The Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Cllr Peter Kavanagh, officially launched the ‘€300K – Have Your Say’ initiative for the Rathfarnham Templeogue electoral area on Wednesday 6 April 2022. Submissions are now open on the Council’s €300k Have Your Say website and will remain open until the close of business (6.00 pm) on Friday, 6 May 2022.
€300k Have Your Say is a participatory budgeting initiative that has been run by South Dublin County Council since 2017. €300k Have Your Say provides residents with the opportunity to develop project ideas for their local area and then vote on shortlisted proposals to fund winning projects up to the value of €300,000. During April, workshops have been arranged for the Rathfarnham Templeogue electoral area to facilitate the generation of projects. A facilitator will coordinate these meetings to help bring out your ideas. All members of the community are encouraged to attend as there are no restrictions on who can submit ideas and vote.
Participatory budgeting is an innovative democratic process that began in Brazil in 1989 which facilitates citizens in a local community to decide how to spend a portion of a public budget in their area. It gives people direct power to determine spending priorities and to improve their community. South Dublin County Council were the first local authority in the country to introduce participatory budgeting to their area when the Council launched €300k Have Your Say in 2017. To date, over 10,000 people have cast their vote in €300k Have Your Say to fund a project, or projects, of their choice. 700 project ideas have been submitted to the Council for consideration with 80 being put forward to the public vote and 40 being funded.
Previous iterations of €300k Have Your Say has seen the launch of a heritage trail app, the restoration of King John’s Bridge in Griffeen Park, native apple trees planted throughout Clondalkin and the development of a sensory garden in Tymon Park. South Dublin County Council has previously won a Chambers Ireland award in Citizen Engagement for the initiative and been shortlisted for a European Innovation in Politics award in the ‘Democracy’ category. You can submit your project and find more information on the Council’s website at www.sdcc.ie/haveyoursay.
Speaking at the launch, Mayor Kavanagh said, “I am proud to be able to launch €300k Have Your Say for Rathfarnham Templeogue. We want to give you the opportunity to send us your ideas and then vote on what you want to see brought to your community in Rathfarnham Templeogue. This initiative is about enabling people in the area to have a greater voice on local priorities that matter most to them and delivering real change to their area. €300k Have Your Say is entirely in your hands so make sure to get involved and get in touch with your project idea!”
Pic credit: Ben Ryan
