The Sligo Local Authorities are hosts for a special ‘Day of Welcomes’ on Saturday 1st May as we celebrate Hungary’s accession to the EU. The Cathaoirleach and Mayor will be joined by the First Secretary of the Hungarian Embassy Mr Gyula Sumeghy for a day of music, theatre and carnival. An ‘Electric Sound Stage’ will be erected in Stephen St car-park, and there will also be a multi-cultural fair, with an emphasis on Hungarian wine, culture and history. Some of Hungary’s top chefs will be in attendance to offer up Hungarian speciality dishes.
The festivities will run from 12.00 noon to 6.30 pm; While Stephen St Car-park will be the focus of attention, a ‘Krescendo May Day Carnival Parade’ will wind its way through the town centre at 3.30pm
Further information available from the Arts Office, Sligo County Council, 071 9140985 - e-mail:arts@sligococo.ie
The Customer Services Desk in County Hall is in operation and it’s ‘all systems go’ for Mary Boylan, Eithne Christie and Brid Keaveney. An information leaflet is being published to advise the Sligo public about the new service, which has a new dedicated contact number of 071 91 29800. Staff in each section are asked to give their full support to this important new initiative to ensure it runs smoothly and efficiently.
for Transport Seamus Brennan TD attended Sligo City Hall on Monday 29th March for the signing of the construction contract for the Sligo Inner Relief Road. The contract has been awarded to Ascon Rohcon and will be the largest roads project undertaken in Sligo.
The 4.5km road runs from the Carrowroe roundabout south of Sligo to Michael Hughes Bridge, north of the town centre. The urban section of the road (from Summerhill College to Hughes Bridge) will have signal controlled junctions and will provide excellent access to the town centre.
The location of the road, and its direct connection to large car-parking areas, will ultimately facilitate the pedestrianisation of the town centre streets. This will greatly enhance the urban environment and will make Sligo a more pleasant and amenable environment for people who reside, work in or visit the town.
Minister Brennan welcomed the project as ‘a significant investment in the transport infrastructure of Sligo and the North-West. This project is pivotal in the context of Sligo’s status as a ‘Growth Gateway’ under the National Spatial Strategy, and can provide the impetus for further developments in the region’
It is envisaged that the project should be completed by the close of 2005.
There was a large turnout in Tubbercurry on 26th March 2004 for the official opening of the One Stop Shop for South Sligo, Teach Laigne. Cathaoirleach Cllr Joe Cawley performed the honours, and remarked that it was a special honour for him in his native town.
Among the guests were members of the local clergy, who performed a blessing ceremony, staff of the various services in Teach Laighne, local representatives, former Deputy Matt Brennan, and representatives of the local community.
Joining the Cathaoirleach at the podium were County Manager Hubert Kearns, irector of Services Dorothy Clarke (who was Master of Ceremonies for the occasion) and Gearoid Surlis on behalf of the South Sligo community.
A brochure published for the official opening can be obtained from the Communications Office or from any of the Teach Laighne offices
Sligo County Council’s Rural Water programme is to receive €4.6 million on funding in the current year. This figure includes €1million for Group Water schemes in Castlebaldwin, Geevagh/Highwood and Culfadda. €600,000 will be allocated to small public water and sewerage schemes at Ballisodare, Aclare, Cloonacool and Ballybeg.
An allocation of €2,250,000 for the provision of treatment facilities for twelve private Group Water Schemes means that work can commence on two ‘bundles’ in the North West and South East of the county.
A process of public consultation is underway into the proposed re-alignment of the N15 from Sligo town to the county boundary. A National Roads Needs study published by the NRA in 1998 indicated that the unimproved section of the N15 would require upgrading between the years 2005 to 2009.
The Council is preparing a ‘Constraints Study’, which involves compiling as much information as possible about the route to identify the ‘constraints’ which could influence the design of the scheme. The principal constraints would be Local development and land use, archaeology and ecology.
This study is the second of seven phases in the delivery of the project..
| Phase | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Project planning |
| 2 | Constraints study |
| 3 | Route selection |
| 4 | Preliminary Design/Route acquisition procedures |
| 5 | Construction documents - preparation and award of tender |
| 6 | Scheme construction |
| 7 | Final account |
The closing date for receipt of submissions for the Constraints Study is Friday 7th May 2004. Enquiries to Declan Cawley, Executive Engineer at 071 9136213.
