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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Clare county council elects new cathaoirleach
Cllr Paul Murphy (Fine Gael) was elected as Cathaoirleach for the 2025-2026 term and standing beside him as Laes-Cathaoirleach is Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (Fianna Fáil). Fianna Fáil councillor Alan O'Callaghan handed over the seat of Cathaoirleach, reflecting on his term, with Clare winning the All-Ireland for the first time in 11 years being on his his highlights. Cllr O'Callaghan thanked his family and friends for support through the year. 'To everyone here in the chamber, to all the members you were respectful of the chair, and I really appreciate that.' 'We leave no one behind. And that is very important as a local authority. Bring everyone along with you.' In response to the departing of Cllr O'Callaghan as the first citizen in the chamber, councillors remarked on his fun-loving professional demeaner that always ensured matters of business were handled within meeting times and gave each councillor the 'freedom' they needed, says Michael Begley who was elected Cathaoirleach in 2018. Cllr John Crowe nominated Cllr Paul Murphy saying that he is a 'real team member for all of us'. Cllr Murphy is the first person elected Cathaoirleach from Clarecastle in the history of the council and was praised for being a trustworthy and dependable councillor for the county. Upon election, Cllr Murphy said: 'It is a huge honour to be sitting here today as Clare County Council. I am deeply privileged to accept this role with your full support.' 'Many hands make light work… this seat belongs to the people and not to myself.' Additionally, Cllr. Clare Colleran-Molloy made history with her election as the first Leas-Cathaoirleach to be elected with American citizenship in Clare County Council. She took over the seat from Cllr. Mary Howard (Fine Gael). Cllr Colleran-Molloy was nominated with praises for her commitment to local government. Accepting the seat she said: 'I will answer the call, and I will do my best to help.' Furthermore, the municipal distracts have proceeded with elections as well. Shannon elected MD Cllr John Crowe as Cathaoirleach, and Cllr Michael Begley as Leas-Cathaoirleach. Cllr Mary Howard is the new Mayor of Ennis having been elected last Thursday with Cllr Pat Daly as deputy Mayor of Ennis. In Killaloe MD, Cllr Pat Burke was elected as Cathaoirleach and Cllr Tony O'Brien as Leas-Chathaoirleach. Finally, in West Clare, Cllr Bill Slattery will be Cathaoirleach for the next year with Cllr Michael Shannon serving as Leas-Chathaoirleach. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
EV charging units proposed for Galway Retail Park
ESB Innovations have submitted plans that include three shared EV charging units and six EV charging bays including the improvement and realignment of parking areas surrounding the proposed location. Access to the charging stations will be within the parking area off Headford Road. ESB Innovations are responsible for over 1,600 charging points throughout the nation committed to 'achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040'. The proposal says that the development will 'contribute to the nation objective to transition to a competitive, low carbon economy by 2050' and will have a 'positive impact' on the enterprise environment in the area. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Go-Ahead criticised for ghost bus services in north Wicklow
Earlier this year as part of the latest phase of the Bus Connects network redesign, several new routes were introduced that serve residents in Newtownmountkennedy, Delgany, Bray, Greystones and Enniskerry. Speaking in the Dail, Deputy Whitmore said there are still problems on many routes including the L2, L1, L3 and L15. 'A bus needs to show up every single time or else people will not use buses and will not be able to trust the service. Unfortunately, that is what is happening in Wicklow, with buses not showing up, buses being late and elderly people having to wait for two hours for an hourly bus that just did not appear.' Following a competitive tender process, the National Transport Authority awarded Go-Ahead a contract to bus services in parts of Wicklow in October 2018 which ran for five years up to 2023, with the company choosing to extend it by two years up to 2025. With the contract now due to expire at the end of the year, Deputy Whitmore asked the Transport Minister Darragh O' Brien whether it should be renewed. Minister O'Brien said the company have made efforts to combat the rise in so called ghost busses across their network. 'Since January, eight new engineering staff have joined the company, and 129 drivers have started in the driving school. In addition, Go-Ahead Ireland has completed overseas recruitment, with ten engineers expected to start in September.' According to Minister O'Brien there are two main reasons for buses not showing up. 'One, late notification by operators of cancelled and curtailed services, with that resulting in incorrect information being given to customers, and two, technical issues with the older bus automatic vehicle location equipment.' 'That equipment is being replaced with live data on each bus. This will improve the service greatly from 2026.' he added. Deputy Whitmore acknowledged that improvements have been made, but believes the routes in Wicklow have been the worst hit since they were introduced in January. 'If we could see exactly how problematic this is, the difficulties it is causing and on what routes it is causing them, in a more real-time fashion, that would be very useful.' she added. Figures from the National Transport Authority show operators were fined just short of €1.5 million in 2024 for not meeting their service level agreements. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Price of upcoming College Green Plaza soars from estimated €10m to €80m as councillors urge restraint
