FAQ
What is this platform for?
Engage is a consultation platform where the public can share their thoughts, ideas and feedback on key Dublin City Council projects - from local improvement works to citywide policies.
This new platform is part of Dublin City Council's efforts to encourage greater citizen participation and community engagement. Our platform informs the public about new initiatives, empowers people to share feedback and provides opportunities to submit ideas. This will allow Dublin City Council to make better decisions, which address the needs of those who live, work and visit Dublin.
Our user-friendly platform aims to provide greater accessibility, transparency and participation for public consultations.
How can I take part?
Anyone can browse the website and complete our consultation surveys. However, you must sign up to receive project alerts, post comments or take part in other types of consultations. This helps maintain a community feel and ensures the legitimacy of the feedback, insights and ideas we receive.
Projects that are currently active and open for feedback appear on the homepage.
Can I create an account on behalf of an organisation?
All accounts must be associated with a named person. This means you cannot create a profile using the name of your organisation, business or community group. However, we will ask if you are responding on behalf of an organisation as part of a consultation.
What information can people see about me?
Your name, photo and bio - if you’ve added one - will be visible. You can always change these details in the 'My Settings' section of your account. Your email address will not be visible. You can also consent to your comments being published for everyone to see, but this is optional.
Why can’t I post my input or submit a comment?
Posting, commenting and voting is only enabled during certain times or phases of a project. In some instances, a project may only be open to contributions from specific stakeholder groups.
Past projects will no longer be open for submissions. If submissions are currently enabled for a project, you’ll see a button that prompts you to submit a post. Projects that are currently active can be found on the homepage.
How do I edit or delete my input?
If you’ve posted feedback but want to make edits or delete it, you can find this option by clicking on the three small dots on the top right of the post.
What are the community guidelines and moderation policies?
Our community guidelines help ensure our platform is a safe space for everyone to participate. Please ensure your posts are free of:
- Personal attacks, insults, abusive or discriminatory comments
- Offensive views, including content that attacks, criticises or negatively focuses on an individual or group because of characteristics like age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sex or sexual orientation
- Marketing or advertising material, such as promoting a product or service
- Copyrighted material, such as images
- Statements that are defamatory, libellous, false or unproven
- References to cases where there are active legal proceedings
- Material protected by an injunction or court order
- Material that could be confidential or commercially sensitive
- Statements that could cause personal distress or loss, including content that could intrude into someone’s personal grief or shock without their consent
- Accusations of wrongdoing to an identifiable person or organisation
- References to the names of public body officials
- Names of family members of elected representatives, such as TDs or public body officials
- Requests for someone to be given a job or to lose their job, including calls for resignation
- Party political material
Any posts or comments that do not adhere to these guidelines may be edited, deleted or, in extreme instances, prevented from being posted. Please review our Terms & Conditions for more information.
How do I report an offensive post?
You can click on the three small dots on the top right of a post to report it. Please indicate why you want to report the content. This will let us know that the post needs to be reviewed.
Why am I having difficulty signing up?
If you’re unable to sign up, it may be because you’ve already registered with the same email address or previously received an invitation to join the Engage platform. If you see a message that says your email address has a pending invite, please check your inbox and follow the link in the invitation to sign up. If you can’t find an invite, check your spam or request a new invitation.
How do I reset my password?
You can reset your password by clicking 'Forgot password?' on the log in page. A link will be sent to your email address and you can follow the instructions to change your password. For security reasons, this link is only valid for one hour. If the link expires, you can receive a new one by requesting to reset your password on the log in page once again.
If you didn’t receive an email with the reset link, check your email's spam folder. You should also make sure you’re sending the link to the email address you originally signed up with.
What will you do with my data?
Your personal information, such as your contact details, will remain private and won't be published or shared with third parties unless required by law. In short, we will never use your data for advertising, marketing or other types of spam. Review our privacy notice for more information on data collection and usage.
What emails will I receive?
You may receive emails related to your account and your activity on the platform. For example, when someone responds to one of your posts, you will receive an email to let you know. You can control which emails you receive in your account settings. Under 'My Settings', there is a section called 'Notifications' where you can turn email notifications on and off.
Users can also opt to follow specific projects or areas of work. In this case, they will receive email alerts about project updates and new consultations.
How do I delete my account?
Under 'My settings', you'll see an option to delete your account. Feedback that you posted will remain published, but your name will be removed and replaced with ‘Unknown author’. If you’d like to delete all posts, please do so before deleting your account.
Do you use artificial intelligence?
Our platform may use artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to help analyse and interpret any free-text feedback that you provide. Typically, AI is used to process a large number of responses or when speed is of the essence. Where AI is used in the synthesis of views within the body of official reports, this will be indicated.
No personal information will be processed using AI and there is no automated decision-making. Machine summaries will be checked and cross-referenced by a human against individual contributions to ensure accuracy and reduce bias.
If you use AI in the formation of views that you submit, we may be able to detect this and we reserve the right to classify these as machine responses - which aren't eligible for further consideration.
What about website accessibility?
We've made every effort to make our consultation platform accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. Engage is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 compliant. We also provide accessible documents, wherever possible, for those who use assistive technology. Read our accessibility policy for more information.
Who can I contact for assistance?
For questions related to a specific project or initiative, please contact the relevant department or person within Dublin City Council. You'll find contact details on each project page.
If you have any technical questions about using the platform, please contact webmaster@dublincity.ie
All other queries can be directed to Dublin City Council. Contact us by email on customerservices@dublincity.ie, by phone at 01 222 2222 or by post at Dublin City Council, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8, D08 RF3F, Ireland.
