Shannon Town Council Meeting Minutes July 2004

COMHAIRLE BHAILE NA SIONNA
(Shannon Town Council)

Minutes of the July Monthly Meeting of the Shannon Town Council held in the Shannon Town Hall at 6.30 p.m. on Tuesday July 6th 2004.
Councillor Greg Duff, Méara Bhaile, presided.
Present were Councillors McCarthy, Lambert, Flynn, McKee, McMahon, O'Loughlin, Hillery and Mulcahy. In attendance : Mr. Ger Dollard - Town Manager, and Tomás Mac Cormaic - Town Clerk.

1/7/04 Minutes of June Monthly Meeting

Proposed by Cllr. Lambert, seconded by McCarthy and resolved;
that the minutes of the June monthly meeting of the Shannon Town Council held in St. Tola's N.S. at 6.30 p.m. on Tuesday June 1st. 2004, having been circulated, be adopted and signed by the Méara Bhaile"

2/7/04 Minutes of the 2004 Annual Meeting.

Proposed by Cllr.McCarthy, seconded by Cllr. Hillery and resolved;
that the minutes of the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Shannon Town Council held in the Oakwood Arms Hotel be adopted and signed by the Méara Bhaile after an adjustment to the circulated minutes showing that item 12/6/04 was proposed by Cllr. McCarthy and seconded by Cllr. McKee".

3/7/04 Correspondence.

1. A notification to elected members of the necessity for each of them to furnish in person to the Town Council a statement of election expenditure together with a Statutory Declaration not later than September 9th 2004 was read and noted.
2. A letter from the Department of Transport relating to the cost of Motor Insurance and dated May 31st 2004 was read and noted.
3. A letter from the office of the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment dated June 23rd 2004 and relating to cost of Motor Insurance for drivers having passed their driving test was read and noted.
   It was proposed by Cllr. Lambert, seconded by Cllr. Mulcahy and resolved; that the resolution that lead to this letter from the Tánaiste's Office be referred to the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA)."
4. A letter from Ms. Bernadette Kinsella, Director of Services with Clare County Council dated June 1st 2004 in relation to the appointment by the four Town Councils in Clare of one representative to the County Development Board was read and noted. The members considered it undemocratic to have only one representative of the four town authorities on the Development Board because since the original request to the government that each Town Council be represented on the Board, representatives of non elected groups had been added to County Development Boards.
   It was proposed by Cllr. McCarthy, seconded by Cllr. Lambert and resolved; that Shannon Town Council nominate the Méara Bhaile, Cllr. Greg Duff as their representative on the County Development Board for the coming year and that he be replaced each successive year by the newly elected Méara Bhaile and that this decision be communicated to Ms. Kinsella and to Joe Allen, Principal Officer, Local Government Policy, Custom House, Dublin, 1."
5. A letter from Circle Francaise De Shannon giving an update on relations with the town of Roissy en France was read and noted. The group sought some financial assistance for adults involved in supervising a youth exchange this month when a group of 13 to 17 year olds from Shannon visit Roissy for one week. The members suggested that this finance should be sought by Circle Francaise de Shannon through the annual community grant scheme. A C. D. of a play performed by members of Circle Francaise de Shannon accompanied the latter and the Councillors recommended that this be placed in the Seán Lemass Library. The Councillors also suggested that Circle Francaise de Shannon might apply to the Clare County Arts Officer for an Arts Grant.
6. Literature from A.M.A.I. President which had already been circulated to members was noted.
7. An invitation to nominate somebody for the People of the Year Awards" was noted. Shannon Town Council did not make any nomination for this award.

4/7/04 Election of Delegates to A.M.A.I.

Acting on Legal Advice the election of two delegates to A.M.A.I. which had been deferred from the Annual Meeting (ref. 12/6/04) took place and the two delegates selected were Cllr. Seán McLoughlin and Cllr. Tony McMahon.
Cllrs. Duff, Flynn, McMahon, Mulcahy and O'Loughlin voted for Cllr. O'Loughlin, his selection was opposed by Cllrs. Hillery, Lambert, McCarthy and McKee. (Five votes for and four against).
Cllrs. Hillery, Lambert, McCarthy and McKee voted for Cllr. McCarthy and her selection was opposed by Cllrs. Duff, Flynn, McMahon, Mulcahy and O'Loughlin. (Four votes for and five against).
Cllrs. Duff, Flynn, McMahon, Mulcahy, O'Loughlin and McKee supported Cllr. McMahon and his selection was opposed by Cllrs. Hillery, Lambert and McCarthy. (Six votes for and three against).

