On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Fitzmaurice

SECONDED by Cllr. Fallon

It was AGREED to suspend Standing Orders to congratulate Lisa O’Rourke – World Boxing Champion.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Fitzmaurice

SECONDED by Cllr. McDermott

It was AGREED to award the Freedom of the County in accordance with S74 of the Local Government Act 2001, to Lisa O’Rourke on achieving a World Championship title in women’s boxing,

The Members all expressed their congratulations of the new World Champions from Castlerea:

·         This is a great achievement for Castlerea and Roscommon and Aoife’s family

·         Her grandfather was a TD and former Chairperson of Roscommon County Council.

·         There has been a great growth in ladies sport and it is now yielding results.

·         This has given a great boost to the people of Castlerea. The Council opened the building in Castlerea where the boxing club is located that Lisa began her boxing career.

·         The O’Rourke family have contributed so much to the local community and are now reaping the rewards.

·         It was an honour to be in Castlerea last Saturday for the huge welcome home party and well done to everyone involved in its organisation.

·         This is great achievement for Castlerea Boxing Club.

·         Lisa will be a great ambassador for the County and a deserving recipient of the award of the Freedom of the County.

·         Thanks to all of the coaches who have been involved in her journey from a young girl – there are so many people of ability who may not have achieved what they did without coaches wo volunteer right across the country.

The Chief Executive echoed the congratulations – world champions are extremely rare. Lisa is a worthy recipient of Freedom of the County and also acknowledge her sister Aoife who led the way with some success of her own.

There was no conflict of Interest declared.

·         Minutes of Plenary Meeting held on 25.04.2022

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Cummins

            SECONDED by Cllr. Crosby

It was AGREED to adopt the minutes of the Plenary Meeting of 25.04.2022

There were no matters arising.

The Meetings Administrator circulated a letter signed by the Cathaoirleach and the Chief Executive and sent to Minister Patrick O’Donovan on 18^th May.

The Cathaoirleach read out the five questions that have been posed to the Minister for reply as follows:

·         We invite you, and the Government, to repeal of the designation of Lough Funshinagh as a European site that contains turlough habitat.

·         We invite you, and the Government, to amend the planning acts and the Local Government Act 2001 to make clear what freedom the State considers a local authority should have to deliver an urgent solution to an emergency situation calling for immediate action.

·         We invite you, and the Government, to review the Local Authority (Works) Act 1949 and amend the same to ensure the powers under the legislation are effective for the purpose of the European laws on the assessment of the impact on the environment and/or habitats

·         We invite you, and the Government to provide formal guidance to all competent authorities on whether adaptation, by displacement of home owners, should be considered a “feasible solution”, when contemplating and adverse effect on the integrity of a European site

·         We invite you, and the Government, to amend the protection from legal costs to ensure that the Irish State is not more generous than required.

The Chief Executive stated that any or all works are unauthorised on this site and it is important that no one takes the law into their own hands with regard to any recent works that may or may not have been recently done and not is condoned by anyone in the Chamber.

The Cathaoirleach supported the Chief Executive in this regard.

 The Chief Executive updated the members on the current situation:

·         The Council will be at a loss on this project and facing a legal bill of €250k but had no choice but to take the action they did.

·         The issues are clearly outlined in the letter and it is the expectation that a meeting will take place between the Department and his officials and the Chief Executive and Director of Services. It is the intention of the Chief Executive to recover costs and bring clarity to the way forward – all issues as outlined in the court decision need to be resolved.

·         The Minister and OPW have been helpful to date and the Cathaoirleach will be advised if an escalation is required.

The Members discussed as follows:

·         The letter outlines the difficulties encountered in this matter and the lack of legal clarity on what can be done.

·         The State should have intervened when the flooding started due to the area being in a designated SAC

·         At the end of the day the there are people still afraid in their homes.

·         The habitat has long gone – there has to be a solution. This is no longer a turlough as it does not act as one. It was 1996 since it last acted as such and this must be addressed.

