Minutes of the January 2008 Monthly Meeting of the Shannon Town Council held in the Shannon Town Hall on Tuesday January 8th 2008 at 6.30 p.m.

Councillor Sean McLoughlin, Meara Bhaile, presided.

Present were Councillors, Flynn, Duff, Lambert, McKee, McCarthy, Mulcahy, McMahon and Hillery.

 In attendance Mr. Gerard Dollard – Town Manager and Tomás Mac Cormaic  - Town Clerk

1/01/’08 Minutes of 2008 Budget  Meeting.

Proposed by Cllr. Flynn, seconded by Cllr. McCarthy and resolved;
“that the minutes of the 2008 Budget meeting of the Shannon Town Council held in the Shannon Town Hall at 6.30 p.m. on Tuesday December 4th 2007, having been circulated, be adopted and signed by the Meara Bhaile.”

2/01/’08 Minutes of December Meeting

Proposed by Cllr. McCarthy, seconded by Cllr. Flynn and resolved;
“that the minutes of the December 2007 monthly meeting of the Shannon Town Council held in the Shannon Town Hall on Tuesday December 4th 2007 immediately after the 2008 Budget meeting, having been circulated, be adopted and signed by the Meara Bhaile.”

3/01/’08 Correspondence

1. A letter from the RSA dated December 12th 2007 relating to driving tests was read and noted.
2. A letter from the RSA dated December 21st 2007 relating to pedestrian road safety was read and noted.
3. A letter from the Department of Transport dated December 19th 2007 relating to Heathrow slots was read and noted. The members were very critical of the Government’s handling of all matters relating to these slots and further to all matters concerning Shannon Airport Authority and it’s relationship with Dublin Airport Authority. It was proposed by Cllr. Lambert, seconded by Cllr. Flynn and resolved;“that Shannon Town Council seek to have the role of Dublin Airport Authority on signing off on a competitor’s ( Shannon Airport Authority) Business Plan investigated as to the validity under the Competition Law”  and also  “seek an investigation into how Dublin Airport Authority had commercially sensitive information regarding Aer Lingus’s  plans for Shannon ahead of Directors and Shareholders of the Airline.”
   
   The first part of this resolution to be addressed to the Competition Authority and the second part to be addressed to the C.E.O. of Aer Lingus and to each the Clare Dail Deputies.
4. A letter from Special Olympics (Ireland) dated December 10th 2007 relating to commemorating 30 years of Special Olympics activities in Ireland was read and noted. Shannon Town Council will co-operate with this commemoration.
5. A letter from Kilrush Town Council dated December 20th 2007 inviting the Shannon Town Council to join Kilrush  T. C. at one of their monthly meetings. This joint meeting will be held at the Vandeleur Walled Garden, Kilrush. The Shannon Town Council accepted the invitation, the Meara Bhaile and Town Clerk in consultation with their counterparts in Kilrush will arrange the date for and agenda of the meeting.
6. An invitation from Union County, New Jersey, Emerald Society to have members of Shannon Town Council attend the Emerald Society’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New Jersey on March 15th 2008 was read and noted. It was agreed that the Meara Bhaile and Town Clerk attend this parade.
7. A request from Dreamland Circus for the use of the area at the rear of Tir na nOg Playground was considered and approved . The Town Clerk would negotiate conditions with the Circus management.
8. A resolution adopted by Clonmel Borough Council asking the Department of Transport to amend legislation permitting a fine of up to €500 for illegal parking on spaces reserved for disabled drivers was read and supported by Shannon Town Council.
9. A resolution adopted by Passage West Town Council relating to driving tests was read and supported by Shannon Town Council.
10. A resolution adopted by Monaghan Town Council relating to the HSE’s relationship with Pharmacies was read and noted.
11. The dates for the AMAI Annual Spring Conference were noted and the attendance of the two official delegates, Cllrs. McLoughlin and McMahon was approved.
12. Notification of the Mid-West Regional Authority 14th Annual Conference was noted and approval was given for one delegate from Shannon Town Council to attend.
13. Confirmation that  a representative of the HSE would attend the February meeting of the Shannon Town Council for general discussion on services at the Shannon Clinic was noted.

4/01’08 Report from Area Council Meeting.

The Meara Bhaile spoke on the progress of the Arts Centre and on road safety plans and also that planning lists will be circulated to the Town Council members on a weekly basis. . The Town Manager confirmed that public consultation on TC2 and TC3 would be held in the Oakwood Arms Hotel December 31st at 8.00 p.m.  Plans for this development will be on display in the hotel from 7.00 p.m. on that evening.

5/01’08 M.P.C. Reports.

Cllr. Duff’s M.P.C. has a meeting scheduled for Tuesday January 15th in the Town Hall at 7.00 p.m.

No report from Cllr. Flynn’s M.P.C.

6/01/’08 Part III of Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956

A resolution was adopted at the 2007 October meeting of the Shannon Town Council that the process for the rescinding of Part III of the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956,  insofar as it relates to Shannon Town be commenced . This process has now been completed and eleven objections to the rescinding have been received and communicated to and considered by each member of the Town Council.

The Meara Bhaile opened the issue for debate and a number of members contributed to the discussion.

 It was proposed by Cllr. Mulcahy, seconded by Cllr. McCarthy and unanimously resolved;
“that Shannon Town Council, by resolution, rescind the adoption of the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956 Part III  insofar as it relates to Shannon Town, this to take effect immediately.”

7/01/’08 Flooding near No. 1 Fergus Road.

Proposed by Cllr. Lambert, seconded by Cllr. McCarthy and resolved;“that Clare County Council take urgent action to remedy the severe flooding at the side of No. 1, Fergus Road.”
It was noted that remedial action has been taken at this location but members stated that major flooding is taking place in all areas of the town which may require a thorough examination of the whole drainage system in the town.

8/01/’08 Dog Control

Proposed by Cllr. Flynn, seconded by Cllr. McMahon and resolved; “ that Shannon Town Council request Clare County Council to provide additional resources to tackle the problem of dangerous dogs in Shannon”
Cllr. Flynn suggested, that on the advice of the Dog Warden, it would be helpful if a log of complaints regarding dogs could be maintained in the Town Hall. The Manager stated that the Council will cooperate with the Dog Warden and if he feels a log maintained in the Town Hall would helpful then this can be considered.

9/01’08 Community Bus Service.

 Proposed by Cllr. Flynn, seconded by Cllr. Mulcahy and resolved;
“that Shannon Town Council explore the possibility of providing a local community bus for Senior Citizens in Shannon:

Signed:
Dated:
Meara Bhaile

Signed: Dated : Jan. 9th 2008
Cleireach an Bhaile