Public Consultation portal launches – Corcoran Kennedy

A new central portal for people to participate in public consultations will greatly benefit anyone who wants to stay engaged with policy formation, a Fine Gael TD has said.

The Public Consultations Portal on Gov.ie at gov.ie/consultations was launched by Minister of State with special responsibility for Public Procurement, Open Government and eGovernment, Patrick O’Donovan.

The new website is an easily accessible portal to provide details of all public consultations at local, regional and national levels.

The launch of this Public Consultations Portal is a key step to improving the Government’s methods of digital engagement.  Digital engagement will be a key tool in the future to meet people’s expectations of more immediate and responsive engagement and in turn, better policies and services.

Offaly TD Marcella Corcoran Kennedy said: “I’m delighted to see the new Public Consultations Portal launch online.

“This was an idea I first mooted during the last Dáil term. Constituents were telling me they had no knowledge of public consultations in their area. Then Minister for Public Expenditure, Brendan Howlin, was very receptive to the idea and agreed to progress it.

“In this Dáil term I have had meetings with Minister of State, Patrick O’Donovan and also with Department of Finance officials helping to keep the project moving forward.

“It’s great to see the portal is now up and running. The idea is to give citizens a greater role in consultations by promoting greater awareness,” the Fine Gael TD said.