·         Roscommon Co. Co.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87.22

·         Report for April 2022

·         Management Report for April noted.

Ms. Catherine Finlay, A/Senior Executive Officer in Water Services gave a presentation to the Members on the Multi-Annual Rural Water Programme:

·         9% of people have drinking water supplied by group water schemes and a further 10% from private wells

·         29% of households are not connected to a public wastewater service.

·         The Multi-annual funding approach for rural water was first developed in 2016 with the policy objectives of water quality, water conservation and future proofing supplies.

·         €75m committed nationally to date. Roscommon received funding of €2.861m for 2019-2021.

·         The programme provides funding under a range of measures:

o    Source Protection for group water schemes - €351k

o   Public Health Compliance €814k

o   Enhancement of existing schemes including water conservation (10 schemes) €1.431m

o   Transition of existing group water and group sewerage schemes to public water sector (Irish Water) €247k

o   Community Connections (Crosshill)  €22k

o   Individual Well Grants and in site wastewater treatment systems – funding is demand led

o   Total Expenditure to date €2.037m

Mr. John O’Rourke, Senior Engineer updated the members on advance funding for Wastewater collection treatment needs for villages and settlements without access to public wastewater services. The preparation for submission of bids is now underway for what will be a demonstration project. An essential component is a feasibility study and a community public consultation process. There are seven candidate villages in Roscommon. The results of the investigations will result in a recommendation to the SPC for discussion.

The Members welcomed the presentation:

·         Acknowledged the work of the water and waste water caretakers around the county

·         Acknowledged the funding available to Roscommon under the rural water programme and the amount of valuable work being carried out by group water  schemes

·         There is great bio-diversity work being carried out by the schemes and the Mid Roscommon scheme in particular who won a European Award for their initiative.

·         All un-sewered towns and villages should be considered for funding and should identify potential sites for treatment plants

·         The 15% contribution from the Council is too much – it should only be 5%

·         The Crosshill extention is good value for money.

·         Irish Water charges for connections can be vary considerably and should be standardised

In response to queries raised Mr. O’Rourke advised:

·         The provision of extensions to existing schemes is the preference to constructing new water schemes. Roscommon is very proactive in this area and Crosshill is the first such scheme in the country.

·         The Wastewater Collection Treatment Needs for Villages and Settlements Scheme is a great scheme and we should aim to get the first one that is best suited for the project approved first and work on progressing the remainder as soon as possible after.

·         The 15% contribution is a Department decision

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Fitzmaurice

SECONDED by Cllr. Callaghan

It was AGREED that Castleplunkett would be an ideal candidate for funding in respect of advance funding under the MARWP 2022-2025 Wastewater collection and treatment needs for villages and settlements without access to public  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89.22

There was no Chief Executive Business for the meeting.

That Roscommon County Council calls for the establishment of a Just Transition Community Advocacy Body, a direct Link between Communities and Key Stakeholders including BNM, Local Authorities etc.
Communities such as Cloontuskert have expressed its significant concern that there is no central body to monitor progress towards a truly Just Transition, hear community concerns, challenges, opportunities or aspirations per its ‘as lived’ experience on the ground and get answers from relevant agencies. Cloontuskert is currently taking part in the Government’s Creative Climate Action pilot known as ‘Workers’ Villages’ and national placemaking programme ‘Reimagine Cloontuskert’ with the IAF, CI and GAP.   

‘That Roscommon County Council calls for the establishment of a Just Transition Community Advocacy Body, a direct Link between Communities and Key Stakeholders including BNM, Local Authorities etc. Communities such as Cloontuskert have expressed its significant concern that there is no central body to monitor progress towards a truly Just Transition, hear community concerns, challenges, opportunities or aspirations per its ‘as lived’ experience on the ground and get answers from relevant agencies. Cloontuskert is currently taking part in the Government’s Creative Climate Action pilot known as ‘Workers’ Villages’ and national placemaking programme ‘Reimagine Cloontuskert’ with the IAF, CI and GAP.’

