Galway County Council is required by legislation to establish a new framework for public
engagement and participation which is called the County Galway Public Participation Network
(PPN).
The PPN will be the main link through which the local authority connects with communities and
is the official platform for representation on policy making boards and committees of the local
authority.
The PPN is comprised of a number of elements and will operate at County as well as Municipal
District level. It structures include the Plenary (made up of all groups at County/Municipal
District level), the Secretariat (the administrative/coordinating body), the Electoral Colleges
(Social Inclusion, Community & Voluntary and Environmental) and Linkage Groups (particular
interest groups). Each of the groups/structures have an important role to play and are key to
ensuring good citizen and community engagement
Public information sessions were organised in each Municipal District in September and
October 2014 in advance of the Public Participation Network being established in County
Galway to give groups & organisations opportunities to familiarise themselves with the PPN
& to seek clarification on issues that were arising.
Three hundred and eighty groups registered for the PPN in advance of the initial closing
date & these groups have voting rights for various Galway County Council committees and
sub structures where seats are required to be filled though the PPN.
The eleven seats for the PPN Secretariat have now been filled after nominations were
sought and subsequent ballots issued over November and December 2014. These seats are
across the five Municipal Districts (one each) and two each from both the Community &
Voluntary College, the Environment College and the Social Inclusion College.
The PPN Secretariat had their inaugural meeting on Monday January 12th 2015.
The SPC election process for 9 seats to be filled through the PPN commenced once the
inaugural meeting of the PPN Secretariat took place. Part of this process involved
establishing Linkage groups. Notification for selecting linkage groups was issued on
Thursday January 15th 2015 while the nomination forms for the SPCs were issued during the
week commencing Monday January 19th
. Nominations for the SPCs closed on February 4th
and ballots were issued by post to be returned by February 18th
. The count took place on
February 18th and the elected list has been issued to Council.
The nomination and election process for the Joint Policing Committee (JPC) commenced in late
January and the process was completed on foot of nominations for the 7 positions received by
the closing date of February 6th 2015. The elected list has been issued to Council.
Meeting open to the public on Thursday 2nd November from 7-9pm in The Maldron Hotel, Galway.
Contact: Melinda Coen Ryan, Community Development Officer North Galway on 093-26211
https://www.facebook.com/Galway-Rural-Development-Co-Ltd-544000988978394/
