Agenda item

Election of the Cathaoirleach

Minutes:

The outgoing Cathaoirleach, Councillor Mary Bohan addressed the meeting and welcomed everyone to the meeting and expressed her sincere thanks to Mr Lar Power, Chief Executive, the Management Team and all the staff of Leitrim County Council for their support and co-operation during the last year. Cathaoirleach, Councillor Mary Bohan paid tribute to Councillor Finola Armstrong McGuire, Leas Cathaoirleach as an exceptional colleague to have in Leitrim County Council and thanked her for her support.

 

Cathaoirleach, Councillor Mary Bohan paid tribute to the staff of Leitrim County Council for their outstanding work particularly during the pandemic and she acknowledged that the last year has been a difficult year for staff working from home. She paid tribute to the Health Care workers, workers in the shops and supermarkets and stated we must continue to support these businesses, as when people were not allowed go outside their 5 km limit at the height of the public health restrictions, these small businesses were there to support their communities.  Cathaoirleach, Councillor Mary Bohan paid tribute to the fantastic voluntary sector in County Leitrim for all the help they have given during the pandemic by delivering meals, supporting the elderly, picking up prescriptions etc.

 

Cathaoirleach, Councillor Mary Bohan said Councillor Frank Dolan was unable to attend the meeting today as he was in hospital, and she wished Councillor Frank Dolan a speedy recovery.  All the Members concurred with this sentiment.

 

Cathaoirleach, Councillor Mary Bohan said the one regret she has in terms of her year as Cathaoirleach, through no fault of the staff or members of Leitrim County Council, is the lack of progress in regard to the Rural Planning issue. Councillor Bohan insisted that this is an issue for which Leitrim County Council must continue to strive to find a solution.

 

Cathaoirleach, Councillor Mary Bohan said Zoom/Teams meetings were quite difficult to manage and she hoped that she was fair and impartial in chairing meetings.  Councillor Mary Bohan thanked all the members for their co-operation over the past year.

 

 

The Members paid tribute to Councillor Mary Bohan  as an efficient,  dedicated, supportive, helpful Cathaoirleach and that she was fair in conducting online meetings in her role as Cathaoirleach of Leitrim County Council.  The Members congratulated her as one of the longest serving members in the country and they acknowledged that it was disappointing that she was unable to attend community events in her role as Cathaoirleach due to the pandemic.

 

 

Mr. Lar Power, Chief Executive, extended his gratitude to Councillor Mary Bohan on behalf of the management and staff of Leitrim County Council. Mr Power said Leitrim County Council provided the services as best they could in line with the Public Health and Government Guidelines.

 

On behalf of the members and staff, Mr. Lar Power presented a token of appreciation to Councillor Mary Bohan to mark her term as Cathaoirleach of Leitrim County Council. 

 

Councillor Mary Bohan proceeded to deal with the first item on the agenda of the Annual Meeting and invited nominations for the Election of Cathaoirleach of Leitrim County Council.

 

Councillor Caillian Ellis proposed that Councillor Paddy O’Rourke be elected Cathaoirleach of Leitrim County Council for the term 2021/2022. This was seconded by Councillor Justin Warnock

 

Councillor Mary Bohan invited any other proposal for the Election of Chairperson, and no counterproposal was received. Councillor Mary Bohan deemed Councillor Paddy O’Rourke elected as Chairperson of Leitrim County Council for the term 2021/2022.

 

Proposed by Councillor Caillian Ellis, seconded by Councillor Justin Warnock AND RESOLVED;

 

“That Councillor Paddy O’Rourke is elected Cathaoirleach of Leitrim County Council for the year 2021/2022”. 

 

 

Councillor Paddy O’Rourke accepted the nomination as Cathaoirleach of Leitrim County Council. In his opening address, he extended his gratitude to his proposer and seconder. Cathaoirleach, Councillor Paddy O’Rourke paid tribute to outgoing Cathoirleach, Councillor Mary Bohan.  Councillor Paddy O’Rourke said one of his initial challenge’s is to get the County up and running again and he paid tribute to the staff for rolling out all the services as we recover from the pandemic.  Cathaoirleach, Councillor Paddy O’Rourke urged people to continue to co-operate with the public health guidelines and although the situation is better now than last January, new variants are emerging, and it is important to continue to be careful. The immediate challenge is to continue to work in drawing down all available funding opportunities thereby making Leitrim a better place to invest, live, work and visit.

 

 

The Chief Executive and the Members congratulated Councillor Paddy O’Rourke on his election as Chairperson of Leitrim County Council for the 2nd time and said this was a great honour for him, his family and Carrigallen.