North Connacht and Ulster Citizens Information Service (North Connacht and Ulster Citizens Information Service)

Lobbying Organisation North Connacht and Ulster Citizens Information Service

Date published 21 May, 2026

Relevant Matter Public policy or programme

Public Policy Area Social Protection

Period 1 Jan, 2026 to 30 Apr, 2026

Specific Details Citizens Information Service was invited by the Chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development as a collective to present to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development on the launch of the "Connecting Citizens" CIS Strategy 2025-2027 and the work of the eight Citizens Information Services across the 26 counties.

Intended results Securing increased resources, in particular human resources to deal with the unmet demand. Increased awareness of the complexity of work undertaken by the organisation.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Mary Watters, Regional Manager North Dublin CIS, Diarmaid O' Sullivan, Regional Manager, South Connacht CIS and Martin Quinn, Chairperson, North Munster CIS, Graham Long, Chief Executive, Citizens Information Board

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) Yes

Current or Former Designated Public Official(s)

Graham Long (Former DPO) Chief Executive Officer (Citizens Information Board)

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Meeting (1)

Citizens Information Service was invited by the Chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development as a collective to present to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection, Rural and Community Development on the launch of the "Connecting Citizens" CIS Strategy 2025-2027 and the work of the eight Citizens Information Services across the 26 counties.

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

John Paul O'Shea TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

William Aird TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Catherine Ardagh TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Pat the Cope Gallagher TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Johnny Guirke TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Eoin Hayes TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Louise O' Reilly TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Peter Roche TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Mark Wall TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)