Mayo PPN Newsletter
Mayo Public Participation Networks Highlights of 2019
Ballyhaunis Integration Seminar: Embracing Diversity – A Future Together
On October 18th The Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence Ballyhaunis played host to a national seminar on integration and inclusion. The day was hailed a huge success with over 200 delegates attending with keynote speakers including ministers David Stanton TD Minister for Equality at the Department of Justice and Equality, Minister Michael Ring TD of the Department of Rural & Community Development. Several guest speakers including Cork Gaa legend Sean Og O hAilpin spoke on the impact of sport as vehicle for integration. The overall aim of the seminar was to chart what Ballyhaunis has achieved in the area of intercultural integration and develop recommendations for mapping an integrated future for the town and towns of similar composition. Mayo PPN attended the seminar and met some great community people that are devoted to Ballyhaunis and its ever growing diverse population along with many people who have given much time to County Mayo as a whole.
Climate Fest 2019
Saturday the 28th September 2019 saw GMIT host the very first Mayo Climate Fest. The day was full of talks, workshops, performances and conversation aimed at helping you to make simple changes to your day-to-day life that will help tackle the climate emergency.
Mayo PPN supported the sustainable fashion show which was performed by the Direct Provision Centre in Ballyhaunis.
Mayo Day 2019
The National Museum of Country Life – Turlough played host to Mayo Day on the 4th May 2019. This years theme was “The Mayo Word” representing our communities, our creativity, our connection to a pride of place both here in this county and around the globe.
The day was full of song, crafts, storytelling, arts, poetry and much much more.
Mayo PPN was in attendance in the Community Tent to speak to members of the community encourage them to become involved and register their groups with Mayo PPN.
Peter Hynes, Chief Executive of Mayo County Council said: “Mayo Day 2019 is all about asking ourselves the questions: what does being part of the Mayo community mean to me? How do I communicate my sense of pride of being from Mayo?”
The day was a great success and well done to all involved.
PPN Insurance Survey
PPNs across Ireland have been hearing about the growing financial burden that rising insurance is having on the work of community groups and activities across the country. In order to respond on your behalf,a survey was conducted to establish the facts and evidence about how this is affecting your work. The PPN network will present this information at national platforms on your behalf.
Please click here to read article by Will Goodbody, Business Editor RTÉ
L-R: Kathy Rowland, Catriona Cunniffee, Daragh Owens, Sharon Horkan, Ben Ryan, Maureen Timlin and Austin F O’Malley. Missing from the photo are Edith Geraghty, Kathleen Doocey, Alan Murphy, Mary G Duffy and Thomas Calvey
Mayo PPN welcomes new Secretariat Members
Mayo PPN recently held a county plenary meeting on the 24th of October 2019 where Mary Costello, PPN Resource Worker welcomed the new members recently elected to the PPN Secretariat committee, Edith Geraghty, Austin F. O’Malley, Caitriona Cunniffe, Thomas Calvey, Mary G Duffy, Kathy Rowland and Maureen Timlin.
Representing Mayo PPN, Mary Costello, Resource Worker, presenting President Michael D. Higgins with a gold Mayo.ie pin and a PPN brochure
Mayo Public Participation Network (PPN) Invited to attend Áras an Uachtaráin to represent Community Groups in Mayo
President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina hosted a concert at Áras an Uachtaráin on the evening of Friday 21st of June.
This was to celebrate Irish Country Music and to acknowledge the work being undertaken by various organisations and community groups in fostering and developing strong rural communities throughout the villages and towns of Ireland and it was purposefully offered to some of the smaller members to commend their hard work in this regard.
Funding
Minister Ring announces funding of €1m for Social Enterprises with support from the Dormant Accounts Fund
Michael Ring TD, Minister for Rural and Community Development, announced the allocation of €1 million in funding from the Dormant Accounts Fund to 124 social enterprise projects across the country.
The Small Capital Grants Scheme supports a key policy commitment in the National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland, which the Minister published in July, to grow and strengthen social enterprises.
Social enterprises are businesses whose core objective is to achieve a social, societal, or environmental impact.
Like other businesses, social enterprises pursue their objectives by trading in goods and services on an ongoing basis. However, surpluses generated by social enterprises are re-invested into achieving the core social objectives.
They frequently work to support disadvantaged groups such as the long-term unemployed, people with disabilities, travellers, etc., or to address issues such as food poverty, social housing, or environmental matters.
A full list of the successful 124 social enterprises, including the grant amounts awarded, is available on the Gov.ie website here
Over €1 million Support Fund to assist organisations supported under the Community Services Programme
Mr Michael Ring TD, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, has announced that he has approved funding in excess of €1 million for the Community Services Programme (CSP) Support Fund in 2020, pending the outcome of the CSP Review, which is nearing completion.
The CSP supports community-based organisations to provide vital services through a social enterprise model, providing a contribution towards the cost of employing staff in CSP supported organisations. It typically supports organisations to meet local service gaps and provide access to services and facilities that would otherwise generally be unavailable. Almost €47 million will be provided under the Programme in 2020.
The CSP currently supports community-based organisations to provide local social, economic and environmental services through a social enterprise model, providing a contribution towards the cost of staff in CSP organisations. It typically supports organisations to meet local service gaps and provide access to services and facilities that would otherwise generally be unavailable. Eligible organisations are supported under three strands –
Strand 1 – Community Halls and Facilities
Strand 2 – Community Services for Disadvantaged Communities
Strand 3 – Community Organisations Employing People Distant from the Labour Market.
