You may have heard of changes that are happening in local government and the impact for citizen engagement and community representation. Cork County Council is establishing a new network to enable people in Cork County to have a say on issues that concern them which will be known as the Public Participation Network (PPN). Various groups / organisations have been invited to register and participate in this new network. Blarney/Macroom Municipal District is well represented in the PPN by groups such as Blarney Community Council, Blarney and District Chamber of Commerce, Tidy Towns, Historical Society, Waterloo Renewal Group, Grenagh Tidy Towns, Active Retirement and many more, all of whom have registered to participate. The Cork County PPN is being established as we speak. It is a new national initiative and will be the main link through which Cork County Council will engage with the community and voluntary, social inclusion and environmental sectors. It will be a two-way communication mechanism between the local authority and the community. The Cork County PPN will be of interest to all, especially Community and voluntary groups such as local/community development groups, Tidy Towns, sports groups, clubs and associations; Social inclusion bodies which tackle poverty, disadvantage, and the marginalised; Environmental interests including environmental protection and sustainability On Wednesday April 29th, elections in the Community and Voluntary groups section were held to decide on two people from Blarney/Macroom Municipal District and we are delighted to say Mary Keohane from Waterloo Renewal Group, was one of these. Mary brings a vast amount of experience into the position and we look forward to working with her in channelling our concerns and ideas to Cork County Council.
