·         Members approval of Section 85.

Director of Services Greg O’Donnell spoke to members about the Section 85 Agreement and made the following points:

·         A copy of the letter and agreement is included in the information pack.

·         A Section 85 is whereby two or more Councils work together on a project in both counties, and powers are given to a leading authority to act on their behalf.

·         A previous agreement was made between Leitrim County Council and Roscommon County Council in 2008 for the Carrick to Dromod N4 Project, and is now more accurately titled the N4 Carrick on Shannon Bypass and Traffic Management Project.

·         The project team sought legal advice on the previous project, and the advice given was that a new Section 85 Agreement should be entered into.

·         There are several changes to the new project; townland references, includes active travel and traffic management, non-specific in relation to land acquisition under CPO and Protected Roadwork Order powers.

Members broadly welcomed the plan and discussed the following points:

·         Traffic management is seriously needed in the town to remove the bottleneck issue.

·         This plan will allow the Roscommon side of Carrick on Shannon to develop.

·         The businesses in Cortober are suffering due to the traffic issues as commuters are bypassing the retail units, and this plan will support the businesses in the Cortober area, as there is a major issue with merging into the traffic from the retail units.

·         There is huge potential for Carrick on Shannon due to the Part 8 plan for the town development, and this plan strengthens it.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Byrne

SECONDED by Cllr. Crosby

It was AGREED to approve the Section 85 Agreement.

Director of Services Greg O’Donnell thanked members for their support, and noted that Leitrim County Council approved this plan at their Plenary Meeting on 13^th January 2025.

Storm Éowyn

The Cathaoirleach, Cllr. Fitzmaurice, spoke briefly about the devastation as a result of the recent Storm Éowyn and stated this is the reason he proposed to suspend the Standing Orders. He advised members that he will deal with the Notices of Motion raised by Cllr. Callaghan and Cllr. Moylan first as these are relevant to this matter.

Chief Executive, Shane Tiernan, addressed members regarding the recent Storm Éowyn. He stated that the recent storm caused enormous damage throughout the county, and staff are working actively over the weekend to give people the best possible support and services. He empathised with the public and assured them that everything possible is being done to support them. The Severe Weather Plan was activated which has a structured approach by way of a crisis management team at senior level, and works down to the Severe Weather Assessment Teams, and leads out to the MD coordinators and teams on the ground. At a local level, the Local Coordination Group was activated with the HSE and Gardaí to ensure that all groups are working together to give supports.  He advised members that Director of Services, Mark Keaveney, is currently absent from the meeting due to his involvement in a multi-agency meeting to organise community and humanitarian supports.

The following motions were addressed.

Director of Services Greg O’Donnell spoke to members about the Section 85 Agreement and made the following points:

·         A copy of the letter and agreement is included in the information pack.

·         A Section 85 is whereby two or more Councils work together on a project in both counties, and powers are given to a leading authority to act on their behalf.

·         A previous agreement was made between Leitrim County Council and Roscommon County Council in 2008 for the Carrick to Dromod N4 Project, and is now more accurately titled the N4 Carrick on Shannon Bypass and Traffic Management Project.

·         The project team sought legal advice on the previous project, and the advice given was that a new Section 85 Agreement should be entered into.

·         There are several changes to the new project; townland references, includes active travel and traffic management, non-specific in relation to land acquisition under CPO and Protected Roadwork Order powers.

Members broadly welcomed the plan and discussed the following points:

·         Traffic management is seriously needed in the town to remove the bottleneck issue.

·         This plan will allow the Roscommon side of Carrick on Shannon to develop.

·         The businesses in Cortober are suffering due to the traffic issues as commuters are bypassing the retail units, and this plan will support the businesses in the Cortober area, as there is a major issue with merging into the traffic from the retail units.

·         There is huge potential for Carrick on Shannon due to the Part 8 plan for the town development, and this plan strengthens it.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Byrne

SECONDED by Cllr. Crosby

It was AGREED to approve the Section 85 Agreement.

Director of Services Greg O’Donnell thanked members for their support, and noted that Leitrim County Council approved this plan at their Plenary Meeting on 13^th January 2025.

Storm Éowyn

The Cathaoirleach, Cllr. Fitzmaurice, spoke briefly about the devastation as a result of the recent Storm Éowyn and stated this is the reason he proposed to suspend the Standing Orders. He advised members that he will deal with the Notices of Motion raised by Cllr. Callaghan and Cllr. Moylan first as these are relevant to this matter.

Chief Executive, Shane Tiernan, addressed members regarding the recent Storm Éowyn. He stated that the recent storm caused enormous damage throughout the county, and staff are working actively over the weekend to give people the best possible support and services. He empathised with the public and assured them that everything possible is being done to support them. The Severe Weather Plan was activated which has a structured approach by way of a crisis management team at senior level, and works down to the Severe Weather Assessment Teams, and leads out to the MD coordinators and teams on the ground. At a local level, the Local Coordination Group was activated with the HSE and Gardaí to ensure that all groups are working together to give supports.  He advised members that Director of Services, Mark Keaveney, is currently absent from the meeting due to his involvement in a multi-agency meeting to organise community and humanitarian supports.

The following motions were addressed.