What Is Cork City Public
Participation Network?

The Public Participation Network (PPN), Cork City is a network of over 200 community, voluntary, social inclusion and environmental groups who work together to give a stronger voice to their experience at Cork City Council level.

Join Us

What do we do?

Keep members informed
Make members stronger
Help represent the community

Values of a PPN

The ethos of the PPN is very important to how it works. In doing its work, each PPN keeps to a set of six principles. This means every PPN must be:

of all volunteer-led groups in their area, and actively look to include groups that might not otherwise be included or who might not often have their voice heard.

open, welcoming, respectful and willing to work together and be supportive of each other. The Public Participation Network will encourage participation by member groups in all of its work. There should be clear communications to and from member groups using as wide a range of communication methods as possible to make sure that their reach is as broad as possible.

from the Local Authority and of any special interests (the PPN must account to the Local Authority for its budget, but is independent in its work).

and recognising that the voting colleges are made up of people and member groups that have a wide range of different views, experiences and opinions. Public Participation Networks feed into local government decision-making with the whole range of views from its member groups and their voting colleges.

in everything that it does. It should communicate openly, regularly and clearly with all Member Groups.

to its member groups by putting good governance policies and procedures in place.

Our Independence

The Public Participation Network in Cork City is an independent Public Participation Network hosted by a member organisation that provides an employment structure for staff.

Cork City Council and Cork City Public Participation Network value the impact of a strong, independent Public Participation Network. This is fostered through ongoing relationship-building and dialogue, collaboration and support, underpinned by the understanding that fostering participation and listening to the communities of Cork City will lead to better overall decision-making and outcomes for all.

A short video about the Public Participation Networks

Background to Public Participation Networks

The Working Group on Citizen Engagement with Local Government (2013), recommended that communities be given more of a say in decisions taken by local government. Public Participation Networks (PPNs) were written into law in the Local Government Reform Act 2014. Public Participation Networks operate in every local authority in Ireland and are now the main way for local authorities to connect with groups active in their area.

In Cork, we have a Cork City Public Participation Network and a Cork County Public Participation Network as there are two separate local authorities in the City and County. To find out more about the Cork County Public Participation Network go to: https://corkcountyppn.ie/

“The primary purpose of the PPN member groups is to input into and have their voices heard, within the formal decision-making structures of the local authority. The PPN is now the main way that local authorities connect with groups active in their area”
View PPN Handbook, p.3

A glossary of terms:

Is the name given to all the member groups in a Public Participation Network. The Plenary is the ultimate decision-making body of the PPN on operational and local policy issues.

There is also a twice-yearly meeting called “The Plenary”. This is when all the member groups come together, meet and network and make decisions.

Facilitates and supports the work of the Public Participation Network between Plenary meetings. The Secretariat has nine members, three from each of the three colleges: Community & Voluntary, Social Inclusion and Environmental. This is to give an equal balance to the three colleges and to avoid any one group or special interest having too great a say over the governance of the Public Participation Network.

Are nominated by member groups and represent the Public Participation Network on Cork City Council decision-making committees. They represent and take their mandate from the Public Participation Network as a whole and not just their nominating member group.

Are a gathering of Public Participation Network member groups interested in a common policy theme or area. Linkage Groups work to influence collective change by advocating for policy changes that will benefit voluntary-run groups in the city today and into the future.

Find out more about the Linkage Groups here

Is one of our main funders and has an oversight role over the Public Participation Network accounts. Cork City Public Participation Network facilitates the election of representatives to sit on Cork City Council decision-making committees.

Is our biggest funder, and we take their direction on higher-level and operational items where mandated or advised. They have responsibility at a national government level for the Public Participation Networks.

Find out more about the DRCD here

Latest News

Read latest news around you.

Community Safety | General News
Cork City Public Participation Network calls on policymakers to consider the research results on a Medically Supervised Injecting Facility for Cork City.
At a recent Community Safety Linkage Group meeting, Public Participation Network members called on policymakers to consider the results of upcoming UCC Research on the need for a Medically Supervised Injecting Facility (MSIF) in Cork City and fund accordingly any measures suggested. David Lane (HSE) spoke of the journey taken by officials and public representatives to Portugal to witness Lisbon’s Medically Supervised Injecting Facility. On the return from the trip, UCC was contracted to carry out independent research on whether there is a need for such a facility in Cork City. City residents were given an opportunity to raise concerns…
General News | Linkage groups
Autumn Linkage Groups
All Cork City PPN Member Groups are invited to the Autumn Linkage Groups on the below dates! Each meeting will have a Guest Speaker to begin the evening and stimulate the group discussions. Linkage Groups bring together PPN member groups with a common interest to discuss their diverse views and interests in a specific policy area. This is a pathway for member groups to have real input into policy work to influence change by advocating for policy changes through engaging with Cork City Council and other relevant bodies. Linkage Groups are an essential component of the work of the PPN,…
Climate Action, Environment & Natural Heritage | General News | Linkage groups
First Linkage Group held in “Hybrid mode”
Cork City Public Participation Network held its first Linkage Group in “hybrid mode”, with people attending in person and some tuning in from home. The Climate Action, Environment & Natural Heritage Linkage Group took place on the 14 March in Cork City Council. Cork City Council have kindly supported the Public Participation Network by hosting us in their multi-media room, which is hybrid-enabled. Policy Discussion On the night Strategic Policy Committee representative shared the research and collaborative work she had been doing with other representatives from around the country on “The Rights of Nature”. We talked about practical applications and…
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