Ms Sarah Clancy:

People's participation in democracy should not cost them. We will not get diverse representation among people participating in consultations unless we make sure that people from disadvantaged communities are facilitated to participate. I am not talking about paying them to participate and I am talking about making sure that it does not cost them to participate. For example, the PPNs that have a very strong representation from people with disabilities, there are costs that are not included. For example, the cost for Irish Sign Language interpretation for our events or the cost for wheelchair-accessible taxis, which we have to use frequently. If we want participation then there is a cost involved.

The PPNs are funded to the tune of €110,000 each per year and some of that funding is ring-fenced for staffing. The PPN in Clare has €20,000 to spend once we have finished paying rent, staff and everything like that. With that money we are able to make resources available to our communities that are not available elsewhere because we have meeting space and a capacity to do different things. We are able to provide a hub for community activity which may not be necessarily right in the remit of the PPN but it certainly builds goodwill and builds our relationships with community groups.

PPNs definitely need more staff. If the person in my position is employed parallel with a Civil Service grade V position then there is no way, if we worked in a local authority, that we would try to run consultations by ourselves and write policies at grade V. That just would not happen. We would facilitate other people to do that work or administer that. First, the level at which staff are employed is too low. Second, there are too few staff. We have three colleges so in theory the PPNs should have a staff person for each college. That would mean that I could, for example, work on poverty today, work on Tidy Towns tomorrow and now I am supposed to know something about wastewater disposal tomorrow so it is like a resource worker. Even though such a person facilitates the participation of the groups, one cannot facilitate that without having at least a basic understanding. PPNs need trained, skilled people who are paid properly and are in long-term positions if there is a belief in PPNs.

Finally, local authorities and Governments spend millions of euro on consultations and yet a PPN is supposed to organise the entire community's participation in these consultations on €110,000 a year. By way of example, in the last five years Clare County Council spent €23 million on external consultants while for the same period the PPN has had just €560,000. I hesitate to use a military term but there is unequal firepower between communities and the edifice of local authorities. How can PPNs even with their best efforts and enthusiasm compete? How can PPNs collaborate effectively with such terms? Increased resources for PPNs is not to make us hierarchical but ensure that our participation is facilitated on an equal basis. If PPNs wanted to do one thing? I think that would be to tackle disability issues as disability is a huge injustice that continues in Ireland.