Ms Grainne Fleming:

I am the co-ordinator for the Kildare Public Participation Network, PPN. I am joined by my colleague, Ms Siobhan Cronogue, from Longford PPN. I thank the committee members for the opportunity to speak to them on behalf of the Kildare PPN. I am grateful for the chance to present our pre-budget submission and to outline both our achievements and the serious challenges we face without sufficient and sustained investment.

Kildare PPN now represents 831 member organisations, collectively reaching nearly 83,000 people across the county. Since January alone, we have welcomed 149 new member groups, demonstrating the increasing appetite for civic participation and the rapid pace of population growth in our area. Kildare is now the fifth most populous local authority in Ireland, with over 247,000 residents according to the 2022 census, which is double the number in 1991. The figure is projected to exceed 266,000 by 2031. With this growth comes greater complexity, more diverse needs and higher expectations placed on our network to support and engage. Despite this, core funding for PPNs has remained largely flat since 2016. Inflation, which has risen by 18.5% since 2021, has driven significant cost increases across staffing, programme delivery, technology and venue hire, but the resources available to us have not kept pace.

In addition, our small team of only two staff members supports 22 representatives on decision-making committees within Kildare County Council, and more are expected under the new community safety partnerships. These are volunteer roles that require and deserve structured training, monitoring and sustained administrative support. Meeting that demand requires time, systems and personnel, none of which come free.

Staff capacity is a critical issue. Our team undertakes tasks in HR, event management, finance, reporting, communications, website management, policy development, social media, graphic design and more. This far exceeds the original scope of the PPN model. In line with recruitment benchmarks such as those recently applied in Fingal, we respectfully propose regrading PPN co-ordinators to grade 6, at a minimum, but preferably grade 7, and support workers to grade 5, at a minimum, and preferably grade 6. This would align us to colleagues in similar roles. Without such recognition, we risk staff burnout, turnover and a decline in network capacity.

We are also calling for a shift from the current annual funding cycle to a five-year funding model. The current approach breeds insecurity and hampers long-term planning. It also impacts staff’s ability to secure financial supports such as mortgages. A five-year model, already in place for other public grants, would provide the stability and accountability we need to meet the strategic goals outlined in the Kildare local economic and community plan, the Kildare climate action plan, the Kildare connected digital strategy and the Kildare integration strategy. Increased investment would allow us to deliver more targeted capacity-building supports for smaller and emerging groups, to improve our digital infrastructure to reach more rural and under-represented communities and to expand our support for community-led initiatives on climate action, youth engagement and social inclusion.

I want to raise a pressing concern with the Department’s financial controls document. The clause stating that statutory leave payments cannot be funded without offering alternatives creates legal and financial uncertainty for PPNs and host organisations. This is particularly problematic in areas such as maternity and sick leave, which are standard entitlements under Irish law.

More broadly, these issues are not unique to Kildare. Since their establishment under the Local Government Act 2014, PPNs across the country have grown substantially in scale, impact and responsibility. Yet, the funding model has remained outdated and insufficient. The role of PPN staff has evolved dramatically and the salary structures and support systems must evolve too. Our request is clear: that the funding and support structures for PPNs reflect the reality of our role in community development, participatory democracy and local governance.

We are extremely proud of what we have achieved to date but we are operating at full stretch. If PPNs are to remain the Department’s key vehicle for community engagement and policy input, we must be resourced accordingly. I thank committee members for their time and attention. We look forward to taking additional questions on funding.