Minutes of the May 2008 Monthly Meeting of the Shannon Town Council held in the Shannon Town Hall on Tuesday May 6th 2008  at 6:30 p.m.

Councillor Sean McLoughlin, Meara Bhaile, presided.

Present were

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

 In attendance

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

Also in attendance at the beginning of the meeting were Ethaine McCooly and Michael Flannigan from the Community and Enterprise Section of Clare County Council to discuss a pilot project for renting of land for horses to Travellers.

Apologies from

Cllr. Hillery. 

1/05/08 Suspension of Standing Orders

Proposed by the Meara Bhaile, seconded by Cllr. Flynn and resolved;

"that in respect for the Late Dr. Patrick Hillery formerly Uachtarán na hEireann the meeting be adjourned for ten minutes."

Each of the members paid tributes to the Late Dr. Hillery and the meeting resumed at 6.45 p.m.

2/05/08 Minutes Of April Meeting

Proposed by Cllr. Flynn, seconded by Cllr. Mulcahy and resolved;

"That the minutes of the April meeting of the Shannon Town Council held in the Shannon Town Hall at 6.30 p.m. on  Tuesday April 1st 2008, having been circulated, be adopted and signed by the Meara Bhaile."

3/05/08 Rental of Land for Horses

To accommodate the representatives of Clare County Council Community and Enterprise Section the Meara Bhaile took item 5 on the Clár Oibre at this time.

A paper "Strategy for the Coordination of Public Services to the Travelling Community in Clare 2005 - 2008" which included a proposal for a pilot project at Shannon for the rental of land to Travellers for horses and a location map had been circulated to each member. The pilot project was discussed at length and while many of the members expressed some reservations on the management of the project there was general agreement that the proposal should go ahead and be revisited if major problems arise.

Cllr. Flynn is a member of the Advisory Management Team and it was proposed by Clrr. Flynn, seconded by Cllr. Lambert and resolved "that Cllr. Duff be added to this Management Team."

Cllr. McCarthy was totally opposed to the project on the basis of Location and requested that her opposition be recorded. 

4/06/08 Correspondence

1. An acknowledgement from the Tidy Towns Committee of the €2,000.00 allocated to them in the 2008 budget was noted.
2. Letters of support for this council’s resolution on Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients from Clonmel, Wexford and Naas Councils  were noted.
3. A letter of invitation from the Camogie Club to members to visit the Camogie facilities which had been circulated was noted.
4. A letter from Passage West relating to dangers to motor-cyclists in the way some road repairs are carried out, which had been circulated to members, was noted and the Town Clerk was asked to refer this letter to Clare County Council Roads Department.
5. A letter from the A.M.A.I. relating to the Annual Conference scheduled for Sligo next September was noted.  This conference will debate the "Green Paper on Local Government Reform" and this "Green Paper" will also be considered at the June meeting of this Council.
6. An invitation from the Municipality of Linden to have this Council represented at the International Literary Meeting in Linden was noted.
7. A letter from a group considering the establishment of a Pitch & Putt Course in Shannon seeking an opportunity to make a presentation of their plans to the Council was read and it was agreed that these people be invited to the June meeting of the Council.
8. A letter from Duchas na Sionna which had been circulated to members was noted.
9. A resolution adopted by Killarney Town Council relating to the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill was read, noted and supported.
10. A resolution adopted by Mullingar Town Council relating to improved neurological services was read, noted and supported.
11. A resolution adopted by Kilrush Town Council relating the delivery of a modern health service to peripheral areas like West Clare was read, noted and supported. 

5/05/08 Report from Area Council Meeting.

The Meara Bhaile reported on items relevant to Shannon  discussed at the April Shannon Area Council meeting which included, the Arts Centre, Road Repairs, Estate Management and Casual Trading Bye Laws.  This information is available on the Shanon Web.

6/05/08 Reports from M.P.C. Chairs.

Cllr. Duff reported on progress in honouring the 30th Anniversary of Special Olympics.

An Arts Competition has bee initiated involving the six Primary schools in Shannon as well as Stonehall N.S. and Clonmoney N.S.

A walk from Wolfe Tones via the New Road and ending at the Leisure Centre is planned for Sunday May 25th followed by a "fun day" in the Leisure Centre.

A Civic Reception is to be held in the Sean Lemass Library on Friday May 23rd to recognise the contribution of all the people in the area who work in the promotion of Special Olympics.

Cllr. Flynn’s committee cannot follow up on getting information maps erected in appropriate parts of the town until all the roads and estates in the town have name plates.

7/05/08 June Meeting

Proposed by Cllr. Lambert, seconded by Cllr. Flynn and resolved;

"that in order to cooperate with the visit of our twin town Guingamp to Shannon from May 31st to June 5th the June monthly meeting of this Council be brought forward to Tuesday May 27th at 6.30 p.m."

8/05/08 2008 Annual Meeting

Proposed by Cllr. McCarthy, seconded by Cllr. Flynn and resolved;

"that the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Shannon Town Council be held on Tuesday June 24th at 6.30 p.m. and be followed immediately by the July monthly meeting."

9/05/08 Footpaths at Tola Park

Proposed by Cllr. McCarthy, seconded by Cllr. Flynn and resolved;

"that Shannon Town Council prioritise the Tola Park footpath for remedial works and upgrading."

10/05/08 Drumgeely Roundabout

Proposed by Cllr. McCarthy, seconded by Cllr. Lambert and resolved;

"that Shannon Town Council call on Clare County Council to upgrade the Landscaping on Drumgeely Roundabout."

11/05/08 Community Initiative Grant

Proposed by Cllr. Flynn, seconded by Cllr. Duff and resolved;

"that Shannon Town Council debate whether the decision to recommend 50 thousand euro to the Leisure Centre was Lawful, Ethical and followed due process."

The debate took place and the consensus was that the decision to allocate €50,000.00 for the development of an initiative of this Council was lawful, ethical and followed due process.

12/05/08 Replacing Timber Fences with Block Walls

Proposed by Cllr. Flynn, seconded by Cllr. Mulcahy and resolved;

"that Shannon Town Council request Clare County Council Housing Section to replace Timber Fencing in Ballycasey More Estate and Rossbracken Estate with block walls in line with the recent decision taken in other areas."

13/05/08 Housing Requirements

Proposed by Cllr. McMahon, seconded by Cllr. Lambert and resolved;

"that the Manager provide Shannon TC with an update of Local Authority Housing Stock in Shannon and how it equates to the number of applicants on the waiting list. (i.e. each house capacity and applicants’ requirements.)"

The Manager said that the Housing Department are compiling this information.

14/05/08 Pedestrian Crossing at Comprehensive School

Proposed by Cllr. Lambert, seconded by Cllr. McCarthy and resolved;

"that a Pedestrian Crossing be put in place at the Comprehensive School"

The Manager said this will be done this year.

A motion from Cllr. McMahon on the Green Paper on Local Government Reform was deferred  to the June Meeting when the "Green Paper Proposals" will be debated.