Kilkenny County Council

Infobox Irish Place
name = County Kilkenny
gaeilge = Contae Chill Chainnigh
crest

map

area =convert|2061|km2|sq mi|abbr=on
county town = Kilkenny
code = KK
population = 87,394
census yr = 2006
province = Leinster
web = www.kilkennycoco.ie
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Kilkenny County council is the local government in Kilkenny, in Ireland. The Council is governed by the Local Government Act. The council is responsible for providing services to citizens in the areas of : Housing and Building, Road Transportation and Safety, Water Supply and Sewerage, Development Incentives and Controls, Environmental Protection, Recreational and Amenity, Agriculture, Education, Health, Welfare and other miscellaneous services

Kilkenny council Council has 26 democratically Elected Members; Kilkenny elects seven, Callan elects three, Ballyragget elects five, Piltown elects six and Thomastown elects five. Elections are held every 5 years. Elections are by Single Transferable Vote.

Structure

Kilkenny County Council Elected Members

Kilkenny County Council has 26 elected councilors. Ballyragget elects five, Callan electes three, Kilkenny elects seven, Piltown elects six and Thomastown elects five.

Strategic Policy Committees

Strategic Policy Committees (SPCs) play a role in decision-making in Kilkenny County Council. Each SPC has a broad representation from across all sectors of Kilkenny and will meet regularly to input into the formulation, development and review of policy within Kilkenny County Council.

Mayor and Chairperson

The current mayor is Cllr. Marie Fitzpatrick. Cllr. Tom Maher is currently the Cathaoirleach(Chairperson). Cllr. Catherine Connery is the current Vice Chair.

Management

Joe Crockett is the County and City Manager, John Dempsey is now responsible for the Ballyragget Electoral Area, Tony Walsh is responsible for the Newrath Electoral Area, John Mulholland is responsible for the Callan Electoral Area, John McCormack is responsible for the Kilkenny Electoral Area and Philip O' Neill is responsible for the Thomastown Electoral Area.

History

This structure is a modified version of the system introduced in 1898, with county boroughs renamed as cities, urban districts and municipal boroughs renamed as towns or boroughs, and rural districts abolished (everywhere except County Dublin in 1925, and in County Dublin in 1930). The distinction between urban district and "towns with town commissioners" has been abolished.

Local Government Act 1898 marked the beginning of the system of local government. The first elections were held in Kilkenny until Thursday 6 April 1899 at a cost of £1,268. The first meeting of Kilkenny County Council took place on Saturday 22nd April 1899 in the Courthouse, Kilkenny. The very first resolution passed expressed the demand for Home Rule.The Rural District Councils were responsible for housing, sanitary and local roads in their areas, while in their role as Boards of Guardians they were responsible for what we would now call health services.

County Council were responsible for financial affairs, appointments of various committees, maintenance of courthouses and minor services such as food and drug sampling, malicious injuries and other minor services. During the 1960s a range of new services came into the fold - library, fire-fighting, vocational & agricultural services, industrial & commercial issues, and harbour boards. In 1970 the Health Board came into being, taking away responsibility for this service from Kilkenny County Council.

County Council legislation passed in the last 30 years on the Environment included Water Pollution Act 1977 and the Air Pollution Act 1987. Also provision of public amenities, parks and recreational activities and refuse collection was privatised.

In 1989, the Council appointed an Arts Officer. In 2000, as part of a government initiative called "Better Local Government - A Programme for Change", a new structure was introduced to Kilkenny County Council which included five Strategic Policy Committees.

The Local Government Act 2001 established a two-tier structure of local government.The top tier of the structure consists of 29 county councils and five city councils. The second tier of local government consists of town councils. The city of Kilkenny and four towns which had borough corporation status before 2001 (Sligo, Drogheda, Clonmel, and Wexford), are allowed to use the title of "Borough Council" instead of "Town Council", but they have no additional responsibilities. There are 75 other town councils in addition to these five borough councils. Outside the towns the county councils are solely responsible for local services. In addition it was recognised that Kilkenny could continue to be called a city, in spite of being governed by a borough council and not being a former county borough.

Elections

Changes since 2004

On the 18 September 2006 Marie Fitzpatrick Co-opted from Joe Cody who resigned.

