Search Results for 'John Cribben'

Mayo Children's Initiative (MCI) will be launched today, February 19 at 11am at Ballyheane Community Centre, outside Castlebar. This is the first time in Ireland that efforts are being made to address the issue of children's experience of domestic violence specifically.

It’s not every day that Bunreacht na hÉireann makes an appearance at a local government meeting. But last Monday, Independent councillor Frank Durcan walked up to the top bench at the February meeting of Mayo County Council and left a copy of the Irish Constitution in front of county secretary John Condon, asking him where in the Constitution it refers to privacy.

The annual allowances and expenses paid to the elected members of Mayo County Council came in at just under €1.25 million for the year just gone. The €1,244,587.37 paid out was split among the 39 people who were councillors during the year. The top 10 earners collected €524,889.25 among them. The top 10 earners though does contain seven members who either retired from their seats or lost their seats in the local elections held in June last year and were entitled to gratuities for their service, as well as the two councillors who held the position of cathaoirleach during the year.

Claims that Mayo County Council are sitting on €22 million worth of unspent development levies in a bank account have been rejected by a senior council official this week.

This monthly meeting of Mayo County Council saw the Fine Gael members of the council launch a scathing attack on the recent budget cutbacks. The remarks of the majority side of the house saw a number of Fianna Fáil councillors admit that they themselves were not happy with the budget. Achill-based Cllr Michael McNamara told the meeting that “there are some aspects of the the budget that I can’t defend”. While Claremorris area councillor Pat McHugh said “I have been a loyal supporter of the Government, but I’m not afraid to say there is no way I can defend this budget. There are many issues that have been raised, and they were discussed at meetings of Fianna Fáil councillors around the country, and a number of areas where a hatchet was used when a scalpel should have been.”

At the Claremorris electoral area meeting this week Fine Gael councillor John Cribben questioned when the housing grants for the elderly would be paid out.

Councillors from the Claremorris electoral area questioned the possibility of cutting parking charges and rates in the town to stimulate business during the current economic downturn. Cllr Tom Connolly told a meeting of the local electoral area committee that the argument is being made that the on street traders are at a serious disadvantage because people have to pay to park to use their business while the larger stores like SuperValu, Tesco, and Lidl are at an advantage because they have large sites offering free parking in the town.

The big loser in the shake up of the electoral area map last year was the Ballinrobe area, who have had their autonomy as an electoral area usurped and have been consumed into a newly expanded Claremorris electoral area.

Twenty six hectares of land will be required for residential zoning purposes in Ballyhaunis to cope with the expected development demands of the town up until 2018.

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.