-       Minutes of Plenary Meeting on 22^nd October 2018

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Cummins

            SECONDED by Councillor Fallon

It was AGREED to adopt the Minutes of Plenary Meeting held on 22.10.2018

There were no matters arising.

-       October 2018

The Management Report for October 2018 was noted.

-          House at Toobrackan, Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Cummins

SECONDED by Councillor Byrne

It was AGREED that the Council consent to the disposal of lands pursuant to the Provisions of Section 211 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended) and Section 183 of the Local Government Act, 2001 of property which it it proposed to dispose of at the location in County Roscommon and to the persons set out in the schedule hereunder.  Particulars of the land which the County Council proposes to dispose of:-

The land:  0.231 Ha. (0.57 acres) incorporating dwelling house at Toobrackan, Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon.

The persons from whom the land was acquired: Teresa O’Grady.

The person to whom the land is to be disposed:  Denis Melniciuc, 4 Cruise Park Avenue, Tyrrelstown, Dublin 15.

Consideration:  €50,000

-          Site No's 3 & 4 Ballyboughan Townland, Roscommon

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Leyden

SECONDED by Councillor Shanagher

It was AGREED that the Council consent to the disposal of lands pursuant to the Provisions of Section 211 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended) and Section 183 of the Local Government Act, 2001 of property which it it proposed to dispose of at the location in County Roscommon and to the persons set out in the schedule hereunder.  Particulars of the land which the County Council proposes to dispose of:-

The land:  Site No’s. 3 & 4 comprising 0.532 Ha. (1.315 acres)at Ballyboughan Townland, Roscommon, County Roscommon.

The persons from whom the land was acquired: Eircom Ltd., Harcourt Centre, 52 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2.

The person to whom the land is to be disposed:  McBreen Property Ltd., Lismagratty, Cootehill Road, Cavan.

Consideration:  €85,000 Plus VAT

-          Lease of lands at Elphin Td. Elphin, Co Roscommon.

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Byrne

SECONDED by Councillor Callaghan

It was AGREED that the Council consent to the lease of property pursuant to the provisions of Article 206 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, Section 211 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended) and Section 183 of the Local Government Act, 2001 of particulars of property which it is proposed to lease at the location in County Roscommon and to the persons set out in the schedule hereunder.  Particulars of the property which the County Council proposes to lease:

The Property:  Site comprising 2.519 hA (6.224 acres) at Elphin Td., Elphin, Co. Roscommon.

The person(s) to whom the property is to be leased to: Elphin Area Community Enterprise CLG.

Consideration:  €100 per annum

Term of Lease: 10 years

-       Mr. Daniel Curley, Manager

The Cathaoirleach, Cllr. Connaughton welcomed Mr. Daniel Curley the Manager of the Rathcroghan Visitor Centre in Tulsk to the meeting to give the Members a presentation on the centre. The presentation focused on their activities and community involvement, past achievements, current projects and future works planned.

·         The formation of the Tulsk Action Group Ltd by the local community in 1996, was the foundation of the establishment of the Museum as a result of getting funding from the Irish Tourist Board.

·         In 2013 a Roscommon LEADER grant helped the reinvigoration of the facilities and the centre as a whole. On completion of the upgrade of the interpretative facilities, the staff completed the upgrade of the rest of the facilities including the café.

·         The visitor numbers have increased substantially year on year and have almost doubled from 7,500 in 2014 to 13,300 in 2017.

·         The services provided include – the interpretative centre exhibition rooms, guided tours of the Rathcroghan Archaeological landscape, local craft and gifts bookshop, Táin Community Café open 6 days a week year round and conference and meeting room facilities

·         The centre also hosts two annual conferences, a winter lecture series, a range of heritage week events and the Rathcroghan leg of the Táin march. The annual community archaeological conference every April and attracts visitors from the UK and Europe.

·         The visitor centre is maintained and operated by 7 staff including 3 full time roles. Community groups use the meeting rooms on a weekly basis.