5/7/04 Constitution of M.P.C.s

Standing Orders dictates that there should be four members of the Council on each of the two M.P.C.s i.e. the Chairperson and three other members. The Méara Bhaile would an ex officio member of each.
At the Annual meeting Cllrs. Lambert, Hillery, Mc Carthy and Mulcahy Mulcahy volunteered to join Cllr. McMahon on the Industrial, Tourism and Development Committee giving a total of five elected members on this committee with Cllrs. McKee and Flynn joining Cllr. McLoughlin on the Environment and Community Affairs Committee giving just three elected members on this committee. Cllr. McCarthy, in the interest of gender balance volunteered to transfer to the Environment and Community Affairs Committee.
The following is the Town Council's membership on both committees.

Environment and Community Affairs Committee.
Cllr. Seán McLoughlin Chairman, Cllrs. Flynn, McCarthy and McKee.

Industrial, Tourism and Development Committee.
Cllr. Tony McMahon Chairman, Cllrs. Hillery, Lambert and Mulcahy.

Following the clarification of membership of these committees Cllr. McLoughlin gave a brief presentation on progress with the Pride of Place competition. Representatives of a number of local organisations have been invited to a meeting in the Town Hall on Tuesday July 13th 2004 at 8.00 p.m.

6/7/04 Dangerous Footpaths.

Proposed by Cllr. McMahon seconded by Cllr. Mulcahy and resolved;
that Clare County Council be asked to advise the Shannon Town Council of how and when the problem of dangerous footpaths is going to be addressed throughout the town."
The Town Manager confirmed that Shannon Development Co are providing €700,000 for the upgrading of all the footpaths in the town starting in Drumgeely and moving first through the older parts of the town. The schedule of upgrading these footpaths has been done in consultation with the Area Engineer. The members requested that the Area Engineer present this schedule of upgrading at the next Town Council meeting.

7/7/04 Pedestrian Crossing Opposite Drumgeely Flats.

Proposed by Cllr. McMahon, seconded by Cllr. Lambert and resolved;
that a Pedestrian Crossing be put in place to facilitate people crossing the road to the Bus Stop and Industrial Estate opposite the Drumgeely Flats."

8/7/04 Future Security Operations in Shannon.

Proposed by Cllr. McCarthy, seconded by Cllr. McMahon and resolved;
that Shannon Town Council seek a meeting with senior garda to ensure gardai put in place proper arrangements that will allow residents access to their homes and place of employment on occasions of Security and Garda Operations."

9/7.04 Chiropody Service in Shannon.

Proposed by Cllr. McCarthy, seconded by Cllr. McMahon and resolved;
that Shannon Town Council demand that the Mid-Western Health Board provide a regular chiropody service at the Shannon Health Centre and that if they are unable or unwilling to do so that arrangements are entered into with private chiropody practitioners that will ensure a regular and constant service for those who require such a service."

10/07/04 Playground Monitoring Committee.

Proposed by Cllr. Flynn and seconded by Cllr. Mulcahy.
that Shannon Town Council put in place a monitoring committee to oversee the management of the new playground."
Cllr. Lambert confirmed that a monitoring committee is already in place and is comprised mainly of parents and adults bringing children to Tir na nÓg, members of the staff at the Leisure Centre, Cllr. McCarthy and Cllr. Lambert.
Anybody else willing to join this monitoring committee would be welcome.
In reply to a further question from Cllr. Flynn the Manager confirmed that overall responsibility for Tir na nÓg rests with the County Council. An agreement has been drawn up with the Shannon Leisure Centre for the day to day running of Tir na nÓg including opening hours. A copy of this agreement can be circulated to members.

11/07/04 Constant Interruptions of Water Service.