by Sarah Clancy | Feb 22, 2021 | Members News, PPN News, SPC for Rural Development |
REPORT TO PPN of SPC Rural Development 16th February 2021
by Anny Wise
This was the first meeting held completely on ZOOM. The agenda included COVID-19 community response which was a presentation and we were asked for suggestions. But a long discussion was had.
The second presentation was on DigiClare and broadband roll-out.
Several suggestions were made especially on the location of forthcoming hubs – and that the National broadband rollout to start from Limerick Clare. That being South East Clare towards Kilkishen and East Clare to Parteen and above. The Eircom Infrastructure such as replace pole is to go through the planning process.
When the Climate Change and Biodiversity came on the agenda – I was asked to report. I gave information of the Wind Farm procedure going through the department of Malcom Noolan (I met him with another committee on Zoom earlier that week) and pointed out that with extreme wind if trees appear to be in danger – cut the branches and not the tree. I gave statistic on the benefit of trees.
I than asked for suggestions from the Power Point shown at the last meeting – there were none. I than offered to make one for the next meeting and this was agreed.
The subject was to be “Methods of Home Heating.
The final point on the agenda was the fact that Clare’s Rural Development Strategy was to be reviewed – it was felt some of it was already outdated. The Rural Development Forum was to give our committee proposed changes.
I had already asked for Jean Tierney O’Keeffe wanted to bring under any other Business
She spoke on behalf of the PPN – saying that as National Water Resources Plan meeting on Zoom on Monday 22nd February – the members were then sent a notice and link to it the following day.
by Sarah Clancy | Sep 29, 2020 | Members News, PPN News, SPC for Rural Development |
Reps report on 15th September 2020 Rural Development SPC – Anny Wise
Representative Name
Anny Wise
The two PPN Representatives were the only ones attending via Zoom – but the main committee who were in the Council chamber could not be heard by us. They could hear us but we could neither see them nor hear them. The Chair or people giving the reports were summarising what people were saying. Despite our patience being tested to the maximum we did get taken notice – in fact we were given priority as they felt guilty.
I got to ask the questions about what graveyards were available to some of the 12% of Clare’s population who are not Christian. The answer was no graveyard facilities for them other than the same as everyone else. It was then suggested that this would be discussed in the forthcoming review.
Leonard Cleary told the meeting that I had offered Pro Sweeney’s video and it was agreed that this would be covered in the November meeting. They asked to view it before the meeting. I am to ask for this from John Sweeney.
I noticed that the Community Funding was from March to September – this would not allow many environmental projects, due to the Habitats Directive.
by Sarah Clancy | Sep 21, 2020 | Current, Joint Policing Committee, Local Community Development Committee, Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee, Members News, PPN News, SPC for Physical Development, SPC for Rural Development, SPC for Social Development |
Notice of Plenary Meeting: October 12th 2020 at 7PM (Online)
Clare Public Participation Network invites all member groups to attend its first online Plenary Meeting which will take place on Monday 12th October at 7pm.
What is a Plenary Meeting? Plenary meetings are the main decision making forums for Clare PPN -at these meetings all member groups are invited to attend and to put items forward for the agenda for discussion or for inclusion in the work plan of Clare PPN. At each of these meetings the staff and secretariat of Clare PPN present an update on the work, finances, and activities of the PPN from the preceding three months and present their work plan for discussion and input from member groups for the forthcoming three months.
Online Meeting: Due to the Covid-19 restrictions this Plenary Meeting will be held online via zoom. Any member or person who would like to receive training in how to use Zoom should email newsletter@clareppn.ie and William Hederman will arrange a session with you to help familiarise you with how to participate using this tool. You will need a smart phone or computer and an internet connection to use zoom. If possible each member group should nominate someone who has these facilities to represent them at this Plenary Meeting. If any group is unable to attend online please feel free to send us submissions or items for our agenda via email to admin@clareppn.ie or by calling us on 087 1617375.
Call for Agenda Items:
All current member groups can propose agenda items for this meeting on or before October 5th 2020 . Please send these using the subject line ”Agenda Item Plenary Meeting” to admin@clareppn.ie
Clare PPN’s representatives who sit on 11 boards and committees in the County will also have an opportunity to present updates from their committees and to take any questions or input from member groups at this meeting.
