This article is from page 10 of the 2007-06-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
SHANNON town has received a boost in its long running campaign to secure full town council status arising from Government plans to reform local government.
Shannon Town Manager, Ger Dol- lard, has welcomed new proposals in the recently published Programme for Government as a “very signifi- cant step forward” for the town.
He said that the definite timescale of six months- before the proposals appear in a new green paper on local government- was very positive.
In the programme, the parties out- lined their commitment to the estab- lishment of town councils in towns that have shown significant popula- tion growth, including the upgrading of the former town commissions to full town councils.
“Shannon Town Council has been pursuing the upgrade in functions and the extension of the Shannon town boundary. Our understanding from a visit of the previous Minis- ter for the Environment some time ago was that there was no legislative mechanism currently to facilitate an upgrade,” said Mr Dollard.
He added that “‘as a result Shannon Town Council decided to move ahead with the application for a boundary
extension and continue to lobby for a change in status”.
The manager also said that the case for Shannon was strong as it was the second largest town in the county with a population of 10,000 and 12,000 working in the general environs. An upgrade would give the town council overall responsibility for local government functions in- cluding housing, planning and roads as well as levying rates and other sae ene
“The staffing support and services available would be significantly im- proved and extended to cover the direct provision of services. Being realistic and assuming positive deci- sions for Shannon, I would see a five year timescale as being likely,’ he added.
The Shannon-based incoming mayor, Councillor Patricia McCa- rthy (Ind) said that an upgrade to full town council “is what Shannon deserves and has been fighting for a number of years”.
She added, “I would welcome a serious debate on local government reform.
“There has been no discussion or reform in the past, but no meaning- ful reform has taken place and the lo- cal government system remains too centralised.”