Minutes of Annual Meeting of Birr Town Council Held in Council Chamber, Town Hall, Birr

MINUTES OF MEETING OF MUNICIPAL DISTRICT OF BIRR HELD IN BIRR CIVIC OFFICES ON MONDAY 8th DECEMBER 2014 AT 4.30pm. ======

MEMBERS PRESENT: Cllrs J Leahy, J Carroll, P Ormond, J Clendennen , E Dooley, C Nolan

IN ATTENDANCE: Mr. F Heslin, Director of Services, Ms. A Healy Smyth, SEE, Mr Paul McLoughlin EE, Mr Dermot Mahon, SEO Housing Services OCC & Ms D. Molloy, Meetings Administrator,

Adoption of minutes of Monthly Meeting of Municipal District of Birr held on 12th November, 2014. On the proposal of Cllr. Nolan, seconded by Cllr. J Carroll the minutes of the Meeting of Municipal District of Birr held on 12th November, 2014 were adopted.

Report from Housing Services: Mr Dermot Mahon, SEO, Housing Services, Offaly County Council outlined the details of the Housing Report for Municipal District of Birr which had previously been circulated to the Members.

The Members thanked Mr Mahon for his report and raised the following matters:

 Acknowledge the input of Moneygall Development Association into the Multi Use Games area  Questioned the efficiency of the Ihouse system and if more accurate reporting of numbers of applicants for particular areas could be achieved.  Welcomed the energy efficiency programmes that are being carried out.  If the RAS system of allocation was now being phased out and being replaced by the Social Housing Leasing Programme.  Aware of some people that are 10-13 years on the housing waiting list.  Can vacant houses be turned around and allocated quicker.  What is the waiting list for Disabled Persons Grants.  Allocation that is being made from the Dept for construction of houses, can these contracts be given to local builders to try and create employment locally.

Mr Mahon advised the following:

 No houses or funding for houses have been made available for 7 years so that is why there is a large housing waiting list.  The HAP programme is to be introduced next year and this will run in tandem with the Social Housing Leasing Programme  There is no way of giving an applicants clear preference for an area as the 3 choices that they make are not in any preferential order.

1  Some vacant houses once they come back in to stock are in very bad repair and require a lot of money and resouces to get them ready for reletting.  Some funding is being made available for Disabled Persons Grants next year but there are still a lot of applications being received.  RAS is being phased out and when a contract comes up for renewal if all parties are agreeable it will change over to the Social Leasing Scheme.  Under the procurement legislation it is not possible to allocate contracts to local contracts, everybody is entitled to submit a tender.  The Members thanked Mr Mahon for his replies and wished him well in his new posistion with Galway City Council.

Water Services Report – Mr Tom Shanahan A/DOS Mr Tom Shanahan, Senior Engineer presented the Water Services and Environment Progress Report. He also acknowledged the disruption that was caused in Birr during the Watermain Rehabilitation Project and advised that OCC are very dissatisfied with the manner in which the work was carried out. He informed the Members that the section of road from McAuley Drive to Wilmer Road would be temporarily resurfaced and that the Contractors would not be working on the roads in the week up to Christmas.

The Members thanked Mr Shanahan for his report and raised the following questions:  Mile Tree GWS, a new committee had now been formed and would this scheme now be taken over by Irish Water.  Very dissatisfied by the quality of the work being carried out in town by the Contractors and that the workers showed no courtesy to the public. Traffic Management during the contract is very poor.  Can any penalties be charged to the Contractor for the over run of works and inconvenience caused to business.  Very dissatisfied with the condition of the roads and the dangerous condition they are left in, are Irish Water aware of the difficulties.  Are the Council satisfied that the pipework that was carried out is done correctly.  Who is responsible for damage caused to peoples vehicles during the project  Some suppliers have not been paid for services and equipment by the Contractor.  The Members advised that they wish to meet with representatives of Ryan Hanley and Irish Water to voice their dissatisfaction and concerns.

Mr Shanahan advised the following:  OCC not happy with the way the Contract was carried out and that there is a guarantee in the contract that the watermain will have to be stood over, the mains network has been tested and passed all tests.  Contractors were awarded the Contract under public procurement.  Irish Water are well aware of the difficulties that have arisen with the Contractor and have had a number of supervisors on site.  OCC have no control over the way the Contractor pays his suppliers or who they employ as sub-contractors.

2 The Members thanked Mr Shanahan for his replies.

Traffic Proposal for Mill St and Connaught St. The Members were advised of the proposal for one way traffic at the top of Mill Street and Connaught Street which will link the Wilmer Road Car Park to Main Street. They were further advised that the Traffic Regulations would have to be revised to include same and this would all be included in the design for a new entrance to Wilmer Road Car Park incorporating the buildings that the Council had acquired on Mill Street. It is hoped that the advertisements would appear in the papers prior to Christmas, there will then be a six week period for submissions and then a report will be presented to the Members after another 2 weeks.

Any Other Business: The Members were advised that for the Christmas period there would be free car parking available in the Marian Hall Car Park up until the 5th January. The Members welcomed same and urged people to shop local and support local business. They also acknowledged the work that was carried out in Tullamore this year with Santas post box and hoped that something similar might be done in Birr next year.

Correspondence: The Members were circulated a list of estates that are taken in charge in Birr town and raised some queries in relation to public lighting in estates that are not in the charge of the Council. It was agreed to invite Mr John McNally, Offaly County Council to attend the January meeting of the Council to give a presentation in relation to taking in charge of estates and to address any queries the Members might hane.

The Cathaoirleach thanked the press for attending the meetingand wished all Members and Staff a very Happy Christmas

The Meeting then concluded.