In an update provided to a Dublin City Council (DCC) Mobility and Public Realm Strategic Policy Committee, project head Marie Galvin said the anticipated cost had now risen to €80m, which includes a 40pc contingency. The project has doubled in scope from its initial design, revealed nine years ago, and inflation and labour costs have also significantly contributed to the increase since then. Pedestrianisation is now proposed to extend from Trinity College all the way down Dame Street as far as the junction with George's Street. Local Sinn Féin councillor Kourtney Kenny said that Government should be stepping in to provide funding for the project, as it was one that would benefit the whole country. "Everyone in Ireland at some stage is going to come to Dublin, so there needs to be more pressure on Government to be paying some of those costs,' she said. Ms Kourtney said even though she supports public realm improvements, allowing costs to soar in such a dramatic fashion was 'heinous'. 'We need to put more attention on how we can get the best bang for our buck and not just be burning money and allowing the costs to balloon like this,' she added. Independent councillor Mannix Flynn said the plaza was a waste of public money, and the funds should be spent instead on more pressing issues. "We don't have a pedestrian or a plaza crisis. We have a homeless crisis, we have a housing crisis, we have a medical crisis, we have a crisis of anti-social behaviour in these very areas,' he said. "And they think by doing this, they're going to solve problems. It's nonsense.' ADVERTISEMENT Mr Flynn said he could foresee costs continuing to 'escalate' with the project. "The €80m figure is just bullshit, this is an architectural conservation area (ACA). Anybody who even looks at this will want treble the money because it's an ACA,' he said. "They don't know what they're going to find when they dig into the ground. You've got the Luas, you've got all those different things there, and this will absolutely escalate in costs.' Green Party councillor Feljin Jose said costs had risen so much because the project had taken so long to proceed, but cautioned that the €80m figure was an estimate at this stage, not a costed figure. 'We've seen three different visions of this over the last ten years, and the longer we leave this, the higher the total cost of inflation, labour costs, and the scope of the project has increased so much as well.' 'We have nobody to blame but ourselves [for the increased cost]. You know, we've been talking about this project for so long.' He said the project had been further delayed by the National Transport Authority's slow rollout of BusConnects, but that the council should still proceed with the plaza. 'The city needs this, we desperately need this, and we should absolutely go ahead with it. And if we wait it's not going to get any cheaper.' Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Baltinglass and Greystones districts vote in female cathaoirligh
Nominated by Cllr Pat Mahon, Cllr Cronin's election will see her reprise the role for the second time, after taking up the position in 2021. Thanking her colleagues for their show of confidence, the Dunlavin native said she was honoured to take up the role. 'I was nominated by Cllr Mahon and seconded by Cllr Jason Mulhall. Both had some pleasant words to say about me. I understand I have huge shoes to fill following on Cllr Patsy Glennon. Patsy respected everyone's views, which is something I always admired.' Cllr Cronin also vowed to work hard for the people of west Wicklow and carry out her duties with dignity and respect. 'Politics can be challenging as a female. I hope to be a role model for all women looking to enter politics in the future. I am grateful for the opportunity and believe progress is being made on gender balance in the council chamber.' she added. There wasn't unanimous acceptance of the vote result. After missing out on a vote for chair, Independent Cllr Gerry O' Neill nominated himself for the deputy chair position but lost out again, the second time to Cllr Jason Mulhall who was elected Leas Cathaoirleach after being nominated by Cllr Peter Stapleton and seconded by Cllr Pat Mahon. Speaking after the vote during some tetchy exchanges, Cllr O' Neill claimed it was a sad day for politics in west Wicklow. 'The atmosphere here is wrong, and I believe independent voices are not being listened to across the county.' he added. Meanwhile the ascension of Cllr Lourda Scott to the top of the table in Greystones now means that four of the five municipal districts in Wicklow will be led by women for the next year. She was nominated for the position for the second time by Cllr Stephen Stokes and seconded by Cllr Louise Fenlon Gaskin. During her maiden speech, Cllr Scott said she wanted to use the opportunity to highlight the work of volunteers across the district. 'From Greystones, Delgany to Kilcoole, Newcastle and Killadreenan we've got people who give their time and energy, often under the radar, day in and day out. They keep clubs running. They organise events. They protect our environment. Our communities wouldn't be what it is without them.' She promised to highlight the work of young people and provide space for them to share their views. 'I want extend an open invitation to all of the schools across the district for their student body to meet with me, so I can amplify their voices and needs.' Funding the outstanding repairs needed in Farankelly will be a key goal during her term. In conclusion Cllr Scot said she wants Greystones to be a place where everyone feels welcome. 'I campaigned on a platform of inclusivity and want to highlight the importance of equality and diversity.' she added. Cllr Scott will be joined at the table by Social Democrats Cllr Mark Barry after being nominated for the position by Cllr Louise Fenlon Gaskin and seconded by Independent Cllr Tom Fortune. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
