Longford County Council Annual Report 2015
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LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2015 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PAGE 4 MEMBERS OF LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL PAGE 6 KEY FUNCTIONAL AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY PAGE 8 ECONOMIC & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, CORPORATE, CULTURAL & RECREATIONAL SERVICES, HUMAN RESOURCES, PLANNING & BUILDING CONTROL SERVICES AND LONGFORD MUNICIPAL DISTRICT PAGE 10 FINANCE & INFORMATION SYSTEMS PAGE 38 HOUSING, INFRASTRUCTURE & ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, EMERGENCY SERVICES, BALLYMAHON MUNICIPAL DISTRICT & GRANARD MUNICIPAL DISTRICT LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL 2015 ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 42 2 3 APPENDICES PAGE 56 JOINT ADDRESS BY AN CATHAOIRLEACH & A/CHIEF EXECUTIVE. INTRODUCTION WE WELCOME THE PUBLICATION OF LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL’S ANNUAL REPORT 2015. THE ANNUAL REPORT OUTLINES THE SCALE AND DIVERSITY OF THE ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE COUNCIL AND DEMONSTRATES THE COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY, ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE SERVICES. Cllr Gerry Warnock, Cathaoirleach The difficult economic situation continues to present huge challenges to the organisation however despite this, the Council’s deficit has been progressively reduced in the intervening years with a small surplus in the Revenue account at the end of 2014, the Council hopes to be in a breakeven position for the year 2015. Among the noteworthy achievements during the year were: • The Official Opening of the new Fire Station in Lanesboro. • The adoption by the Elected Members of the Council’s Corporate Plan 2015-2019. • National Bridge Improvement/Replacement works to a value in excess of €1,000,000. • Regional and Local Road Restoration Projects to a value in excess of €3,000,000. Barbara Heslin • Center Parcs Planning Application, a project that is likely to transform Longford’s reputation as a tourist destination. A/Chief Executive • The harmonisation of rates for the former Longford Town Council with the County Council. • Health & Safety Accreditation to OHSAS 18001:2007 Standard as the first local authority countrywide to achieve this accreditation. • 49 Unfinished Housing Estates successfully taken in charge by the Council by the end of 2015. • The appointment of a Regeneration Officer to drive regeneration initiatives for Longford. Projects carried out by Longford County Council have contributed greatly to the wellbeing of the community at large. The assimilation of the County Enterprise Board functions into the new Local Enterprise Office is now firmly embedded within Longford County Council and forms an integral part of the Organisation’s strategic approach to supporting economic growth and the Council now has a strong remit to support economic and community development going forward. The new Corporate Plan 2015-2019 will guide the work of the Council during its current term of elected office in accordance with 10 Strategic Objectives reflecting the Council’s mission – “Longford County Council will lead Economic, Social and Community development by engaging with citizens and communities to improve quality of life and deliver customer focussed quality services.” The achievements outlined in this Annual Report could not have been accomplished without the collective input of the Elected Members, the Cathaoirleach, the Corporate Policy Committee, Municipal District Committees, Members of the Strategic Policy Committees, the Management Team and Employees of Longford County Council, together with the many voluntary and community organisations with whom the Council interacts. It is only through their continued commitment that the organisation can face these challenges with confidence and their support and co- operation is gratefully acknowledged. LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL 2015 ANNUAL REPORT 4 5 Cllr Gerry Warnock, Barbara Heslin Cathaoirleach A/Chief Executive MEMBERS OF LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL BALLYMAHON MUNICIPAL DISTRICT LONGFORD MUNICIPAL DISTRICT LONGFORD BALLYMAHON Mick Cahill Mark Casey Gerard Farrell John Browne Seamus Butler Padraig Loughrey Pat O’Toole Paul Ross Colm Murray Mae Sexton Peggy Nolan Gerry Warnock GRANARD MUNICIPAL DISTRICT GRANARD Paraic Brady Micheál Carrigy Luie McEntire LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL 2015 ANNUAL REPORT 6 7 John Duffy Martin Mulleady P.J. Reilly The principal services of Longford County Council are provided within the following Directorate structure. The three Directorates cover the areas of: KEY FUNCTIONAL ECONOMIC & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, CORPORATE, CULTURAL & RECREATIONAL AREAS OF SERVICES, HUMAN RESOURCES, PLANNING & BUILDING CONTROL AND RESPONSIBILITY LONGFORD MUNICIPAL DISTRICT FINANCE & INFORMATION SYSTEMS HOUSING, INFRASTRUCTURE & ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, EMERGENCY SERVICES, BALLYMAHON MUNICIPAL DISTRICT & GRANARD MUNICIPAL DISTRICT LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL 2015 ANNUAL REPORT 8 9 Copyright Acknowledgements Includes Ordnance Survey Ireland data reproduced under OSi Licence Number 2010/29/CCMA/Longford County Council. Unauthorised Reproduction infringes Ordnance Survey Ireland and Government of Ireland Copyright. