliant day this was… One of the most thought provoking events I’ve ever been to.” Just one of the comments from a participant in ‘Rural Rejigs’ in December 2017, a day of ideas and discussions about how rural communities can thrive. The event, co-hosted with the Clare Local Development Company, was stimulating, encouraging and challenging, while also being a celebration of the tireless work already being done in rural communities. ‘Hive Mind’ discussion groups gave the participants a chance to network and share how they will sustain themselves in their work for positive change. There were also live performances from musicians Katie Theasby and Raed Said.
Quare Clare Pride
The rainbows, glad rags and drag queens were out in force last September (2022) for the first Quare Clare Pride Festival. There was a great turnout for several events over two days, from a poetry reading in Ennis to a burlesque drag and DJ night in Shannon, with a Clare Youth Pride Party and display of the Irish Names Quilt. The Pride Festival was organised by Quare Clare, a group for LGBTQ+ people in the Banner County set up in 2021 by Clare PPN and several other organisations. If you’d like to be involved in Quare Clare, please email: lgbtq.clare@gmail.com. You can follow Quare Clare activities on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/QuareClareLGBTQ
Election Hustings
In the run-up to both the local elections in 2019 and the general election in 2020, Clare PPN held very successful Election Hustings, at which candidates could make their pitches and take questions from voters. This photo shows a packed Cloughleigh Community Centre in Ennis for the general election hustings in 2020. The centre was packed to the rafters for that event, in which 12 of the candidates took part, facilitated by journalists Fiona McGarry and Andy Hamilton. The event was live-streamed, with more than 2,000 views. A poll was taken on entry and exit to add interest to proceedings. These events are part of Clare PPN’s general work to increase interest in participation in political processes in County Clare.
Big Hello Intercultural Picnic
The Big Hello Intercultural Picnic in May 2019 gave people from different communities the opportunity to share experiences and information. About 120 people attended this event, which was organised by Clare PPN, the Clare Women’s Network and Clare Immigrant Support Centre. There was catered food from local restaurants and people also brought their own to share. We also had henna tattoos and entertainment. People from the diverse communities that make up the Clare population got together and met the organisation representatives to learn about what we do and how they can be involved. Thanks to Clare County Council for providing the majority of the funding.
Towards an Anti-Poverty Strategy for Clare
A ground-breaking report on poverty in Co Clare was launched in September 2022, authored by renowned author and activist Dr Conor McCabe and funded by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The report, which attracted extensive national media coverage, was the outcome of a nine-month participatory research project, conducted by Clare PPN and five other organisations, under the guidance of Dr McCabe. The research included ‘peer to peer’ research sessions at which people experiencing poverty shared their experiences. The aim of the project was to develop an anti-poverty strategy for Co Clare and to address the severe lack of research and data on poverty in the county and to identify the root causes of poverty. You can download the report here:
https://clareppn.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Clare_Anti_Poverty_Report_Sept2022_web.pdf
‘One-Stop Shops’ for Voters
In advance of the various general and local elections and referendums, Clare PPN has held voter registration ‘One Stop Shops’ to make it easy for people to register to vote – in particular those who have turned 18 and those who have migrated to Ireland, who can vote in local elections. To organise these events, at locations across the county, we collaborated with Clare County Council and the Clare Garda Division. This photo is of one of our One Stop Shops in 2018, in the run-up to the referendum on repealing the 8th Amendment, at which more than 200 people registered to vote.
Network November
This event in 2018 was a very successful collaboration with Clare Volunteer Centre and Clare Local Development Company. We delivered training for community and voluntary groups in how to recruit volunteers, how to access funding and how to understand conflict, with training sessions across the Banner County, including Ennis, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Killaloe, Kilrush and Ennistymon.
Supporting DP residents in Lisdoonvarna
Clare PPN has been involved in several events in Lisdoonvarna to support residents of a Direct Provision centre in the town. In August 2018, we facilitated an event with the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) who came to Lisdoonvarna to meet with asylum seekers there. The photo above is of a ‘Working Life’ event we hosted in Lisdoonvarna in 2018, offering information and support for navigating the world of work in Ireland. In 2019, during the local election campaign, we held a special voter registration and ‘meet the candidates’ event in Lisdoonvarna, specially for the residents of the DP centre. A journalist for the New Yorker magazine, Masha Gessen, attended this event, at which local election candidates made their pitches:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/irelands-strange-cruel-system-for-asylum-seekers
Green Shoots Gathering
Our Green Shoots event, way back in our first year of 2016, was held at Glór in Ennis – a family friendly environmental get together with talks, workshops, entertainment and a screening of an award-winning documentary, Atlantic. It was open to all, and Clare-based environmental and community groups displayed their materials. There were some great speakers, and the day finished with entertainment from Little John Nee – that’s him in the photo above.