The Spring 2004 issue of Heritage Matters has been published, and contains features on Ballymote Heritage Group, a review of Heritage Legislation and the Sligo Seashore project which won first prize in the European eLearning Awards 2003.
Copies available from Lisa Henry in the Heritage Office - phone 071 9157444
Starting with the current edition(Wednesday 28th April 2004), the Sligo Local Authorities will publish a monthly ‘Diary of Events’ in the Sligo Champion. This advertisement will promote important events and activities in the Local Authorities.
The monthly diary will be placed in the last week of each month outlining activities for the following month.
If you wish to have a particular item included, contact:
Communications Office Sligo County Council,
Sligo Borough Council staff can contact Mary Dolan or Roisin Gannon
A new procedure was introduced earlier this month for reporting IT problems. All IT issues can only be reported by using the e-Direct facility. There are two ways of reporting a problem.
The current delivery of Customer Service Skills training in Sligo County Council by Professional Development Ltd. is an integral part of the planned improvement of customer services through the introduction of a Customer Service Desk.
The training being delivered by Professional Development Ltd. is based upon a course outline prepared by a working group of Training Officers that had been established by the HR Committee of the Local Government Management Services Board. The working group’s remit was to produce a standardised Customer Service Skills training course content aimed at all grades in the local authority. It was felt that a standardised Customer Service Skills course would be of benefit to all 34 local authorities and would reduce duplication of effort.
The working group completed the course content in December 2003/January 2004. Sligo County Council agreed to act as the pilot site for delivery of the course before distribution to all local authorities.
In an effort to promote lifelong learning for local authority staff it was agreed by the working group to examine whether any certification could be attached to the Customer Service Skills course. After consideration of various existing certification systems it was felt that the existing national qualification in Customer Service, FETAC module D20151, was the most appropriate certification available. The course content of the standardised local authority Customer Service Skills course covers all the criteria and specific learning outcomes required by FETAC. In fact the standardised course actually covers more than is required for certification purposes.
Part of FETAC’s obligation under the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act of 1999 is to promote Work Place Based Learning and access to national qualifications. FETAC were therefore extremely receptive to local authorities becoming FETAC approved training providers.
For the purposes of achieving certification for this standardised Customer Service Skills course the Council applied to FETAC to become an approved Work Place Based Learning provider. This was approved at the end of January 2004.
As the national awarding body for further education and training in Ireland, the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) gives people the opportunity to gain recognition for learning in education or training centres, in the work place and in the community.
FETAC's functions include:
Programmes leading to FETAC awards are offered nationwide by a wide range of providers in diverse settings, including BIM, Fáilte Ireland (CERT), FÁS and Teagasc centres, VEC's, adult and community education and training centres, Institutes of Technology and in the workplace.
What is Required to Achieve FETAC Certification for Module D20151(Customer Service Training)?
The exact details of what the module covers is best achieved by studying the module descriptor. This is obtainable from the FETAC website, www.fetac.ie or NCVA website, www.ncva.ie
What is of most relevance is how staff who wish to gain certification for their training are going to be assessed?
Section 11 of the module descriptor describes the assessment system as follows:
Who is Going to Conduct the Assessments Required for FETAC Certification?
It is envisaged that individual staff will be assessed after they have returned to the workplace and had a chance to put their learning into practise.
The assessments will be co-ordinated and in some cases conducted by in-house trainers as part of the in-house follow up with learners as to how the training has transferred into improved work practises.
The actual assessment tools to be used and the exact sequencing of the follow up assessments is something that has yet to be agreed between the Council, LGMSB and the in-house trainers.
We currently have three staff members wishing to pursue this certification.
Any staff member requiring further details on obtaining FETAC certification for the Customer Service Training should contact Joe Gethin @ Extn 484
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Martin Cullen TD has announced a major new initiative to further extend the public accountability of local government. Minister Cullen announced 42 service indicators against which the public can measure the performance of their local authority.
Launching the initiative, entitled Delivering Value for People - Service Indicators in Local Authorities, the Minister said: "Accountability is not and should never be an optional extra. The people who fund our salaries and the services we provide have the right to know exactly how their money is being spent. I think we are taking a significant step forward in this area today."