Kilkenny local elections(2004)

:"See also: Irish local elections, 2004"

Kilkenny Electoral Area Elected Members

* Malcolm Noonan - Green Party Comhaontas Glas
* Cllr. Pat Fitzpatrick - Fianna Fáil
* Cllr. Pat Fitzpatrick - Fianna Fáil
* Cllr. Marie Fitzpatrick - Labour (Mayor)
* Cllr. Martin Brett - Fine Gael
* Cllr. Michael Lanigan - Fianna Fáil
* Paul Cuddihy - Fine Gael

Callan Electoral Area Elected Members

* Cllr. Matt Doran - Fianna Fáil
* Cllr. Tom Maher - Fine Gael - Cathaoirleach (Chairman)
* Cllr. William Ireland - Fine Gael

Ballyragget Electoral Area Elected Members

* Cllr. Maurice Shortall - Labour
* Cllr. M.H. Cavanagh - Fine Gael
* Cllr. Patrick Millea - Fianna Fáil
* Cllr. John (Dan) Brennan - Fine Gael
* Cllr. Catherine Connery - Fine Gael - Vice Chair

Piltown Electoral Area Elected Members

* Cllr. Tomás Breathnach - Labour
* Cllr. Pat Walsh - Fianna Fáil
* Cllr. Dick Dowling - Fine Gael
* Cllr. Cora Long - Fianna Fáil
* Cllr. Catherine Phelan - Fine Gael
* Cllr. Pat Dunphy - Fine Gael

Thomastown Electoral Area Elected Members

* Cllr. Pat O'Neill - Fine Gael
* Cllr. Ann Phelan - Labour
* Cllr. Dixie Doyle - Non-Party
* Cllr. Tom Brennan - Fianna Fáil
* Cllr. Michael O'Brien - Labour

Previous Councillors

* Jim Gibbons: Jim Gibbons was a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician. In 1954 when he was elected to Kilkenny County Council and served on until 1967. He was first elected in 1957 as a Teachta Dála (Member of Parliament) for Carlow-Kilkenny. He held his seat until 1982. Gibbons also served as Minister for Defence (1969–1970) and Minister for Agriculture (1970–1973 and 1977–1979).
* Phil Hogan:Phil Hogan is an Irish Fine Gael politician. In 1982 when he was elected to Kilkenny County Council and served on until 2003. He was chairperson of the council in 1985-1986 and 1989-1990. He is currently the Fine Gael Spokesperson for Environment, Heritage & Local Government and a Teachta Dála (TD) for Carlow-Kilkenny.
*Liam Aylward: Liam Aylward is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was elected to Kilkenny County Council in 1974, serving on that authority until 1992. He was a Teachta Dála for Carlow-Kilkenny from 1977–2007. He is currently a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Ireland East.
*John Paul Phelan: John Paul Phelan is an Irish politician for Fine Gael. He was elected to Kilkenny County Council in 1999 for the Piltown Electoral Area, the youngest Councillor ever elected to that council. [cite news |url=http://www.johnpaulphelan.com/about.html |title=John Paul Phelan - A Personal Profile |author= |work=John Paul Phelan's website |date= |accessdate=2008-01-05] He was first elected in 2002 to the 22nd Seanad by the Agricultural Panel, and was re-elected in 2007. [cite web |url=http://oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=1&HouseNum=23&MemberID=2004&ConstID=205 |title=John Paul Phelan |work=Oireachtas Members Database |date= |accessdate=2008-01-04] He was the youngest member of the 22nd Seanad.
* John J. McGuinness:John J. McGuinness is an Irish Fianna Fáil Party politician. In 1979 when he won a seat on Kilkenny Borough Council and was a subsequent Mayor of the city from 1996 to 1997. He is currently a Teachta Dála (TD) for Carlow-Kilkenny.
* Bobby Aylward:Bobby Aylward is an Irish Fianna Fáil Party politician. He was a member Of Kilkenny County Council from 1992 until his election to the Dáil. He is currently a TD for Carlow-Kilkenny.

See also

* Local government in the Republic of Ireland
* Local Government Act 2001
* Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898

Notes

References

* Boyle, Tom, and Michael O'Dwyer. Kilkenny County Council: A Century of Local Government. Kilkenny: Kilkenny County Council, 1999.

External links

* [http://www.kilkennycoco.ie Homepage of Kilkenny County Council]