Search Results for 'Eugene McCormack'

The chill wind of recession does not seem to have affected the hospitality trade in south Westmeath with the news that the proprietors of the Village Inn on the square in Tyrellspass have been given permission to retain an extension and renovation of the listed and protected premises.

While the headlines may have been grabbed in the past few weeks with councillors urging the people of the town not to vote for a former councillor who has decided to come back for some more, the race for the nine seats in Castlebar Town Council promises to be one of the most exciting in the county.

Before Cllr Joe Mellett had even handed over the Cathaoirleach’s chain to incoming Cathaoirleach for the next 12 months, Cllr John Cribben, independent Castlebar based Cllr Frank Durcan fired his first warning shot across the bows of the new council. Cllr Durcan told the meeting, “In the interests of transparency and accountability, I would call that the salaries of the Cathaoirleach, the leas Cathaoirleach and all the committee chairpersons be given to the general public”. Cllr Durcan’s call was seconded by fellow independent Cllr Gerry Ginty from Ballina.

The town of Castlebar was plunged into sadness at the news of the death of local businessman Cathal Duffy of Rathbawn Road who died at Mayo General Hospital following a short illness.

County manager Des Mahon this week urged the elected members of the Mayo County Council to sell the positives of the county rather than the negatives. Mr Mahon was speaking to the members on foot of a motion by Fine Gael’s Michelle Mulherin where she called for the major industries in Mayo to be afforded the opportunity to outline the problems that are affecting their growth due to inadequate infrastructure in Mayo.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny TD has congratulated the Fine Gael members of Castlebar Town Council for their efforts in assisting the establishment of new resident groups. They are also meeting with existing resident groups to discuss any concerns that they may have. As with any resident groups, the local Garda Superintendent William Keaveney will attend a meeting with the groups and assign a garda liaison to each particular housing estate.

Castlebar’s Lough Lannagh holiday village could become a mini-Trabolgan, according to Councillor Frank Durcan. Cllr Durcan put forward a motion calling on the council to upgrade the holiday village. Town manager Seamus Granahan said he would explore the possibilities of doing so, and congratulated the people who are currently running the facility on doing a good job, but warned that finances would be a stumbling block at this current time.

The planning and economic development SPC of Mayo County Council will have to keep a close eye on the new planning bill that is passing through the Oireachtas at the moment. The bill caused a lot of concern for the members of Mayo County Council at their monthly meeting the previous week when it was raised and the members of the SPC expressed similar concerns.

Despite some members of Castlebar Town Council saying last week they wanted a massive 10 per cent cut in rates in the town for 2010, the elected members settled on the figure of a 2.5 per cent cut in the rates.

The urgent need for a new swimming pool in Castlebar was highlighted at the annual budget meeting of the Town Council this week. Councillor Eugene McCormack brought up the issue that the council had budgeted to spend €230,000 this year on the swimming pool in the town, which was currently closed for repair and had been over the Christmas period. Cllr McCormack told the meeting: “We have budgeted a lot of money for the pool again here and it’s something we should highlight, the sad state the pool is in and its need of a proper upgrade.” Independent Cllr Frank Durcan told the meeting that the pool should never have been put into Castlebar when it was and that the pool had been previously rejected by Kerry County Council before it was installed in Castlebar. Fine Gael Cllr Noreen Heston asked the meeting if there was any chance that the town could enter into a public private partnership with one of the private pools in the town as the pool cannot cope with the demand that it has which often outstrips the supply it can provide.