For part of this meeting Members will be split up into three groups – representing the three colleges of Clare PPN – Environmental, Social Inclusion and Community & Voluntary and asked to identify their priorities for Clare PPN to address until the end of 2020.
At the beginning of each plenary meeting we will present an introduction to the PPN for new member groups and a question and answer session will be held.
Please reserve your place at this meeting by emailing your name and member group name to admin@clareppn.ie on or before October 11th 2020.
by Sarah Clancy | Oct 14, 2019 | Members News, PPN News, SPC for Rural Development |
Your Rural Development SPC representatives
The following Clare PPN representatives were ratified at the Clare PPN plenary meeting on 8th October 2019. We would like to offer our congratulations to them and look forward to working together to represent the interest of the people of County Clare.
Annie Wise – Environment College Representative
Anny Wise is nominated by An Taisce Clare branch and was born in Antwerp Belgium in 1942. She moved to Northern Ireland in 1985 and then to Shannon in 1990. She has three degrees and studied in Sussex, Antwerp and NUIGalway. Her latest master is in Rural Development which she completed in 2006. She was first nominated to an SPC in 2006 by the Environmental Pillar and served since having been elected to represent the environment by the PPN. The SPCs she served on were were involved in transport, planning and land use.
Eugene Crimmins – Community and Voluntary Representative
Eugene is a founding member of Newmarket Village Centre Text Alert. He is a committee member and former Chair of Newmarket on Fergus Tidy Towns. A former County Arts Officer, Eugene has a long established record of community development, including having served as a board member of Obair Environmental Development Association and Clare PPN Secretariat.
Jean O’Keefe – Social Inclusion College
Jean is a Youth Work Manager with Clare Youth Service and manages The Junction Youth and Community Building. Clare Youth Service had its beginnings in 1969 when it was established as the Clare Regional Youth Council. Over the years it has changed and developed to become a leader in the field of Youth Services. It is affiliated to Youth Work Ireland (t/a NYF). The aim of Clare Youth Service is to assist the holistic development of young people and those who work with them so that they are enabled to participate fully in society in a way which respects the equal worth of all.
by Sarah Clancy | Oct 7, 2019 | Current, Members News, PPN News, SPC for Economic Development, SPC for Physical Development, SPC for Rural Development, SPC for Social Development |
Introducing Clare PPN’s nominees for seats on Clare PPN’s Strategic Policy Committees 2019- 2024
Following the local elections in May 2019 Clare County Council’s Strategic Policy Committees had to be reconstituted as per the legislation. These Strategic Policy Committees or ‘SPCs’ for short advise Clare County Council on policies and decisions. By having seats available to outside interests they help to bring in expertise and experience from the community and voluntary, farming, trade union and business sectors. Clare PPN member groups have the role of nominating and electing all the representatives from the Community and Voluntary, Environmental and Social Inclusion sector in Clare who will sit on these committees.
On September 17th following the adoption of the ‘Draft Scheme for Strategic Policy Committees’ by Clare County Council, Clare PPN circulated a call for nominations to all its member groups for the seats we had been allocated on all four strategic policy committees. We received in total 11 nominations for the 11 available seats accross our three colleges. Although this was excellent – the nominations were not exactly aligned with the seats available; in two cases we had two nominees for one seat and none for another. Following discussions with those nominated for those particular seats we were able to reallocate the nominees to ensure that each seat had the proper number of nominees from each college. Following that we are able to announce that the following people are Clare PPNs nominees for seats on the SPCs. They will be put before our member groups for ratification at our plenary meeting on October 9th (7pm Clare PPN offices, Clonroad Business Park, Clonroad, Ennis) and following that will be sent to Clare County Council.
Economic Development SPC
Elaine Dalton – Social Inclusion Representative
Elaine D’Alton is the Project Coordinator of the NCCWN – Clare Women’s Network. Elaine is a feminist with a strong commitment to inclusion, human rights and ensuring the voices of women are brought to the forefront of decision making and their lived experiences are included and considered when structural, political and social policy development is being determined.
