Role of councillors goes unrecognised, says departing Cathaoirelach
Cllr Jarlath Munnelly receiving the Cathaoirleach's chain from outgoing chair Cllr Michael Loftus.
The outgoing Cathaoirleach of the Ballina Municipal District has said there is not enough recognition of the extensive role played by local councillors.
Making his closing remarks before handing over the chain of office to his successor, Cllr Jarlath Munnelly, Cllr Michael Loftus praised his fellow councillors for how hard they work for their communities and said they do not get the recognition they deserve.
“People don’t realise we are working to the best of our ability to get things done. On the Ballina bypass, we’ve been pushing for that but it needs to get done ASAP,” he said. “The N26 from Mount Falcon to Foxford, we’ve pushed that but it gets to me that people give out to us about it. We are doing the work and if only people realised just how much we do.”
Cllr Loftus said it is a similar case when it comes to housing and local development plans.
“We’ve pushed housing projects such as the Meadows and Duffy’s Bakery’s but developers need to be helped as well. They need guarantees they can go to the banks to get the finance to build houses for the private market.”
“I’m annoyed that we approved our Development Plan and it was rejected by the Minister.”
The Fianna Fáil councillor said he had enjoyed a great year as Cathaoirleach of the Municipal District. He said it was an honour to attend the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Ballina's twin city of Pittsfield in the USA. He added that two big projects that went ahead during his 12 months in office, namely the turning of the sod for the flood relief scheme in his native Crossmolina and the sinking of the MV Shingle in Killala Bay. Cllr Loftus had been a strong advocate for both projects in recent years.
In addition, a civic reception was held in the Chamber for his local GAA club Crossmolina Deel Rovers after they won the All-Ireland Intermediate Club title last January.
“I’d like to thank you for your work as Cathaoirleach,” said Fine Gael Cllr Marie-Therese Duffy. “You always worked in a collaborative way with a focus on positive solutions.”