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC & ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT The local economic environment is showing positive, if limited, signs of recovery. The LEO office continues to support the needs of small businesses and while the retail sector has been distressed for some time the industrial sector has proven itself to be fairly robust. Local employment opportunities are emerging across the industrial landscape and in sectors that were not previously strong within the County such as ICT. There are now 4 or 5 small but dynamic ICT COMMUNITY firms in the County employing software graduates providing opportunities for young graduates to work outside the Councillor Seamus Butler Chairperson, Economic main urban centres. Development and Enterprise SPC The Center Parcs project continued to dominate the economic conversation locally with its potential to deliver well DEVELOPMENT, in excess of 500 jobs when it becomes fully operational. It has the potential to have a transformational impact on the Region impacting positively on many other sectors, particularly tourism. The Council has launched a Regeneration Programme with a dedicated team looking at enhancing areas of the CORPORATE, CULTURAL & County that are currently considered economic black spots and in 2015 it also introduced a Business Incentive Scheme to give rates rebate on new businesses that occupy vacant units. The gradual improvement in the national economy provides a degree of confidence in achieving future economic RECREATIONAL SERVICES, growth and the Council are actively engaged in promoting the County as an ideal location for inward investment. Councillor Mae Sexton LOCAL ENTERPRISE OFFICE Chairperson, Planning Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) were established in April 2014 as a function of local government. They act as the & Development and primary reference point for all queries related to business start-up and small business growth and offer a ‘First HUMAN RESOURCES, Cultural SPC Stop Shop’ service to persons seeking information, advice, guidance or support in relation to micro-enterprise development. The LEO office works in partnership with a range of other agencies to ensure that people can quickly access the PLANNING & most relevant supports linked to their needs at a particular time and it strives at all times to promote the value of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in helping to grow local economies. The LEO Longford works closely with its target audience to drive the development of local enterprise, placing local small firms at the heart of job creation. It delivers a diverse range of supports in a focussed manner, building close BUILDING CONTROL professional relationships that result in clients repeatedly using the LEO office as a resource. Ciaran Murphy 2015 was a productive year for LEO Longford. Job numbers in firms supported directly by the LEO Longford office & LONGFORD MUNICIPAL A/Director of Services grew by 76. In addition it approved 31 projects for direct financial assistance during the year. In 2015, LEO Longford ranked in the top ten of the highest Customer Care score and satisfaction ratings (100%) in Ireland. LEO Longford aims to build on this and continue to deliver high quality and multi-varied services and DISTRICT supports to its ever expanding customer and client bases throughout Longford. The LEO continued to roll-out its range of soft support measures to include training, mentoring and in-company supports. In 2015 over 73 participants availed of mentoring support while 331 participants availed of some form of structured training. These supports were designed to be delivered in a flexible manner and tailored specifically to meet the needs of new and growing enterprises. Dedicated programmes were designed and run to support target groups such as Back to Enterprise Clients, Food Sector, Engineering Sector along with established business up-skilling. LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL The LEO Longford continued to promote Government initiatives designed to stimulate local enterprise particularly 2015 ANNUAL REPORT Employer Job Incentive Schemes and Access to Credit Schemes. In the area of education the LEO Longford 10 continued to support the Student Enterprise Programme as a primary vehicle for instilling an understanding and 11 appreciation of enterprise into our young people. It also continued to support the National Enterprise Awards as a high profile opportunity to highlight the achievements of small businesses and entrepreneurs. COUNTY LONGFORD TOURISM There were a total of 6 meetings of the LCDC in 2015. There are 19 members on the Local Community Development County Longford Tourism, the representative