‘€300k Have Your Say’ projects selected

TWELVE community-led projects have been selected by the public to be funded through South Dublin County Council’s landmark €300k ‘Have Your Say’ participatory budgeting initiative, reports London Brazal.

People in the Tallaght Central Electoral area voted on the proposals with details of the winning projects announced on December 2. Project updates will be given on sdcc.ie/haveyoursay and will begin early in the New Year.

The 12 projects selected for funding are:

*A sensory garden and accessible playground in Tymon Park.

*Improved facilities at the Kingswood playground.

*A native tree trail in Sean Walsh Park.

*Signage for viewing points of the Dublin Mountains.

*Upgrading the playground at Aylesbury Field.

*Fruit trees along Bolbrook Stream and Avonmore Road.

*Basketball and tennis court in Kilnamanagh.

*Outdoor event space in Sean Walsh Park.

*Upgrading the playground at Sean Walsh Park.

*A toddler-specific playground for Old Bawn.

*Signage for Tallaght waterway.

*And a book of short stories and poetry with the Virginia House Writers Group.

Speaking at the announcement of the winning projects, Cllr Peter Kavanagh, Mayor of South Dublin County, said: “The ‘€300k Have Your Say’ participatory budget process is a way for local residents to set the agenda for their area and highlight the issues that the County Council should be dealing with.

“These winners reflect a range of projects covering Tallaght Central, and I’m delighted to be able to announce their success tonight.”

To date, 28 projects have been selected for funding in the Lucan, Clondalkin and Firhouse-Bohernabreena Electoral Areas. The council will run the ‘Have Your Say’ initiative in every local electoral area in the county. The next area will be selected by the Mayor in 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’ allows residents to develop project ideas for their local area and then vote to fund winning projects up to the value of €300,000.

Previously, South Dublin County Council won the Chambers Ireland Local Government Award in Citizen Engagement for the initiative and was shortlisted for a European Innovation in Politics Award in the Democracy category.

South Dublin County Council was the first local authority in the country to run a participatory budgeting initiative in 2017.