Help distribute €15,000

Navan County Councillor Alan Lawes invites you to nominate a Registered Charity, operating within the Navan Municipal District, to be put forward to a public vote to receive a once only share of his Discretionary Fund.

Watch the explainer video below before using the Nomination Form for your prefered Registered Charity.

Further Explanation

Nomination Stage

This will identify Navan based Registered Charities who will be eligible to enter a Public Vote.

Nomination period February 1st to 9AM February 26th

Voting Stage

Once the nominations have been verified all those eligible will be entered into an online public vote.

Voting period March 1st to 9AM March 26th

The Results

Once the Voting Results have been verified the Top 3 Registered Charities will each receive a once only €5,000 donation from Councillor Alan Lawes' 2020 Discretionary Fund.

Councillor Alan Lawes Statement

"As an elected representative based in the Navan Municipal District, I am in receipt of an annual payment of €15,000 from what’s called the Discretionary Fund. During my 5-year term this will amount to €75,000.

This fund was established back in 2016 as a result of a Meath County Council initiative which offered councillors access to this fund if they voted not to reduce the property tax.

I believe it is unethical and undemocratic for Councillors to allocate this Tax Payer money to Community Groups of their own choosing.

I also believe that personally distributing public money gives existing Councillors a distinctly unfair advantage over any new candidates running for election in the future.

If I refused the money it would go back to a central fund and without my knowing how it will be spent.

As many are aware I actively support many charities and worthy causes but feel the Public have a right to decide how the money is spent and not for me to personally decide or 'feather my own nest'.

I therefore wish for the Public to first nominate registered charities within the Navan Municipal District. This Survey process will identify groups who will then be put forward to a public vote to ultimately identify 3 who will receive equal shares of this year's fund. If this process is successful it could be repeated each year.

I have asked the Johnstown Times as an independent and unbiased agent to oversee the process."

Johnstown Times Statement

We are acting as an impartial agent and provide this service without bias or payment.

At key stages of the process Public witnesses from the community will be invited to oversee proceedings and to verify fair play, accuracy and adherence to the GDPR Statement.

Nominations will ONLY be accepted via this form.

Announcement of the successful groups proceeding on to the next stage involving Public Voting will be made after the nomination stage is completed and after verification checks have been made.

GDPR (Data Protection) Statement

1. Only I (Robin Marshall, The Johnstown Times Editor) have direct access to your submission which is stored securely via Google Drive and which will only be accessed in the presence of impartial witnesses.
2. At no time will any Personal Data be shared with any 3rd parties.
3. Only Robin Marshall will contact you should there be any queries about your entry at the end of the nomination period.
4. Once processed and results verified all personal details will be permanently deleted.