Minutes of the March 2008 Monthly Meeting of the Shannon Town Council held in the Shannon Town Hall on Tuesday March 4th 2008  at 6.30 p.m.

Councillor Sean McLoughlin, Meara Bhaile, presided.

Present :

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

 In attendance:

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

Prior to the March meeting, at the invitation of the Council, a presentation was given by Laura Ward and Nick McMahon from Clare Accessible Transport on how the Scheme works. This presentation was scheduled for 6.00 p.m. but because of the late attendance of the majority of the members the presentation did not commence until 6.20 p.m leaving no time for discussion on the presentation.
  

1/03/’08 Minutes of Meeting with Skycourt

Proposed by Cllr. Flynn, seconded by Cllr. McMahon and resolved;
“that the minutes of a meeting with representatives of Skycourt held in the Shannon Town Hall at 6.00 p.m. on Monday February 4th 2008, having been circulated, be adopted and signed by the Meara Bhaile”

2/3/08 Minutes of February Meeting
Proposed by Cllr. Duff, seconded by Cllr. Flynn and resolved; “that the minutes of the February meeting of the Shannon Town Council held in the Shannon Town Hall at 6.30 p.m. on  Tuesday February 5th, having been circulated, be adopted and signed by the Meara Bhaile.”

3/03/08 Correspondence.

1. A letter from Clare County Council in relation to “Earth Hour 2008”was read and noted.
2. A letter from Clare County Council concerning the purchase of the “Freehold” of properties
   was read and noted.
3. A request by I.P.B. for a nominee from Shannon Town Council to attend the A. G. M. of I. P.B. was noted and it was proposed by Cllr. Lambert, seconded by Cllr. McCarthy and resolved:
   “that the Meara Bhaile attend this A.G.M. and in the event of the Meara Bhaile not being able to attend that he nominate a deputy to attend in his place.”
4. Letters from Cumann Camogiochta Wolfe Tones na Sionna seeking a grant of €34,000 and Newtown FC seeking a grant of €12,000 from the Town Council’s Community Development Fund were read and noted.  Cllr. Flynn at this stage asked that item No. 9 on the Clár Oibre be considered in the context of these letters and this was agreed,
   It was proposed by Cllr. Flynn seconded by Cllr. Mulcahy and resolved;
   “that Shannon Town Council hold a special meeting to decide on the terms of reference in relation to the allocation of funds from the Community Development Fund.”
   It was proposed by Cllr. Lambert, seconded by Cllr. Hillery and resolved on the casting vote of the Meara Bhaile;
   “that discussion on the two letters be deferred to this special meeting”
   Cllrs. Duff, Flynn, McMahon and Mulcahy opposed this motion, it was supported by Cllrs. Hillery, Lambert, McKee, McLoughlin and the casting vote of the Meara Bhaile.
5. A letter from Minister of State, Tony Killeen, T.D. relating to the relationship between Shannon Airport Authority and Dublin Airport Authority was noted.
6. A resolution adopted by Thurles Town Council relating to the provision of defibrillators to variety of areas was read noted.
7. A resolution adopted by Mullingar Town Council in relation to Cystic Fibrosis patients was read and noted.
8. A resolution adopted by Ballyshannon Town Council relating to housing was read and noted.
9. A resolution adopted by Nenagh Town Council relating to a national waiver system for refuse collection was read and noted.
10. A resolution adopted by Edenderry Town Council relating to the completion of developments by developers prior to leaving a site was read and noted.
11. The Town Clerk brought to the attention of the meeting a visit to the Town Hall by representatives of “Special Olympics Ireland” when and where they met the Meara Bhaile and requested that the Town Council might recognise, in a significant way, the celebration this year of 30 years of Special Olympics.  
    It was proposed by Cllr. Mulcahy, seconded by Cllr. McMahon and resolved;
    “that Shannon Town Council hold a Civic Reception to recognise the 30th year of Special Olympics and the voluntary efforts of those in the Shannon Area who promote the Special Olympics.

4/03/08 Report from Seminar in Carrygerry House.

A report from the Seminar held in Carrygerry House on Tuesday February 19th 2008 which had been circulated was noted.

 5/03/08 Report from January Electoral Area Council Meeting.

                The Meara Bhaile read a report on matters relevant to Shannon Town discussed at the meeting, which included the effectiveness of ESB maintenance and reporting system and the Arts Centre.  All this information is available on the website.

6/03/08 Reports from M.P.C. Chairpersons. 

(1) Cllr. Flynn reported on a public meeting held in the Oakwood Arms Hotel to consider methods of encouraging passengers through Shannon Airport to spend some time enjoying the attractions of the immediate Shannon Area.

(2) Cllr.Duff reported on plans for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Assembly would commence at 1 p.m. in the G.A.A. Car Park, the Parade would start at 2 p.m. Paddy Halton has agreed to be the Grand Marshal and Joe Walsh has agreed to be M.C. for the day.

7/03/08 Water Pressure.

Proposed by Cllr. McMahon, seconded by Cllr. Flynn and resolved;
“that Clare County Council explain why there is a significant drop in water pressure in areas such as Finian Park, Pinewood, Dernish Lawn, Tullyglass Crescent and that this problem be addressed.”

8/03/08 Black Tarmacadam Path in Drumgeely.

Proposed by Cllr.. Flynn, seconded by Cllr. Mulcahy and resolved; “that Shannon Town Council request Clare County Council to resurface the Black Tarmacadam Footpath in Drumgeely”.

9/03/08 Farmers Market in Drumgeely

Proposed by Cllr. McCarthy, seconded by Cllr. Lambert and resolved;
“that Shannon Town Council seek to have the Farmers Market recommenced in Drumgeely as a priority.”

10/03/08 Implementation of Bye-Laws and Meeting with Gardai

Proposed by Cllr. McCarthy “that an update be provided on the implementation of the Bye-Laws on drinking in public places with specific reference to the number of fines issued” and Proposed by Cllr. McLoughlin “that Shannon Town Council seek a meeting with Senior Gardai to discuss anti-social behaviour and other matters.”
The Meara Bhaile suggested that both of these motions be taken as one.
Cll. McCarthy agreed to this and the composite motion was seconded by Cllr. Lambert and resolved.”.

11/03/08 “Play Ground” for Senior Citizens.

Proposed by Cllr. McLoughlin, seconded by Cllr. Mcmahon and resolved;
“that Shannon Town Council write to Máire Hoctor, T. D., the Minister of State for Older People to ask her to consider a Play Ground for Senior Citizens in Shannon as one for her pilot project.” 

12/03/08Importation of Illegal Drugs on the West Coast of Ireland.

Proposed by Cllr. McMahon, seconded by Cllr. Lambert and resolved;
“that Shannon Town Council request the Department of Justice to outline the measures in place to counteract the possible importation of illegal drugs on the West Coast of Ireland.”

13/03/08 Sensors to indicate leakages of fuel from Vehicles.

Proposed by Cllr. Hillery, seconded by Cllr. McCarthy and resolved;
“that Shannon Town Council request the Ministers for the Environment and Transport to make it mandatory that all vehicles with a fuel capacity of 100 litres or more have sensors, indicating leaks or spillages,  attached to fuel tanks.”

Signed:      Dated : March. 6th 2008
Town Clerk