Search Results for 'acting county manager'

A number of local councillors have criticised the erection of a security fence on the boundary of the scout site at Portlick on the shores of Lough Ree.

Water charges for businesses in Mayo are set to increase by at least 11 per cent next year, Peter Duggan, head of finance for Mayo County Council, told councillors at the monthly meeting of the local authority. Mr Duggan was seeking approval for the raising of a €6.2 million loan to fund the council’s obligations under the polluter pays principle for three water services schemes in the county. The three schemes in question are Castlebar and environs scheme, which will cost the council €5.5 million, the Achill Sound sewerage scheme, costing €2.2 million, and the Kiltimagh sewerage scheme, which will cost the council €1 million.

Current Westport town manager Peter Hynes is to be appointed as the new county manager, replacing Des Mahon who retired from the post at the end of November last year. The Moycullen native, who lives in Foxford, will be put forward for ratification at the May monthly meeting of Mayo County Council. Mr Hynes currently combines the role of Westport town manager along with director of services for the Westport and Belmullet electoral areas and as director of services for the housing section of the council.

The elected members of Mayo County Council this week hit out at the decision by the council executive to close the two civic amenity sites at Derrinumera and Rathroeen at 1pm on Saturdays.

The elected members of Mayo County Council accepted the draft Western River Basin District Management Plan and the Shannon International River Basin District Management plan this week, but with a number of reservations attached to the plans. Fine Gael whip Cllr Joe Mellet proposed the acceptance of the plans, but with the inclusion of the three reservations about the plan. The reservations included that nothing in these plans should supersede the County Development Plan, that they didn’t accept that 31 per cent of pollution in the rivers came from agriculture, and that the plan did nothing to supersede the current EU nitrates directive.

Mayo County Council have not ruled out taking a judicial review against the refusal of An Bord Pleanála to grant planning permission for the long awaited phase two of the N26 to Bohola.

A former Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council has called on the Minister for the Environment to fill the position of county manager from within the ranks of the council. According to Councillor Joe Mellett this will save the council €100,000 annually.

Independent Councillor Frank Durcan has called for the acting county manager Joe Beirne to consider his position after he accused him of benefiting from the change of a junction on the Pontoon/Turlough Road in Castlebar. Cllr Durcan alleged to a meeting of Mayo County Council that Mr Beirne had not fulfilled his duties in disclosing his interests in a property in the area where the works were being carried out. The property Cllr Durcan referred to is the premises where Mr Beirne’s wife carries out her business.

The elected members of Mayo County Council were told that water supply levels were very low around the county following the recent weather. Director of services for water services Paddy Mahon told the annual budget meeting: “Normally we use 59,000 cubic metres of water a day in the county, but yesterday (Sunday, January 10) we used 69,000 cubic metres of water in the county, that’s 16 per cent more than normal and this week we expect it to get worse. The situation in the Castlebar reservoir is critical today (Monday) and rationing will have to be considered over the week”.

“Mayo County Council coped as well as it was possible with the resources available to it with these unprecedented weather conditions,” according to acting county manager Joe Beirne. The top executive in the council made these remarks at the annual budget meeting of the council where he outlined the efforts made by the council to ensure the county got through the recent cold snap as well as possible. Mr Beirne told the meeting that since the onset of the first frosts at the end of November the council has carried out more than 60 gritting runs on 900km of national and regional roads, while for the total winter season of 2008/2009 it carried out 85 gritting runs (the winter season lasts until April).