Minutes of the April Monthly Meeting of Ennis Town Council held at 3.30 p.m. on Monday, 2nd April 2007
Presiding: Mayor J. Reidy
Councillors present:
- T. Brennan,
- P. Considine,
- M. Coote Ryan,
- J. Flynn,
- T. Matthew,
- F. Neylon.
Officials present:
- T. Coughlan, Director of Service
- E. Power, Town Clerk.
- T. Tiernan, Town Engineer.
- L. O’Connor, Senior Staff Officer.
Apologies: Cllrs. T. Glynn, D. O’Bearra.
The Register of Orders by the Director of Service, Town Clerk and Town Engineer and the Planning Register were on the meeting table.
Item 1 Adoption of the Minutes of the March Monthly Meeting held at 3.30 p.m. on Monday, 5th March, 2007
The Mayor asked if the Minutes were an accurate record of the meeting held on 5th March 2007. He then called for the adoption of the minutes to be proposed.
Ar moladh Cllr. P. Considine cuidithe ag Cllr. T. Brennan agus glacadh leis:
“That the Minutes of the March Monthly Meeting of Ennis Town Council held at 3.30 p.m. on Monday, 5th March 2007 be adopted and signed”.
Adoption of the Minutes of the Adjourned March Monthly Meeting held at 3.30 p.m. on Thursday, 22nd March 2007
The Mayor asked if the Minutes were an accurate record of the meeting held on 22nd March 2007. He then called for the adoption of the minutes to be proposed.
Ar moladh Cllr. P. Considine cuidithe ag Cllr. T. Brennan agus glacadh leis:
“That the Minutes of the Adjourned March Monthly Meeting of Ennis Town Council held at 3.30 p.m. on Thursday, 22nd March 2007 be adopted and signed”.
Item 2 Fix Date for the Annual Meeting of the Council
The Elected Members resolved that the Annual Meeting of Ennis Town Council would be held on 28th June 2007 at 7.00 p.m.
Item 3 Fix Date for the May 2007 Meeting of the Council
The Elected Members resolved that the May Monthly Meeting of Ennis Town Council would be held at 3.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 8th May, 2007.
Item 4 Draft Litter Management Byelaws 2007
The Elected Members considered the report form the Town Clerk dated 28th March 2007. On the proposal of Cllr. F. Neylon, seconded by Cllr. M. Coote Ryan the Litter Management Byelaws 2007 were adopted.
Item 5 Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (Part VIII) - Proposed Flood Protection Scheme at Aughanteeroe, Ennis, Co. Clare
The Elected Members considered the reports from the Town Clerk and the Executive Planner dated 28th March 2007. In response to a query from Cllr. J. Flynn, the Town Engineer told the meeting that if the Members approved the proposal, Consultants would be requested to carry out a detailed design for the scheme which would then go to tender. Cllr. J. Flynn asked that the temporary fence at the rear of Aughanteeroe would be inspected by the Council staff as it had been breached since it was erected. On the proposal of Cllr. F. Neylon, seconded by Cllr. J. Flynn, it was agreed that the proposed Flood Protection Scheme at Aughanteeroe, Ennis would proceed.
Item 6 Section 85 Agreement between Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council – Rental Accommodation Scheme
The Elected Members considered the report from the Town Clerk dated 28th March 2007. On the proposal of Cllr. T. Brennan, seconded by Cllr. P. Considine it was agreed that an Agreement pursuant to Section 85 of the Local Government 2001 be entered into between Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council providing that the functions of Ennis Town Council in relation to the Rental Accommodation Scheme be performed by Clare County Council.
Item 7 To enter into a Section 85 Agreement between Ennis Town council and Clare County Council – Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000
The Elected Members considered the report of the Town Clerk dated 29th March 2007. Cllr. T. Brennan proposed that Ennis Town Council would retain its functions in relation to the provision of social and affordable housing under Part V of the Planning Act. This was supported by Cllr. J. Flynn who also noted the difficulties had arisen regarding shared ownership houses in Ennis which were vacant. In response, the Town Manager told the meeting that if a person qualifies for housing under the shared ownership scheme and wishes to purchase a property a local authority cannot stop the purchase going ahead. In relation to Part V of the Planning Act the Town Manger told the meeting that the role of Ennis Town Council in relation to Part V of the Planning and Development Act would be re-examined and reported on to the Council.
Item 7(a) Ennis Town Council Parks and Open Spaces Byelaws 2005
The Elected Members considered the report from the Town Clerk dated 30th March 2007. On the proposal of Cllr. F. Neylon, seconded by Cllr. T. Brennan it was agreed that Ennis Town Council Parks and Open Spaces Byelaws 2005 be amended to include the following addition to Clause 4.6:
Clause 4.6(l) – “Byelaw 4.6(a) shall not apply to the use of skateboards, roller skates or roller blades in the purpose built skateboard park at Lees Road Sports and Amenity Park”.
Item 8 Correspondence
Letter received from Fermoy Town Council in relation to a Notice of Motion adopted by that Council regarding the Government’s policy of purchasing carbon credits.
Cllr. J. Flynn proposed that the following Notice of Motion which had been adopted by Fermoy Town Council would be supported by Ennis Town Council. Cllr. M. Coote Ryan seconded the consideration of the motion.
“That this Council should express its abhorrence of this Government’s Policy of purchasing carbon credits and insist it stops immediately”.