·         The staff continue to develop and improve the centre and enliven the visitor experience with new and upgrade of exhibits including sawhorse exhibit charts, Rathcroghan trail booklet, replica Queen Maedbh chariot and signposting of the Táin trail funded by RCC.  The centre currently exhibits 35 local provenance artefacts housed in NMI spec museum display case.

·         The Centre is currently working towards receiving UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

·         The latest development is the Farming EIP Project Plan developed with the Rathcroghan Resource Community. The sum of €984k has been awarded for a 5 year pilot programme to facilitate farming activities to enhance the Rathcroghan site.

The Members warmly welcomed the presentation and congratulated Mr. Curley on the work done at the Centre and their ambitious plans for the future including the UNESCO Heritage status and the Farming EIP project. The centre was also congratulated on winning a Pride of Place Award recently.  Other contributions included:

o   Requirement for better parking for buses at the site and better toilet facilities. Roscommon County Council should liaise with the OPW on this. There is a need for an innovative approach to car parking.

o   The potential for Rathcroghan is finally utilised and developed but there is work that can be done at sites throughout the county.

o   Is there potential to link visitors from Clonmacnoise to Rathcroghan?

o   Looking forward to the animated story on cats and Rathcrogan.

Daniel Curley added that they need a project office to facilitate recent developments and ‘Kellys House’ would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 154.18

Ms. Mary Grier, Senior Planner gave an overview to the Members on the recently introduced Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018. The Act was signed into law in July with Circular Letter PL 08/2018 issued in August followed by Circular PL 09/2018 dated 9^th November outlining provisions of the Act that have been brought into effect:

·         The initial intention of the legislation was to give effect to the planning related recommendations of the Mahon Tribunal and the scope of the legislation expanded as it progressed through the Oireachtas.

·         Establishment of a new independent Office of the Planning Regulator

·         Statutory underpinning of the National Planning Framework as a successor to the National Spatial Strategy

·         Various updates of the Principal Act in order to deliver greater transparency, efficiency and integrity in the planning system –

o   Ministerial guidelines are subject to SEA/AA

o   Submissions on plans and CE reports to be published on LA websites and various insertions to facilitate forthcoming e-planning

o   Proposed contraventions to be forwarded to Regional assembly

o   Elected members to pay zero rate fee for submissions, subject to further guidance

·         The sections that have commenced on enactment include control of licences premises, amendments to Strategic Housing Development, the Vacant Site levy, Derelict Sites Levy and special legal costs rule.

·         The Vacant Site and Derelict Site Levy will rise from 3% to 7% of market valuation from January 2020.

·         Provision for the deferral of the normal statutory plan making process until the adoption of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES). This means that the Roscommon County Development Plan has been deferred until 13 weeks after the NWRA RSES is made.

·         Development Management related provisions include mandatory pre-planning for certain developments; previous developments undertaken; previous convictions under certain acts; power to vary appropriate period (not less than 2 years);

·         Three-quarters of the members can request CE to prepare a report to initiate process of variation of the development plan and power to extend appropriate period is now in effect. There is a new element in effect regarding revocation of planning permission; and provisions regarding Take in Charge of Estates.

·         The provision regarding the office of the Planning Regulator is not yet in effect or the planning compliance procedures.

·         A wide range of functions have been assigned to the Officer of the Planning Regulator

The Cathaoirleach thanked Ms. Grier for the comprehensive presentation on the new Planning Act. The members discussed the presentation as follows:

·         The new regulations should not take away from the Members autonomy regarding Local Area Plans.

