New service allows links to local councils

THE COMPANY behind RateMy Area.comhas launched a new service, which allows users to raise issues with local councils via their smartphone.

FixMyArea.comis connected to every local authority in Ireland and allows residents to automatically highlight problems with the right council based on their location.

"There are always lots of problems if you look around your area," said RateMyArea.comchief executive Mike Brennan. "The inherent difficulty is people need to know what council they're in, who the right person to contact is and so on.

“Our service harnesses the power of what’s in your pocket and we have coupled that with the RateMyArea platform to target where you are.”

The app – which is available for iPhone and will be available on the Android platform shortly – lets the user send in a photo of the problem they want addressed, which is then forwarded to the right authority based on the location information embedded in the message.

Mr Brennan says the service will work in any part of the State and, while it is self-funded, it has the support of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

Last year’s programme for government promised the launch of a web-based system that would allow users to raise issues with their local authorities.

“While we are very much independent, we also recognise the importance of working with government and local councils, for the sake of our users and our service,” Mr Brennan adds.

Users can “support” issues raised by others to show councils what topics are of most concern in an area, while authorities can also respond with progress updates and information.

Mr Brennan hopes the platform will ultimately become a two- way communication tool where local government can notify people of upcoming events, such as disruption to water supply or maintenance works.

FixMyArea.comhas no revenue stream and is funded completely by RateMyArea.com. Mr Brennan says they have been working on the service since 2009 and decided to take the Silicon Valley approach to build first and monetise later.