Freedom Of Information
Shannon Town Council
Shannon was given Town Status by the then Minister for the Environment,
Mr. Peter Barry, on January 1st 1982 and the first elections
for the Town Commissioners were held on March 10th 1982.
On January 1st 2002, in accordance with Local Government Act
2001 the name Town Commission was abolished and replaced by that of Town
Council.
In March 2002 the Shannon Town Council decided by resolution to change the titles of Cathaoirleach and Leas-Cathaoirleach to that on Méara Bhaile and Leas Méara Bhaile respectively.
There are nine elected members of the Shannon Town Council and the following were elected at the most recent local elections, June 2004, in the following order:
Tony Mulcahy (Fine Gael), Patricia McCarthy (Non Party), Gerry Flynn (Non Party), Seán Hillery (Fianna Fáil), Seán McLoughlin (Fine Gael), Geraldine Lambert (Fianna Fáil), Greg Duff (Labour), Tony McMahon (Labour) and Mike McKee (Non Party).
The Town Council holds monthly meetings in the Shannon Town Hall at 6.30
p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month and should the need arise the
Council will hold other special meetings with groups such as Shannon Airport
Authority, Aer Lingus, Shannon Development Co., Shannon Chamber of Commerce,
the Gardai, Representatives of Residents Associations or any other body
in the interests of the town and it's residents.
The Town Council is not self financing and each year prepares a budget
which is funded by the Clare County Council out of Town Charges levied
on the Commercial Ratepayers within the Town and by rent of office space
in the Town Hall to the County Council.
The Council promotes social, sporting and cultural activities within
the town and includes some finance in it's annual budget for organizations
promoting these activities in the town.
The Council takes a very active role in the promotion of the concept
of Town Twinning and Shannon has a very successful twinning arrangement
with GUINGAMP a town of similar size in Northern Brittany, France. Sister
relationships have also been developed between Shannon and the town of
ROISSY which is adjacent to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France
and youth exchanges are being promoted by the Council between Shannon
and Roissy. Consideration is also been given to the possibility of developing
relationships with other towns, possibly one in the United Kingdom and
one in the United States of America. For a number of years the town of
Shannon has been represented by their Méara Bhaile and Town Clerk
in St. Patrick's Day Parades in both the States of New York and New Jersey.
The Town Council has formed two Municipal Policy Committees, (M.P.C.),
each with it's own terms of reference. These M.P.C.s involve the wider
community in promoting environmental and community affairs which include
education and welfare, estate management, recreation and amenity and environmental
protection and also in promoting Industrial and Tourism Development which
include general development issues such as housing and building, planning,
traffic and town twinning. Four members of the Town Council are on each
of these M.P.C. with the Méara Bhaile an Ex-Officio member of each.
Representatives from the County Development Team, Shannon Development
Co., the Chamber of Commerce, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the
Tidy Towns Committee and the voluntary and disadvantaged groups are included
in these M.P.C.s. The Chairperson of each of these M.P.C.s is a member
of the Town Council.
The Méara Bhaile and the Leas Méara Bhaile of the Town
Council are elected by the members at the Annual Meeting of the Council
and the term of office for both is one year. The current Méara
Bhaile is Councillor Gerry Flynn and the Leas Méara Bhaile is
Councillor Greg Duff.
The next local elections are scheduled for 2009.
The offices of the Town Council are located in the Town Hall which is on the Gort Road adjacent to the Fire Station. Clare County Council share the use of the Town Hall with the Town Council.
The administrative affairs of the Town Council are handled by the Town
Clerk, Tomas Mac Cormaic, who was appointed on a permanent part-time basis
on March 5th 1982. The Town Clerk opens the Town Hall each
day and is usually in his office from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00p.m. Arrangements
can be made to meet the Town Clerk outside these hours when necessary.
The Town Clerk attends all meetings of the Town Council and travels with
delegations from the Town Council to other meetings, conferences, and
official functions.
The Town Manager is Mr. Gerard Dollard a Director of Services with Clare
County Council with special responsibility for Environment.
The Shannon Town Council have introduced a bye-law prohibiting the consumption
of alcoholic drink in public places within the functional area of the
town. This bye-law came into force on the 3rd day of September
2002.
The following classes of records are held:-
Minutes of Meetings,
General Correspondence,
Details of Financial Accounts,
Local Elections.
Rules for Operational and Representational Role of Council
Conduct of meetings of Shannon Town Council is governed by Standing Orders
adopted by the Council on June 6th 2002.
Decisions taken by the Council are by Resolution adopted by the Council. There include Adoption of Annual Budget which provides for the financing of the various initiatives of the council, making or amending bye-laws, allocation of annual community grants, the holding of civic receptions, attendance of members at conferences and seminars for which travelling and subsistence allowances are paid and attendance fees are charged, the decision to hold meetings other than the regular monthly meeting, the nomination of representatives of the council to the Association of Municipal Authorities, the County Development Board, the Shannon Airport Marketing Committee, a County Council Strategic Policy Committee and other boards or committees to which the council may from time to time be invited to nominate representation.
The payment of expenses incurred by the council is by Pay Order signed by the Town Clerk as the nominated officer and approved by Treasurer's Advice Note signed by both the Town Clerk and the Town Manager.
The collection of moneys due to the Town Council such as quarterly rent
payable to the Council by Clare County Council and the collection of fines
accruing from breaches of the Bye-Laws is the responsibility of the Town
Clerk.
The accounts of the Shannon Town Council are subject to Annual Audit by an Auditor appointed by the Department of the Environment and Local Government.
The Shannon Town Council is subject to investigation by the Ombudsman.
Freedom of Information Acts 1997 to 2003
Shannon Town Council acknowledges and complies with it's responsibilities
under the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 to 2003. These responsibilities
include:
- the provision of right of access to records held by the Council.
- the provision for necessary exceptions to that right.
- the provision of assistance to persons to exercise this right.
The Shannon Town Council accepts:
- the legal right for each person to access to official information
relating to him/her and the right to have this information amended where
it is incorrect, incomplete or misleading.
- a legal right to obtain reasons for decisions affecting himself or
herself.
Updated 16th March 2007
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