·         Welcome the regulations regarding developers past records being taken into account

·         Concern expressed that material contravention could be taken to a higher authority

·         Concern regarding a fee for pre-planning

·         Welcome the reduction of the 7year period to 4 years for Take In Charge however the changes to include the majority of house owners will make it more difficult to have the procedure completed. There will be resource implications for the Local Authority with the new 4 year  ...  view the full minutes text for item 155.18

Mr. Martin Lydon updated the Members on the Athlone Retail Strategy which has already been brought to the Athlone MD:

·         A joint initiative between Roscommon and Westmeath County Councils. MacCabe Durney Barnes consultants commissioned to prepare the strategy that will be incorporated relevant plans including the Roscommon Co. Development Plan, Monksland Bealnamullia LAP and the Westmeath equivalents. This will necessitate a variation to plans in the coming months.

·         This strategy will bring uniformity to plans with Athlone town at its core.

·         The Strategy looked at the current retail policy context, assembled a suite of baseline information, assessed the vitality, viability and potential of key retail areas, the potential for floor-space and set out the aims, objectives strategic framework and policies.

·         The overall strategy is to promote the development of a vibrant and competitive retail sector within the Athlone Regional Centre and its environs whilst protecting the integrity, vibrancy and viability of the centre of Athlone.

·         It assesses the spatial distribution of new retail development in Athlone

·         The Strategy sets the Monksland Policy context to ensure it is consistent with the LAP and consolidates the commercial core on ‘District Centre’ lands.

·         The timeline includes for internal process including the drafting of the variation text in January. The statutory process will commence in February and it is envisaged that the members will give formal consideration to the CE report on the variation in April 2019.

·         Further detail will be available at the Athlone MD meeting on 12^th December.

Mr. Shane Tiernan, Director of Services informed the members that the Minister has appointed Ms. Sara Moorehead SC to conduct a review of the role of elected members of local authorities, as well as the remuneration and other supports provided to assist the members in carrying out their duties.

The terms of reference have been circulated to the members and they are invited to make submissions. The closing date for receipt of submissions will be forwarded in due course.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Fallon

            SECONDED by Cllr. Ward

It was AGREED that Ms. Jody Healy be appointed as a member of the LCDC as nominated by the Brothers of Charity following the resignation of Ms. Margaret Glacken.

Cllr. Fallon,  Chairperson of the LCDC, thanked Ms. Glacken for her contribution to the committee over the past number of years.

The Chief Executive informed the members that the funding allocations from the Urban Regeneration funds were announced this morning in Dublin. In the NRWA region Roscommon Town has been allocated €780,000 in relation to the Public Realm Plan (Market Square & Main St) under Category A (Ready to go) projects and also approval under Category B (Planning).

It is important that Roscommon has a modern town that will compete and surpass other towns and to look at the centre of the town and what we want to look like in the future. We are listed with other partners in Category B and will have to start looking at this next year. It is great that we have made both lists and the CE looks forward to working with the members and stakeholders in the coming years to bring plans to fruition.

The members welcomed the grant funding and thanked the executive and staff for the work that has been done to date and the level of consultation with the stakeholders. It is important to have plans to develop the towns for the future and to take advantage of funding as it becomes available. There were concerns that the allocation is not big enough compared to other adjacent counties. It was noted that only Roscommon Town is eligible for funding under the Urban programme and further announcements are expected in the New Year and all of the projects are phased so allocations will be forthcoming on this basis.

·         Notice of Motion 10.18 from Cllr. Ward

·         Notice of Motion 11.18 from Cllr. Connolly

·         Notice of Motion 12.18 from Cllr. Leyden

10.18  Notice of Motion from Councillor Ward  -Home Help Hours and Home Care Packages

I am calling on the Minister for Health Mr Simon Harris T.D. and the Government to bring forward legislation in the Dáil, to make it a Statutory entitlement that persons who qualify for Home Help Hours and Home Care Packages must be immediately provided for by the Health Services Executive.

The Meetings Administrator read the following reply:

 This Motion requires a resolution of the Council.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Ward

              SECONDED by Cllr. Kilduff

It was AGREED that a letter be sent to the Minister of Health Mr. Simon Harris to bring forward legislation in the Dáil, to make it a Statutory entitlement that persons who qualify for Home Help Hours and Home Care Packages must be immediately provided for by the Health Services Executive.

