Search Results for 'Margaret Adams'

Councillor Myles Staunton, Cathaoirleach of Westport Town Council, put forward a proposal at last week’s meeting that any conferences which councillors attend must be relevant; that a summary report of what councillors attended is given; that a catalogue of conference information is available to the public; and each councillor will be given €2,000 to attend conferences during the year.

There were eight knife crimes in Mayo over the months of July and August and one serious crime where an axe was brandished. Two people died, a garda was seriously injured in the line of duty, others narrowly defied death, and many families have been severely traumatised as a result of the thuggery. The incidents have left gardaí in Mayo ‘dumbfounded’. Superintendent Willie Keavney said “such a serious litany of incidents” was unprecedented, and was frightening not only for the gardaí but for the general public. He said the practice of young people going out at night with knives had to be looked at. “We are dumbfounded as to what to do,” Supt Keaveney told Monday’s meeting of the joint policing committee. “We don’t want to turn every fellow upside down looking for knives,” he added.

The Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, has announced that he is making €620,000 in the period 2009 to 2012 available to Westport Town Council to develop a new walking and cycling greenway in Westport town, linking Westport Quay to Knockranny. The project will be largely based on an existing network of disused railway lines and will create new cycling and walking links between Westport’s urban areas, residential areas, and schools. The new greenway aims to encourage a shift to cycling and walking over short urban journeys. The overall cost of the scheme is €1.04m, with Westport Town Council funding the remaining €420,000.

The contentious issue surrounding the zoning of the privately owned Bank of Ireland garden in Westport was discussed at a special meeting of Westport Town Council last week where councillors were finalising the draft development plan, with a proposal put through which would see the garden zoned for open space and also for commercial development.

Mayo County Council will be searching for a new county manger following the announcement this week that Des Mahon will retire after almost 20 years in the role. The Roscommon native, who lives in Westport, has held the position of county manager since 1990 and seen numerous changes in his time in charge of the local authority.

In a discussion surrounding Mayo County Council’s corporate plan, which spans a five year period from 2010 to 2014, Fine Gael councillor Peter Flynn suggested that the council should increase its range of services, due to the scaling back of other government agencies, with Mayo County Council taking on these additional services so everything is dealt with “under one umbrella”.

Additional housing grant funding

The decision by Mayo County Council to send the Cathaoirleach and two other councillors to the USA for St Patrick’s Day, saw a heated debate in the council chamber on Monday. Independent Councillor Gerry Ginty wanted his opposition against the trip noted saying it was a waste of public money. The council agreed to send Cathaoirleach John Cribben and fellow councillors Damien Ryan and Michael Burke on the trip.

At a Joint Policing Committee meeting held in Westport Superintendent Mick Murray said that street policing in Westport is in a “healthy state”, with swift action taken by gardaí in recent incidents in the town. The Superintendent said that they are at an advanced stage with the recent burglary investigation where an elderly man’s home was broken into, and as in the incident where a man’s face was injured a file will be sent to the DPP in the “not so distant future”.

Figures released by Mayo County Council under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed that Mayo county councillors were paid out €836,212 from January to the end of June 2009, all relating to the six months pre-election. Independent Castlebar Councillor Frank Durcan who sought this information said that these figures are “immoral in the times that are in it”.