Promoting informed local democracy in Dundalk

People Before Profit in Dundalk are driving forward the campaign for informed local democracy in Dundalk. Did you know that it takes two months before the minutes of town council meetings are made available to the public. Did you know that before People Before Profit began this campaign the standing orders (rules of meetings) and agendas were very difficult to get your hands on? Did you know that even if every person in Dundalk came together and signed a petition to have a motion put to the council, unless it had the support of the councillors, it wouldn't get on the agenda?That the agenda of the meetings are made available at the last minute and that one would have to go into the town hall to get them. This means that both the public and councillors have very little if any time to learn about the issues raised on the agenda. How can councillors vote on things that they know nothing about.

Since we have begun our campaign, the agenda and standing orders are now put up online. This is only the beginning.

What democratic changes do People Before Profit want for their communities in Dundalk?

We want council meetings open to the public. We want proper, planned, organised and accountable consultation between councillors and the public. We want the public to set the agenda of these meetings. We want weekly public meetings in the town hall, advertised well and completely accessible to all. We want the minutes of meetings available through all media forums within two days of the actual meetings.

We want councillors to explain fully their motivation behind any motion they put forward as well as any contacts with interested parties to be on the record.

This is just a snippet of how our councils can be changed to work for you and involve you. We are in the process of drafting a new strategy for informed democracy in Dundalk. If and when you can, please offer your support.