Examples of the new indicators (42 indicators attached) include the percentage and tonnage of household waste recycled; the average length of time taken to get a planning decision; levels of housing vacancies, the average number of opening hours in public libraries and working days lost to sickness by local authority staff.
Local authorities will report on their performance against the indicators by the end of the first quarter of the following year. Minister Cullen also announced an independent system of monitoring and verification of performance against the indicators. This function will be carried out by an independent assessment panel. An annual report on the performance of local authorities against the 42 indicators, incorporating the independent assessment, will be issued to the Minister by the Local Government Management Services Board.
The set of 42 indicators, which have immediate effect, span the full range of services delivered. These include Housing, Planning, Environmental Services (water, waste, litter and Fire Services), Roads, Motor Taxation, Libraries, Arts and Culture, Recreational Services, Community participation, Revenue collection and Corporate issues.
Earlier this month the Department of the Environment published a 5 year report ‘Waste Management: Taking stock and moving forward’
The report details progress made between 1998-2003
The Department also announced funding of €25million for the provision of new recycling facilities and the development of the country’s first National Biodegradable Waste Strategy.
Figures issued by the Central Statistics Office reveal that the rate of inflation for March - 1.7% - is at its lowest for five years and is the seventh successive monthly fall. The figures show that the price of goods fell by 0.2% over the past 12 months, the first time that goods prices have shown negative inflation for 11 years. The annual rate of inflation for services was 2.8%
While the focus of attention is understandably on the human tragedy of road fatalities, there is also an economic price to be paid. It is estimated that so far this year the economic cost of death and injury on Irish roads is over €217m Since the start of this decade 1650 people have lost their lives on our roads, and represents an economic cost of €3.7 billion.
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on the constitution published its ninth progress report in early April. Among the measures outlined in the publication was a report on property rights, with the committee indicating its view that moves to cap the price of development land would be ‘almost certain’ to pass a constitutional challenge in the courts. The committee recommended that power be given to Local Authorities to acquire development land for a premium of 25% over its existing use value.
The committee shelved proposals in drafts of its report which would have limited the role of councillors in planning decisions.
This regular article will bring you news and events from Local Authorities from around the Country.
A Navan councillor has reacted furiously to an incident at a recent meeting of Navan Town Council during which councillors sang happy birthday to a fellow councillor.
Cllr. Jim Holloway commented after the meeting “the town is in crisis right now. Business is being lost and Nero sings while Rome burns”
Cllr. Holloway had been speaking about the traffic and parking situation in Navan under “any other business” towards the end of the meeting when a number of councillors started to leave. Several councillors then burst into song, singing “Happy Birthday” to an embarrassed Cllr. Shane Cassells, whose birthday occur that day.
Cllr. Holloway described the councillors activities as frivolous at a time when traffic was causing a huge problem in the town.
At least one person has taken their name off the voting register in Carlow Town as a Garda investigation into an alleged voting scam in the area continues.
The local Fine Gael Party uncovers what they believe to be a scam in the town in January when it was alleged that a number of people who did not live in the area had registered to vote locally, allowing to vote in Town Council elections.
The concerns were initially passed onto the County Manager Joe Crockett, and following a council inquiry they were passed onto the Gardai. The alleged scam was uncovered it was estimated that more than fifty names on the register had been illegally placed there.
The Gardai investigation is expected to continue for a number of weeks.
A Navan hairdresser who has lost two days business in two weeks because of water cuts in the town said that he was “totally frustrated”.
Breaks in water supplies due to the ongoing problem of underground pipes fracturing led to a complete stoppage of business in Ambrose Clinton’s hairdressing salon.
He said that when the cuts occur, he telephones the staff at the council “They are very nice and try to do their best in telling me when the water might be coming back on, but water is critical to my business”.
The closing date for the 2004 Cathaoirleach’s Awards Scheme has been extended to Friday 7th May 2004. The award categories are - Arts, Community, Environment, National Schools and Sports.
If you feel there is someone in your community who is deserving of an award, please contact the Communications Office for a nomination form (071 9156624)
The awards ceremony will be held on Friday 28th May 2004 in County Hall.