The CSP is not a labour activation programme and funding is provided to community organisations as a fixed contribution towards the cost of employing a manager and/or an agreed number of full-time equivalent positions (FTEs). The CSP provides €19,033 per FTE and €32,000 per manager. The contribution is based on a 39 hour working week. More than €46m is allocated to the programme in 2019, supporting approx. 1,650 FTEs and 300 manager positions.
The contribution is not aligned with the minimum wage and CSP supported organisations are expected to contribute to the cost of the funded positions and pay a reasonable and adequate rate of pay in line with market rates. At a minimum, organisations are expected to meet the minimum wage for all FTE positions.
2020 Support Fund
The 2020 Support Fund will be tailored to meet the needs of the organisation rather than providing a set amount per FTE, with funding provided on a sliding scale up to a maximum of €1,200 per FTE based on a detailed assessment of financial viability.
2020 Appeals Process
Organisations that are not successful in meeting the specified criteria to be included in the 2020 Support Fund, will be given an opportunity to appeal the decision.
News from Mayo Public Participation Network (PPN)
Brand New Website
Mayo PPN have developed a brand new website with lots of information on community events, funding, supports available to groups & much more.
Please visit https://mayoppn.ie/
Have you any events coming up and you wish to spread the word?
email us on [email protected]
Mayo PPN will promote your events on the PPN Social Media Channels
Mayo PPN Welcomes New Representatives to Mayo County Council Committees
The Public Participation Network (PPN) works in partnership with Mayo County Council and is the main link through which the local authority connects with the community, voluntary and environmental sectors.
Mayo PPN recently elected members of the community to the following Strategic Policy Committees:
Housing Strategic Policy Committee:
• Edith Geraghty – Social Inclusion Representative
• Leanne Barrett – Social Inclusion Representative
Corporate, Education, Culture, Heritage and Library Services Strategic Policy Committee
• Liam Alex Heffron – Community and Voluntary Representative
• Austin F O’Malley – Social Inclusion Representative
Environment, Climate Action, Agriculture and Emergency Services Strategic Policy Committee
• Sinead Moran – Environment Representative
Roads and Transportation Strategic Policy Committee
• Micheal Mc Grath – Environment Representative
Tourism, Recreation, Food and Community Engagement Strategic Policy Committee
• Yvonne Finn – Environment Representative
Mayo PPN also recently elected members of the community to the following committees:
Local Community Developement Committee (LCDC)
The Mayo LCDC was established in 2014 for the purposes of developing, coordinating and implementing a coherent and integrated approach to local and community development. The committee is made up of representatives from the Local Government and Local Development sectors, public bodies and representatives of social, economic, environmental and community interests. The LCDC is a sub-committee of the local authority but is independent in the discharge of its functions under the Local Government Act 2014.
In 2016 the Mayo LCDC launched its six- year local community plan LCEP which includes measures to tackle poverty and disadvantage, support enterprise, employment and training, develop community infrastructure and promote economic development.
The LCDC is also responsible for the strategic coordination, governance, planning and oversight of Local Development expenditure by Local Authorities on behalf of the state or by other Local Development agencies and structures for example the LEADER Programme and SICAP Programmes.
PPN Representatives for the Local Community Development Committee:
• Siobhan Gough – Community and Voluntary Representative
• Billy Freely – Community and Voluntary Representative
• Austin F O’Malley – Social Inclusion Representative
• Bernard Joyce – Environment Representative
Joint Policing Committee (JPC)
A Joint Policing Committee (JPC) is a body established under the Garda Siochana Act 2005 to serve as a forum where local authority representatives, Oireachtas members and community and voluntary interests, together with senior Garda Officers responsible for the policing of the area, can consult, discuss and make recommendations on matters affecting the policing of the area. Through the work of the JPC all parties have the opportunity to contribute to the improved safety and quality of life of the community
PPN Representatives on the Joint Policing Committee are:
• Micháel Larkin – Representative for Castlebar MD
• Keelan Moran – Representative for Westport/Belmullet MD
• Seamus Smyth – Representative for Ballina MD
• Louise Glynn – Representative for Claremorris/Swinford MD
• Edith Geraghty – Representative for the Traveller Community
• Danial Kabongo – Representative for the Migrant Communtiy
Mayo Public Participation Network wishes all new representatives well in their new roles and looks forward to working with you all in the future!
Mayo PPN also wishes to thank all retiring representatives for their work and commitment to the PPN over the past number of years and wish you all well in your future endeavours
Mayo PPN Offers Free Training to Community Groups
Mayo PPN recently ran a successful FREE suite of training for all community groups we wish to thank all who attended the training sessions and to the two facilitators Ailish Irvine and Barry Murphy for delivering very informative and helpful workshops.
The feedback the PPN has received from the community has been very positive and we hope to run some more training in 2020.
If your community group requires any specific training please get in contact with the Mayo PPN office and let us do the rest.
The PPN empowers you and the wider community to make an input and influence the future well-being of County Mayo
Mayo PPN in collaboration with Mayo County Council provides community groups with training/networking & representation on decision-making committees of Mayo County Council.
Mayo Public Participation Network (PPN) Wish to thank you for your co-operation during the year and wish you and all members of your Community Group, Best Wishes for Christmas & the New Year.
We look forward to working with you in 2020.
Mary & Emma and all at Mayo PPN.
Mayo PPN
094 90 64358