No declarations recorded from the Members.

·         Minutes of Plenary Meeting on 28.02.2022

·         Minutes of Special Meeting on 08.03.2022

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Cummins

            SECONDED by Cllr. Crosby

It was AGREED to adopt the minutes of the Plenary Meeting of 28.02.2022

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. McDermott

            SECONDED by Cllr. Fallon

It was AGREED to adopt the minutes of the Special Plenary Meeting of 08.03.2022

There were no matters arising.

·         February 2022

·         Management Report for February 2022 noted.

·         0.0418hA at Mullaghnashee Td. Fairymount. Co. Roscommon

On the PROPOSAL of Councillor Dineen

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 0.0418 hA (0.1032 acres) at Mullaghnashee Td., Fairymount, Co. Roscommon

The person(s) to whom the property is to be leased to: On Tower Ireland Ltd, Suite 311Q House, 76  Furze Rd., Sandyford Industrial Estate, Dublin 18

The consideration proposed in respect of the lease: €135,000 plus VAT @ 23%

Term of Lease: 30 years

The Chief Executive welcomed Brendan Slattery, Solicitor with McCann Fitzgerald to update the Members on the recent Court Case brought against the Council in relation to works to relieve flooding at Lough Funshinagh.

The Chief Executive outlined his actions in relation to the matter on behalf of the Council and gave his view on the matter:

·         The Council attended court on 10 occasions in the matter with costs incurred exceeding €250k

·         Everything legally possible was done by the Council including emergency works under the 1949 Act and subsequent works.

·         The Friends of the Irish Environment took an action to find the CE in contempt of court and this has also generated costs, but was rejected by the court.

·         The Court in its decision accepted conforming issues ensuring that Roscommon County Council could not give comfort to this in danger of losing their houses, generated costs and has left the Council in an impossible situation. Nothing could be as traumatic to people as the possibility of losing their home and having to leave their community.

·         FIE in its litigation, was successful in preventing every action of the Council and therefore ensured that the Council could not give comfort to those in danger. They successfully convinced the court that water flows uphill and the situation that pertains to the people of Lough Funshinagh was not an emergency.

·         Lough Funshinagh is a turlough and by definition under the annex attached to that designation, must increase. Having engaged top consultants to advise the Council on screening works for the intermediate scheme, and only a few days before their work was completed they were finally able to screen it out as previously it was uncertain that this was the case and the works being proposed was a simple pipe in the rock to decant water from the lake to Lough Ree.

·         The Court did not accept the independent advice of the Consultants but accepted FIE advice and rejected that an emergency existed at any stage of the Councils intervention.

·         The Chief Executive thanked Minister O’Donovan and the State who made resources available to keep the people of Lough Funshinagh in their homes. There have been enormous resources expended by the OPW to date including pipes, machinery, bedding around pipes and after Easter they have to return to take away pipes and shingle and restore the land.

·         While the natural assumption is that the Council will start again and carry out all of the studies etc. and return in 3 years time with an application to An Bord Pleanala, but the possibility of being granted permission is slim. This is because of the designation under the annex, one cannot determine ever the level above which it cannot raise and it is my considered and informed view they would have no choice but to refuse. The risk of failure is great in this regard and all decisions can be appealed to court.

·         There is only one way to go, and FIE will recognise this, where people  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.22

·         Local Government Audit Committee Charter

·         Audit Committee Annual Report 2021

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Cummins

                SECONDED by Cllr. Fallon

It was AGREED to adopt the Local Government Audit Committee Charter

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Fallon

SECONDED by Cllr. Cummins

It was AGREED to adopt the Audit Committee Annual report 2021

There was no Chief Executive business.

‘I am calling on the Minister for Education and the Government to abolish third level college fees for all families on an average of €3,000 to help families with the enormous costs associated with college.’

“I am calling on the Minister for Education and the Government to abolish third level College Fees for all families which are an average of 3000 euros to help families with the enormous costs associated with College”

The Members discussed the motion which was broadly welcomed:

·         In a household with two people working, they are not eligible for a grant from SUSI.

·         Some houses have multiple children in college at the same time – it is difficult to sustain the cost of fees with no grant and increased inflation

·         The threshold for grants is too low – no point in increasing grants if the thresholds are not increased.

·         There is too much red tape in grants and feed – if abolished, the abolish for everyone.

There was some opposition to supporting the motion:

·         There are plenty of families that can afford the fees and a blanket abolition is not the answer.

·         The threshold for grants should be increased and not the abolition of the fees

·         There is a ridiculous situation whereby students cannot work for a full summer in case their grant is affected.

·         College is not for everyone – students leaving schools should consider apprenticeships.

·         While there is a lot of pressure on middle income families who don’t apparat to be eligible for any help, a blanket ban of fees is not a good idea.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Fitzmaurice

SECONDED by Cllr. Kelly

It was AGREED to write to the Minister for Education to abolish third level College Fees for all families which are an average of €3000 in order to help families with the enormous costs associated with College

‘That Roscommon County Council write a letter to the Minister for Health, Mr. Stephen Donnelly, and the government requesting the urgent need for additional paediatric occupational therapy and speech and language therapy services in County Roscommon.’

“That Roscommon County Council write a letter to the Minister for Health, Mr. Stephen Donnelly, and the government requesting the urgent need for additional paediatric occupational therapy and speech and language therapy services in County Roscommon.”

Cllr. Kelly spoke of the waiting list in the county for that is continuing to grow for paediatric service due to staff shortages in particular. In March 2022, 217 awaiting occupational therapy, 379 for speech and language services. It is critical in early childhood for these service to be available. People are having to travel to access these services privately and it is unacceptable to see families having to do this.

The members supported this motion:

·         There is a 3 to 4 year wait to get a diagnosis for autism – we are failing our future generations.  

·         It should be understood that the longer the wait, the more damage that is being done

·         No child should be left waiting for and we are not getting a return on our investment in health services.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr Kelly

              SECONDED by Cllr. Ward

It was AGREED to write a letter to the Minister for Health, Mr. Stephen Donnelly, and the government requesting the urgent need for additional paediatric occupational therapy and speech and language therapy services in County Roscommon.”

Replies to Resolutions from Roscommon County Council:

·         2^nd March, 2022 - Reply from Revenue Commissioners regarding our letter to the Minister for Finance concerning the taxation of online sales,

·         9^th March, 2022 - Reply from Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly T.D. ref Notice of Motion concerning public funding for IVF services.

Resolutions from other Local Authorities:

·         10^th March, 2022 – Notice of Motion, Westmeath County Council.

That Westmeath County Council write to the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly T.D. regarding the high number of children currently requiring urgent Orthopaedic intervention, requesting that these children be fast tracked for surgical review as a matter of urgency.

Other Correspondence:

·         25^th February, 2022 – Funding Allocation from the Dept of Rural & Community Development

Details of projects funded under the Town & Village Renewal Scheme 2021.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Cummins

            SECONDED by Cllr. Callaghan

It was AGREED to approve the list of payments for training and conferences as circulated.

Cllr. Shanagher expressed thanks to the chief Executive and staff who were involved in getting the Cuisle Centre in Donamon ready for receiving Ukrainian refugees over the St. Patricks holiday weekend. She thanked the Council, Roscommon Lions Club, staff of LEADER and volunteers who were involved in an extraordinary effort to get the centre ready and to those who supplied food, gave donations etc.

The Chief Executive thanked all of the staff who gave their time over the weekend under the guidance of Director Majella Hunt and Acting Director Fiona Ni Chuinn.