Agenda

Under Section 138(1) of the Local Government Act, 2001

What funding is available to Community Groups, Local Authorities, or Developers to extend the public sewer network to accommodate and enable new development in our towns and village where there is an existing wastewater treatment facility.

I call on the support of members and Leitrim County Council to ask the government to tackle the current Childcare Crisis experienced by many families, locally and nationally. There is a lack of facilities available to care for young babies when maternity leave has ended, which in turn means that parents cannot return to work, are not in receipt of sufficient income and this can put the family under financial stress /pressure.

I propose that this Local Authority call on Minister Roderic O'Gorman to adequately fund and increase capacity in the early childcare sector. There is a shocking shortage of spaces, availability, and overall resources for this vital sector.

That we, wish to get it across to all of the bodies controlling the Shannon water levels,  that we are opposed to the flow of the Shannon & its tributaries being held back so that it causes floods which threaten houses, towns and farmland from  Lough Allen to Limerick. We urge that Lough Allen be lowered, that all shallows be deepened, and rocky nick-points be removed and that the River be kept flowing fast when heavy rainfall is forecasted. Also, that a copy of this motion be forwarded to the OPW etc and to Councils along the Shannon.

I seek an update on if there has been much engagement from the business community or private enterprise across the region, or indeed success, in getting additional tenants for the Carrick Campus offices in Carrick-on-Shannon, which will deliver an economic boost to County Leitrim.  

Due to the very considerable waiting period for Driving Tests we call on the Department responsible, to set about reducing waiting times as many people have invested heavily in time and money for lessons in order to allow them to take up jobs.

I propose that Leitrim County Council call on the HSE to immediately increase Home Help hours. The current provision is not adequate to cater for the numbers requiring the service and is causing delays in hospital discharges.

That Leitrim County Council calls on Úisce Éireann to halt their planned extraordinary hike in water charges, reputed to in the region of 29 percent, along with an equally extraordinary hike in standing charges which will fall heavy on farmers with multiple connections. Farmers are making great efforts to do their bit in the improvement of water quality by excluding livestock from using rivers and lakes for drinking purposes by providing piped water from mains supplies. The farming community could be forgiven for thinking they are about to be punished for co-operating with the national effort in improving water quality.

The Help to Buy Scheme has assisted 124 individuals and families to date in County Leitrim, with up to €30,000 of their taxes back from the previous four years, towards a deposit to either build or purchase their first home.

Leitrim County Council supports the governments extension of the Help to Buy scheme to the end of 2025 and calls for the scheme to be extended to the end of 2026 in Budget 2025, to introduce certainty for prospective buyers or those seeking to build their first home.

Following the completion of my 50 mile Leitrim GAA challenge, I can be honest, without being biased, that we have some of the most Outstanding Areas of Natural Beauty in Ireland, but I was sickened to see the amount of dumping of black bags of household waste in the environment along our rural roads and lanes. Therefore, I will ask the Council to hold a brainstorming workshop with the elected members, members of the PPN and staff from the Environment section of the council to develop a strategy in dealing with this horrendous issue.

I request that Leitrim County Council recognise that bullying is still a major issue within the county and across the country. I call on parents, grandparents, teachers and communities to talk with children and teenagers about the serious effects bullying can have on those affected by it. Maybe they are being bullied themselves see others been bullied or are knowingly or unknowingly involved in bullying. We all need to talk about bullying and Be Buddies not Bullies.  In memory of Eden Heaslip, whose life ended tragically because of bullying, and all those who have been affected by bullying, we all must do more to prevent bullying.

I call on Leitrim County Council to write to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to put a Shannon Flood Scheme in place for all land owners along the River Shannon. It was good to see the Shannon Callows Flood Scheme passed, but I feel a similar scheme should be in place for all landowners effected along the Shannon.