Traveller Pride Awards & Clare Traveller CDP
Last July (2022), there was a wonderful evening’s entertainment and a celebration of Travellers and Traveller culture, at the first Clare Traveller Pride Awards. There was a big turnout at Cois na hAibhne in Ennis to see comedian Martin Beanz Warde act as MC for the night. Awards were presented in seven categories, and the aim of the awards was to highlight and recognise the achievements and contributions of Travellers in their communities and in Irish society. The event was organised by what was then a brand new organisation, the Clare Traveller Community Development Project (CDP), which was jointly set up by Clare PPN and other organisations. Its objective is to develop a programme responding to the needs of the Traveller community – engaging closely with the community and ensuring a strong Traveller voice and active participation from the community. Clare Traveller CDP now has three staff and shares a premises with Clare PPN.
Climate presentation to Oireachtas Committee
Clare PPN co-ordinator Sarah Clancy was one of three national PPN representatives who testified to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action in November 2022. The topic was the Irish experience of community-led climate action and opportunities for its enhancement. Sarah was joined by Charles Stanley-Smith and Cliona Kelliher of Tipperary PPN and Kildare PPN respectively. You can read Sarah’s opening statement here:
https://clareppn.ie/opening-statement-for-the-joint-committee-on-the-environment-and-climate-action/
by badminme | Feb 13, 2023 | Members News, PPN News
CATU Clare met this weekend at Clare PPN. For more information on this grassroots organisation and how to get involved read on:
What is CATU?
- CATU stands for Community Action Tenants Union. It is a union for people outside of their workplaces, in the communities where they live, across the island of Ireland.
- CATU is grounded in the principles of grassroots democracy, collective organising, direct action and solidarity between members.
- The union is open to all those who want to act together against the urgent economic and social issues most of us face in our daily lives, such as sky-rocketing rents, substandard accommodation, lack of social housing, cuts in public services, the rising price of utilities and so on. We want to organise together not just among tenants, but also alongside mortgage holders, those in emergency and precarious accommodation, and everyone else who does not directly profit from the housing crisis.
What we believe
- We think that the only way to beat those responsible for our hardships – the landlords, banks, companies and politicians – is to get organised ourselves.
- We might not have capital, clout or authority, but we have numbers. And our strength comes from our solidarity and determination. We strongly believe that real power lies in the hands of ordinary people – tenants, communities, and workers – and change can only come when we act together.
- Our vision is of an organisation in cities and towns across this island, uniting communities in a coordinated struggle on issues we all share.
And We Want to Win.
Why join CATU?
- CATU is a democratic organisation, not associated with any political party. It is independently funded through membership dues rather than government or corporate grants.
- We are only accountable to our members; our direction, actions and campaigns are free from outside influence.
- All CATU members are equal and actively involved in all decisions and actions. While we are not perfect, we aim for CATU to be welcoming and inclusive to people from all backgrounds. We strongly encourage those whose voices are not heard enough in Irish society to join our union and collectively struggle for a fairer society. CATU is striving to build and improve internal mechanisms which amplify minority and oppressed voices.
- An important part of how we organise is our collective commitment to defending our members. Through organised action, we put pressure on those responsible and act in a spirit of mutual aid alongside CATU members in difficult situations.
- In our relatively short history, we can already count significant victories. Numerous times, CATU branches across Ireland have stopped illegal evictions, pressured landlords into returning deposits, or otherwise helped vulnerable members against abuse and injustice.
What CATU doesn’t do:
- CATU is not a legal advice service, nor is it an advocacy group. None of us are experts, but we constantly learn from each other’s knowledge and experiences.
- Our core activity is on the ground, in communities and real-life situations, not in theorising abstract ideas.
- Becoming a member is not subscribing to a fee-for service, but the beginning of gaining back power by organising with others like you in your community.
by badminme | Feb 2, 2023 | Members News, PPN News
€2.9 million for Clare – Community Recognition Fund 2023
Almost three million euro is being made available to communities in Clare who are hosting Temporary Protection and/or International Protection applicants. Sixteen towns and villages throughout Clare will soon be invited by Clare County Council to apply for small and large scale capital grants. This is to recognise the incredible work already done in these communities in welcoming displaced people and to improve facilities for everybody going forward.
The towns eligible for the funding stream are: Kilkee, Kilrush, Liscannor, Lisdoonvarna, Ballyvaughan, Lahinch, Doolin, Ennis, Clarecastle, Bodyke, Killaloe, Flagmount, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Bunratty, Shannon & Meelick
Application forms will be available and circulated to you on Tuesday 7th February. With a very tight deadline of Wednesday 22nd February for receipt of completed forms, now is this the time for communities to get together and decide on projects they would like to progress in their area.
• A small scale capital grant (up to €2,000) will be available for the purchase of equipment for local clubs, committees and organisations eg: musical instruments, sporting goods, art supplies etc.
• A large scale capital grant (over €2,000) will be available for the development, enhancement or refurbishment of cultural, community, sporting or cultural facilities; purchase of community vehicles etc.
Meetings will be held in each municipal district for information and assistance as follows:
Lisdoonvarna Pavillion: Tuesday 14th February 10am – 2pm
Kilrush (venue TBD): Tuesday 14th February 10am – 2pm
Scarriff MD Area Office: Thursday 16th February 10am – 2pm
Shannon Wolfetones GAA: Thursday 16th February 10am – 1pm
Ennis Buttermarket: Thursday 16th February 2pm – 5pm
Full details will follow next week but please start having the discussion now!!!