Letter received from An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland in relation to the IBAL Anti-Litter League.
E. Power, Town Clerk noted that the Council had made a decision previously that it was unwilling to participate in the League and instead would concentrate its efforts on the Tidy Towns Competition. He added that unlike the Tidy Towns Competition the IBAL Anti-Litter League did not allow for the promotion of towns through an application process and there was no community involvement. The members noted that some of the assessment areas in the IBAL proposal were not within the remit of the Town Council and suggested that the Tidy Towns Competition should be focused on. In response to a query from Cllr. T. Brennan the Town Clerk stated that €10,000 which had been promised to the Tidy Towns Committee from IBAL had not been received. It was agreed by the Elected Members that a letter would be written to IBAL requesting that the €10,000 would be paid to the Tidy Towns Committee.
Cllr. J. Flynn requested that more public litterbins would be provided in the town centre. He added that bars that were fitted to the current bins had resulted in litter accumulating around the litterbins. The Town Engineer noted that bars were fitted to litter bins to prevent people disposing of domestic refuse which had been a problem. He added that there was a reasonable amount of litterbins, some of which were emptied every day.
Item 9 Conferences and Seminars
“Inspiring Progress: Good Practice and New Developments” - Annual Joint Conference of the Library Association of Ireland and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals taking place at the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise on 24th to 26th April 2007.
On the proposal of Cllr. T. Brennan seconded by Cllr. M. Coote Ryan the Council nominated Cllr. F. Neylon as a Delegate to attend this Conference.
“The Local Government Housing Service” – Seminar being organised by Kadenza Consultancies and taking place at the Silver Tassie Hotel, Milford Road, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal on 27th to 29th April 2007.
On the proposal of Cllr. T. Brennan seconded by Cllr. M. Coote Ryan the Council nominated Cllr. F. Neylon as a Delegate to attend this Conference.
On the proposal of Cllr. F. Neylon seconded by Cllr. M. Coote Ryan the Council nominated Cllr. T. Brennan as a Delegate to attend this Conference.
On the proposal of Cllr. T. Brennan seconded by Cllr. T. Brennan the Council nominated Cllr. M. Coote Ryan as a Delegate to attend this Conference.
“Meeting the Challenge – Providing the Solutions” – National Development Plan 2007 – 2013 – Local Authority Members Association Annual Spring Conference taking place at the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney, Co. Kerry on 12th and 13th April 2007.
On the proposal of Cllr. M. Coote Ryan seconded by Cllr. T. Brennan the Council nominated Cllr. P. Considine as a Delegate to attend this Conference.
“Regional Governance” – 8th Annual Conference being organised by the Southern & Eastern Regional Assembly and taking place at the Killashee House Hotel, Naas on 20th April 2007.
On the proposal of Cllr. P. Considine seconded by Cllr. F. Neylon the Council nominated Cllr. M. Coote Ryan as a Delegate to attend this Conference.
On the proposal of Cllr. T. Brennan seconded by Cllr. P. Considine the Council nominated Cllr. F. Neylon as a Delegate to attend this Conference.
Item 10 Any Other Business
Tim Smythe Park
Cllr. M. Coote Ryan requested that the playground at Tim Smythe Park would be upgraded. This was supported by Cllr. P. Considine. In response,, the Town Clerk told the meeting that an advertisement would be published this week seeking Consultants for amenity works at Tim Smythe Park including the upgrading of the playground, Clonroad Park and at the roundabout at St. Flannan’s College.
Rocky Road
Cllr. T. Brennan noted that a commitment had been given to carry out works on the Rocky Road following the completion of the Bypass. In response, the Town Engineer stated that he would examine the issue.
Driving Academy
Cllr. F. Neylon proposed that a letter would be written to the Minister for Transport and the Road Safety Authority requested that a driving academy would be established in Ennis to enable young people to learn about the rules of the road and vehicles. This was supported by Cllr. P. Considine.
Laneways at Cappahard and Lifford
It was noted that representations had been received to upgrade laneways at Cappahard and at Lifford. The Town Engineer noted both laneways were private. However, it may be possible for the residents of both laneways to apply for funding to Clare County Council under the Local Improvement Scheme.
Closure of Tulla Road
The Town Engineer told the meeting that the proposed closure of the Tulla Road to facilitate works on the sewage treatment plant would not be going ahead for technical reasons.
The Samaritans
Mayor J. Reidy informed the meeting that he had received correspondence from the Samaritans who are celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year. He noted that a huge voluntary effort was involved in providing services and proposed that this would be recognised by way of a reception. This was seconded by Cllr. P. Considine and agreed.
Municipal Policy Committee Meeting
It was agreed that the Municipal Policy Committee meeting scheduled to take place on 17th April 2007 would be postponed to 24th April 2007 at 4.00 p.m.
Friar’s Walk Car Park
The Town Engineer informed the members that works would be carried out in Friar’s Walk Car Park to regularise the parking situation there. He noted that the Temple Gate Hotel owned some of the parking spaces in the car park which people who were not hotel guests were using. He added that the works would be funded by the Temple Gate Hotel and that no public car parking spaces would be lost.
Friary Car Park
Mayor J. Reidy noted that there was now only one disabled parking space in the Friary Car Park where there had been three previously. He requested that the disabled spaces would be examined and that additional disabled spaces would be provided outside the Post Office and the Banks.
The Meeting Then concluded.
Town Clerk
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