Emma Karran – Environmental Representative
Emma Karran is English born and has lived in Doonbeg with her family for four years. Her engagement in topics of local concern began when she became a member of the environmental group Futureproof Clare and joined the protest against the proposed LNG terminal in the Shannon estuary.
A mother herself and with links to the communities in south west Clare through her work, she wants to commit herself to deeper active involvement in the future health and well-being of the people of Clare and its land through being on the Strategic Policy Committee for Economic Development
Rural Development SPC
Annie Wise – Environment College Representative
Anny Wise is nominated by An Taisce Clare branch and was born in Antwerp Belgium in 1942. She moved to Northern Ireland in 1985 and then to Shannon in 1990. She has three degrees and studied in Sussex, Antwerp and NUIGalway. Her latest master is in Rural Development which she completed in 2006. She was first nominated to an SPC in 2006 by the Environmental Pillar and served since having been elected to represent the environment by the PPN. The SPCs she served on were were involved in transport, planning and land use.
Eugene Crimmins – Community and Voluntary Representative
Eugene is a founding member of Newmarket Village Centre Text Alert. He is a committee member and former Chair of Newmarket on Fergus Tidy Towns. A former County Arts Officer, Eugene has a long established record of community development, including having served as a board member of Obair Environmental Development Association and Clare PPN Secretariat.
Jean O’Keefe – Social Inclusion College
Jean is a Youth Work Manager with Clare Youth Service and manages The Junction Youth and Community Building. Clare Youth Service had its beginnings in 1969 when it was established as the Clare Regional Youth Council. Over the years it has changed and developed to become a leader in the field of Youth Services. It is affiliated to Youth Work Ireland (t/a NYF). The aim of Clare Youth Service is to assist the holistic development of young people and those who work with them so that they are enabled to participate fully in society in a way which respects the equal worth of all.
Physical Development SPC
Padraic Hayes – Social Inclusion Representative
Padraic graduated with a Masters in Marketing from Limerick Institute of Technology and has worked since then in the area of administration and finance. His real passion however lies in advocacy and he is the current Chairperson of the Clare Leader Forum, which is an independent group of people with disabilities who work to create a voice on disability issues in Clare. Padraic has helped the Forum grow from strength to strength and with his support the Clare Leader Forum has now become one of the key cross-disability representative groups in Clare. At a national level Padraic has also continued to promote the rights of people with disabilities through his work with the Center for Independent Living and more specifically through his role on the Value for Money (Transforming Lives) committee
Aishling Wheeler – Environmental Representative
Aisling is a teacher, perma-culturist, parent and climate activist. She is chairperson of Kilfenora Tidy Towns Committee. She has been involved in many environmental campaigns over the years and is currently working voluntarily with Futureproof Clare and Extinction Rebellion Ireland to raise awareness of the Climate Crisis and prepare our communities for the future.
James Giller – Environmental Representative
James Giller is a First Class Honours graduate of Computer Science from UCC and holds a Master of Engineering from Osaka University, Japan, specialising in robotics. He applies his knowledge of information technology, especially in autonomous systems, to research and engage with relevant environmental and socioeconomic issues such as industrial automation; autonomous, connected and electric vehicles; and data centres and other IT infrastructure. James has excellent communication skills as well as experience as a representative in the UCC Student Council, where he was awarded Best New Speaker. He has hosted a number of public talks on the climate and biodiversity crisis in Ennis and given interviews on the occasion of a number of rallies and other events to both local and national media. He has also contributed to submissions on past Draft Litter Management and Climate Change Adaptation Plans from Clare County Council. James is involved in a campaign to help Ennis businesses achieve low/zero-waste.
Damon Matthew Wise Âû – Community and Voluntary Representative
The CEO/National Secretary of NCPD. He has represented people with disabilities and environmental issues at local, county, national and international levels, including to the United Nations. Damon also serves as a secretariat member for Clare PPN and as part of Federation Trust worked with community and voluntary groups to assit them with incorporation.