Cllr. Ward thanked the members for their unanimous support and asked that the letter be circulated to all Local Authorities. He also stated that he would like the Roscommon/Galway East public representative to raise this matter in Dáil Eireann.

12.18  Purchase of a Property Marker Machine - Notice of Motion from Councillor Leyden

That Roscommon County Council in association with Roscommon Joint Policing Committee purchase a property marker machine that could be loaned to Community Alert Groups throughout the County to roll out property marking at a local level to act as a determinant to criminal activity.

The Meetings Administrator read the following reply: This matter will be brought before the next meeting of Roscommon Joint Policing Committee for discussion.

Cllr. Leyden welcomed the response and requested that when the matter is discussed at the JPC that Roscommon County Council funds it. Other Local Authorities are considering such a move. If an item is marked, it cannot be sold on if stolen and this would be of particular use for items of machinery.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Leyden

             SECONDED by Cllr. Doherty

It was AGREED that Roscommon County Council in association with Roscommon Joint Policing Committee purchase a property marker machine that will be loaned to Community Alert Groups throughout the County.

11.18 Allocated Monies for each Municipal District area

Notice of Motion from Councillor Connolly

That all monies allocated for roads in each Municipal District area be spent in those areas.

The Cathaoirleach stated that Cllr. Connolly sent his apologies and thatthis notice had been dealt with at the Budget meeting.

·         Letter from Northern & Western Regional Assembly dated 10^th October, 2018 advising Roscommon County Council “That the Northern & Western Regional Assembly (NWRA) endorse and fully support the Galway European Capital of Culture 2020 Project. The NWRA recognise that initiatives such as this inevitably meet challenges, as is the case in all European Capital of Culture Programme’s. It is in the light of these challenges being circulated in the public domain that the NWRA wishes to publicly state its absolute support and endorsement of the entire Galway 2020 Project. The NWRA will continue to support the vision laid out by Galway 2020 Bid Team”

·         Letter from Kilkenny County Council dated 6^th November, 2018 regarding a resolution that was passed “That Kilkenny County Council fully supports the immediate implementation of 24/7 Cardiac Care in UHW and will encourage fellow Councillors in neighbouring counties of Carlow, Tipperary, Wexford and Waterford”

·         Letter from Kilkenny County Council dated 6^th November, 2018 regarding a resolution that was passed “That Kilkenny County Council supports the proposal from historian Catherine Corless for a full DNA analysis of the children found in the septic tanks in Tuam and that they be given a proper dignified and Christian burial”

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Cummins

                SECONDED by Councillor Shanagher

It was AGREED to adopt the list of payments for attendance at conferences as circulated to the Members. 

Update on Bonds:

Cllr. Naughten welcomed the information circulated regarding Bonds. He asked if the issue of Bonds being sold on to vulture funds presented a difficulty for Roscommon County Council in drawing them down.

Mr. Martin Lydon informed him that the Council would not be aware of why they bonds are being sold on and which ones. He can only deal with the bonds on a case by case basis.

Rooskey Hotel:

Cllr. Liam Callaghan said that there is huge concern in Rooskey about the recent announcement that the hotel is to be used as an EROC centre for refugees in the near future. He asked if Roscommon County Council had received any update on this issue?

Cllrs. Murphy, Byrne and Doherty also voiced their concerns regarding the lack of services in the village, the creation of division in the community regarding the matter, the fact that this announcement was made while a court case is ongoing, where is the access to the labour market, the difficult circumstances for those in direct provision and the general lack of engagement with the community and lack of information. Cllr. Cummins asked if planning permission was required for change of use.

The Chief Executive assured that members that an official from the Department would attend a Boyle MD meeting.

The Cathaoirleach reminded the Members that the Civic Reception was taking place on Friday 30^th November in Áras an Chontae and the Volunteer of the Year Awards on Friday week 7^th December in Kilbride.