Cllr. Leyden outlined the rationale for the motion in that the community groups working on the just transition projects  have not been engaged with bodies such as Bord na Mona – these groups work very hard for their communities and are not kept updated on progress.

The Members supported the motion and agreed that smaller groups need to be funded to undertake meaningful projects that make a difference.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Leyden

SECONDED by Cllr. Shanagher

It was AGREED to write to Minister Eamonn Ryan T.D. to establish a Just Transition Community Advocacy Group. a direct Link between Communities and Key Stakeholders including BNM, Local Authorities etc. Communities such as Cloontuskert have expressed its significant concern that there is no central body to monitor progress towards a truly Just Transition, hear community concerns, challenges, opportunities or aspirations per its ‘as lived’ experience on the ground and get answers from relevant agencies. Cloontuskert is currently taking part in the Government’s Creative Climate Action pilot known as ‘Workers’ Villages’ and national placemaking programme ‘Reimagine Cloontuskert’ with the IAF, CI and GAP.

Acknowledgments to Resolutions from Roscommon County Council:

·         31^st March, 2022 - Acknowledgement of correspondence dated 12^th May 2022, by Minister for Finance, Mr. Paschal Donohoe TD from Roscommon County Council.

Replies to Resolutions from Roscommon County Council:

·         31^st March, 2022 - Reply from SEAI to Roscommon County Council’s Notice of Motion regarding the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme.

Resolutions from other Local Authorities:

·         22nd March, 2022 – Resolution, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council

That Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council write to the Minister for Housing and Local Government to withdraw the Specific Planning Policy Requirements provisions that enables Ministerial Guidelines to override such plans and lead to the probability of An Bord Pleanála continuing to ignore democratically agreed County Development Plans.

·         26^th April, 2022 – Notice of Motion, Wexford County Council.

That Wexford County Council calls on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to introduce financial assistance to assist in the removal of asbestos from residential dwellings.

·         18th May, 2022 – Resolution, Clare County Council

That Clare County Council calls on the Government and Minister of Social Protection to find a solution which would allow artists with disabilities to be in receipt of the Basic Income for Artists payment without it affecting their disability supports.

Other Correspondence:

·         16^th May, 2022 – Reply to Senator Victor Boyhan.

Correspondence to Senator Victor Boyhan from Darragh O’Brien, TD. regarding Cost Rental Housing.

·         11^th May, 2022 – Letter from Shane Tiernan

Correspondence from Shane Tiernan, Director of Services, confirming the coming into effect of the new Roscommon County Development Plan 2022 – 2028 on April 19th 2022. The letter also contains a link to the location of the suite of Plan documents on the dedicated County Development Plan website.

·         11^th May, 2022 – Letter from Shane Tiernan

Letter of acknowledgement of the adoption of the Roscommon County Development Plan 2022 – 2028 Plan from the Office of the Planning Regulator.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Keogh

            SECONDED by Cllr. McDermott

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

Congratulations extended to:

·         Cloontuskert and Knockcroghery on their runner up awards at the Pride of Place Awards recently.

·         Shanette Budhai who received a Volunteer Ireland Award

The Meetings Administrator advised that a meeting with the TII has been arranged for next week. It was agreed by the members to attend on Wednesday 1^st June at 11.00am in Dublin.

The following delegation will travel – Athlone MD members and a representative from the Boyle and Roscommon MDs. The Director of Services and Senior Engineer Roads and NRRO will also attend.

·         The Athlone MD will finalise tomorrow the issues to be included on the agenda

·         It is not satisfactory that the TII will not travel to Roscommon to meet the members and see the issues on the ground

The Annual Meeting of the Council will take place on Monday 27^th June at 2.15pm followed by the June Plenary Meeting.

The Municipal District Meetings for Athlone, Boyle and Roscommon will take place at 12 noon, also on 27^th June.