Cllr. Catherine Connery Chairperson

Cllr. Martin Brett Mayor

It is a great privilege for us as Cathaoirleach and Mayor of Kilkenny County & City Council's to introduce the Annual Report for 2010. This report contains details of the wide variety of services provided by Kilkenny Local Authorities, which underpin the very basic needs and requirements of the people of Kilkenny. In a period of economic challenge it is worth noting the very valuable role that  Local authorities play in building resilience in local communities to assist neighbourhoods to develop and to maintain and improve the local essential services such as a public water supply, roads, housing etc.

Over the past number of years both Councils have radically changed the way that they do business. Progress has been achieved in many areas: on financial management, new information technologies, developing communications systems, and significant changes to structural reform of services, including the development of "business units" in place of the more traditional sections. Perhaps one of the more striking changes has been in the way in which community development has been supported by the establishment of a Community and Enterprise unit which now responds in a focused way to the various elements of developing communities. Proof of this on the ground can be gauged by the many local development associations which now engage both formally and informally through the Community and Voluntary Forum, and informally through the Local Authority area offices, as well as directly through the elected members. Further enhancement of this new approach continued in 2010 and the evidence of success can be seen throughout this report.

During 2010, all Local authorities had to cope with the consequences of unprecedented cold weather conditions. We were greatly heartened at the generous response of Local Authority management and staff who worked tirelessly to alleviate the effects of such adverse conditions.

In terms of strategic infrastructure the opening of the M9 Motorway in 2010 is highly significant in the development of Kilkenny. The motorway now provides us with improved accessibility, and will no doubt lead to commercial gain for the region as a whole.

The concept of shared services has been mentioned in many of the recent reports on achieving further efficiencies in the public service. This concept, simply put, means sharing services to avoid duplication, to bring about a common high standard of service delivery across authorities and to provide effective and efficient services. Kilkenny Local Authorities have been successful in this regard and now operate shared services in a number of service area including housing, finance and human resources. 2010 saw further advances in sharing services and the Housing service is now jointly administered from John's Green House. Once again the progressive nature of developing this essential service is evidenced by the level of activity. To quote from the report on the Housing Service for 2010 it is worth noting the following levels of activity:

• 123 units of accommodation were provided by Kilkenny Local Authorities
• 33 units of accommodation provided by the Voluntary Sector
• 30 Acquisitions completed
• 88 Private rented inspections carried out
• 26 units available under the leasing Initiative in 2010
• 5 Affordable Houses sold in 2010 with 4 remaining to be sold
• 11 loans issued to the value of €1,037,030
• 322 grants paid out in 2010
• 111 houses retrofitted in 2010 in both Housing Authorities
• 475 applicants now in RAS accommodation i.e. 204 private, 271 voluntary housing bodies

 

This range of activity is replicated in the other service areas, and we believe that the policy decisions taken by the elected members will result in improved services to our citizens.

Kilkenny City and County has a rich cultural and heritage tradition. We are both intent on maximizing Kilkenny's attractiveness as a centre of tourism excellence, and we are determined to take every and any opportunity to promote Kilkenny and to work to attract investment in our County to enable us to weather the difficult times in which we find ourselves.

Finally, we would like to sincerely thank Manager, Joe Crockett and his staff, and we commend their commitment and dedication.

 

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Cllr. Catherine Connery                                                                Cllr. Martin Brett
MCC Cathaoirleach                                                                      MCC Mayor