Social Development SPC
Trudy Leyden – Community and Voluntary Representative
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 and has trained with the Clare Adult Basic Education Services and 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
Noel Kearney – Social Inclusion Representative
Noel is currently serving as secretary for Clare Leader Forum. He is active in a variety of community groups and is involved with mental health organisation Shine and with Clare Local Mental Health Forum. He organises discos and social events for people with disabilities and in his spare time he loves collecting records, reading, music, and is a big fan of films.
by Sarah Clancy | Sep 17, 2019 | Members News, PPN News, SPC for Economic Development, SPC for Physical Development, SPC for Rural Development, SPC for Social Development |
Tuesday 17th September 2019
Call for nominations for Social Inclusion College representatives. Closing date 30th September 2019 5pm.
As some of you will be aware Clare PPN has a number of representative seats on Clare County Council’s Strategic Policy Committees. (SPCS) Following the local elections held in May 2019, it is now necessary for us to hold elections to select representatives to hold these seats. This page deals only with the seats available to our Social Inclusion College member groups of Clare PPN.
What is a Strategic Policy Committee?
The task of each SPC is to assist and advise the Council in the formulation, development and review of policy in a certain thematic area. Each SPC consists of a elected Councillors as well as Business, Farming, Trade Union and Community Interests. Clare PPN is responsible for the nominations and support of all the Community and Voluntary Sector seats. There are currently four separate SPCs organised in Clare County Council. They are as follows:
- Physical Development SPC – with responsibility for Climate Change, Transportation, Water and Waste Water, Fire and Major Emergency Management.
- Economic Development SPC – responsible for Economic Development, Planning and Enterprise, Biodiversity
- Rural Development SPC – responsible for Rural development, Community, Tourism, Broadband, Digital Information and Communications Strategy
- Social Development SPC – with responsibility for Housing, Arts and Culture, Sports and Recreation.
We are seeking nominations for one Social Inclusion representative for each of the above SPCS (4 x vacancies)
Who can make Nominations?
Every current Social Inclusion College member group of Clare PPN can nominate one person for each of the three representative positions. Once all nominees have been received on September 30th Clare PPN will circulate their details and hold online elections in which all environmental member groups will be invited to vote.
Who can be Nominated?
Any person who is in a Social Inclusion College member group of Clare PPN can be nominated for these positions with the following exceptions
- Currently serving elected representatives may not be nominated.
- Anyone who has contested elections in the last year may not be nominated.
- Those who have declared their intention to stand for general or local election can not be nominated.
- If someone is nominated and later decides to contest an election they will have to vacate their seat.
- Any individual can only hold one SPC seat.
What’s involved in being a representative on an SPC for Clare PPN?
The successful candidates will be required attend four SPC meetings per year on behalf of all the Social Inclusion member groups in Clare PPN (plus a brief pre-meeting on the same day at Clare PPN), four Clare PPN plenary meetings per year and the occasional pillar group meeting and or training event. Feedback after each SPC meeting will also be required. Clare PPN will provide support for anyone who decides to take on these positions and travel expenses will be covered by Clare County Council and Clare PPN.
How do you Nominate Candidates?
NB: Please ensure that your group has re-registered in 2019 (you will have received emails to assist this process in the last few weeks). If you have any queries or need further assistance please email admin@clareppn.ie
• Member groups from the Social Inclusion College of Clare PPN can nominate one candidate per representative position. If you are not sure which pillar your group belongs to please contact: admin@clareppn.ie
• A candidate can only be the nominee for ONE representative position on ONE SPC – in the case that a person is nominated for more than one SPC we will contact them to ask them to select one which they wish to stand for.
• The candidate’s permission must be secured before they are nominated
• A fully completed form (see link below) with a clear photo and a short biography of the nominees (up to 200 words) must be submitted to admin@clareppn.ie
Nomination Form Social Inclusion Pillar
• Nominations must be received by 5pm, Monday 30th September 2019 after this date we will contact all members with the full list of candidates and ask for their votes.
Please make sure you do nominate and then vote in these elections- we want to be sure our member groups are fully involved in selecting who they want to represent them on these three SPCs. Please get in touch if any of the above confuses you or if you need any help. You can get us on 087-1617375 or admin@clareppn,ie
