Michael Malone
Manager of the County & City Councils

 

I am pleased to be associated with the presentation of Kilkenny County Council and Kilkenny Borough Council Annual Report for the year 2006.
This year saw progress in various infrastructural projects throughout the County and across all services including roads, water, sewerage, housing, environment which are detailed in this report. Some of these projects are listed hereunder:-

• 82 families appointed tenants of local authority houses.

• Utilisation of the various measures under the Social and Affordable Housing Scheme.

• 102 tenancies transferred under the Rental Accommodation Scheme. A pro-active planned maintenance scheme of 69 houses improved ie., through provision of central heating, replacement windows and doors etc.,

• Pro-active response to all repairs requests. During 2006, 930 repair requests were attended to with a total of just over 1.5m spent on maintenance

• Progress on various road infrastructural projects for both national and non-national roads.

• A series of traffic calming measures were put in place throughout the County.

• The need to provide the necessary water and sewerage infrastructures is a major challenge facing both Elected Members and Officials. The new needs assessment was undertaken in 2006 and was submitted to the Department of the Environment. This assessment is being updated for inclusion in the Water Services Investment Programme 2007/2009

• The pace of development throughout the County can be gauged by the statistic that there has been a 24% increase on the number of planning applications received since 2002.

• The aim of a Civic Amenity Site for South Kilkenny was brought a step further with the identification of a suitable site and the receipt of procurement tenders. In the meantime the temporary facility based in Newrath, opening on Saturdays is in place.

• Work on projects co-funded through the Development Contribution Scheme continues. Primary among these projects are the developments of the River Nore Linear Park, the continuing work on the Woodstock Gardens Project and the various urban and village renewal schemes.

 

A core objective in Kilkenny Local Authorities Corporate Plan for 2004/2009 is to plan for and manage in a sustainable manner the development and use of our relevant resources in the interests of long term economic, social and cultural progress for the benefit of all. Central to this objective is a pro-active and inclusive County Development Plan. The review of the current plan has commenced, starting with the public consultations in each of the Electoral Areas in 2006. A management report on the public consultations was completed in December 2006. These public consultations are the first steps in the formulation of the County Development Plan 2008/2014. The City and County Development Plan together with the various local area plans will form the basis for the strategic planning of Kilkenny City and County.

A further supporting strategy in the Corporate Plan is to work in partnership with other key stakeholders and implement and agree various plans and programmes. Kilkenny Local Authorities continues to work with our partners in the County Development Board. During 2006 there was a concentration on the development of the sub-structures to deliver on the 9 actions agreed in the mid-term review of the County Strategy 2002 - 2012.

Our key role in the aim of the development of the region for the mutual benefit of all the citizens in the South East, can be high-lighted by Kilkenny County Councils continued aim to advance the Belview Area as a major location for Strategic Industry in the South East Region. Further cross county co-operation can be highlighted by the completion in 2006 of the Graiguenamanagh/Tinnahinch Development and Economic Study which was completed jointly between Carlow and Kilkenny County Councils.

Key to the work of Kilkenny Local Authorities is its role in serving both Communities as a whole and the individual customer. Amongst the measures which took place during 2006 were:-

• Increased profile of the Customer Service Desk.

• Customer driven lunch time opening facilities which had been initially launched on a pilot basis were established across both authorities in 2006.

• Continued focus on improving services for internal and external disabled customers. This is highlighted by national recognition through the 02 Ability Award Scheme and the work being carried out by our pro-active Barcelona Agenda Team whose role is to steer the Local Authority in meeting its commitments under the Disability Act.

• Kilkenny Local Authorities efforts on customer service have been recognised nationally by Chambers Ireland in respect of our Planning Service and the local Chamber of Commerce in respect of our Human Resources Department.

• Customer driven, over the counter planning validation service was introduced in 2006

• The appointment of a dedicated Estate Management Officer is bearing fruit with increased levels of input from the Tenants on the Estates within her remit.

• Assistance approved to a number of Residents Associations.

• Kilkenny Local Authorities seek to communicate in a pro-active way with the public. One example is the development of our fortnightly page in the Kilkenny People. A further example of communicating on issues vital to the Community is the Fire Safety Awareness Campaign which is conducted through the local radio station in conjunction with Carlow Fire Service. Great credit is due to those involved in the Fire Service who regularly arrange school visits to the Fire Station and ran a concentrated Awareness Campaign during National Fire Safety Week.

• Another area of service that are to the forefront of their local communities are the various libraries both at central and branch level. The services carried out by our libraries are outlined in more detail in the Arts, Culture and Heritage section of this Annual Report.

• The taking in charge of Estates Protocol which was finalised during 2005 is now impacting in a positive manner and the Council agreed a policy whereby 2 Estates per Electoral Area would be taken in charge in 2006.

• One area which is to the forefront of meeting demands of customers is the Planning Department. In 2006 the Planning Department dealt with over 64,000 telephone calls, 7,500 customers at our Information Desk and Staff Members met almost 2,000 clients at out-reach planning clinics.

• A function of great day to day importance to local communities is the area of street cleansing. Under the terms of new contract commenced in May 2006 all Towns and Villages are cleaned monthly with the areas outside of Waterford Environs cleaned on a weekly basis.

• Kilkenny Local Authorities continue to adopt their pro-active approach to environmental education and awareness by promotion of the Green Flag Schools, Car Free Day and regular visits and assistance to Schools and Community Groups.

• Fulfilling our commitment to organisational change with the emphasis on maintaining and building on improvements in customer service under the terms of the national social partnership agreements, Sustaining Progress and its successor Towards 2016

 

I would like to express my appreciation for the dedication and commitment of the Management Team and Staff of Kilkenny Local Authorities and the hard work of the Elected Members. In particular, I wish to thank my former Colleague Mr. Tom Gunning who retired as Director of Services for Roads and Sanitary in September of 2006. Mr. Gunning and other recently retired members of staff made extremely valuable contributions to Kilkenny Local Authorities over the years.

I wish to pay particular tribute to the Cathaoirleach Cllr. Billy Ireland and his predecessor Cllr. Maurice Shortall and the Mayor of Kilkenny City Cllr. Martin Brett and his predecessor Cllr. Marie Fitzpatrick for their commitment and dedication to the development and promotion of the County and City. I also wish to express my thanks to the Chairperson's and members of each of the Strategic Policy Committees and each of the Area Committees for the excellent work done by these groups over the year.

I trust that the annual report will be widely read by the people of County Kilkenny and that it will give them an overview of the broad range of activities which are undertaken by our local authorities. I hope also that it gives them an insight into the challenges facing us in Local Government today and an idea as to how we in Kilkenny Local Authorities are seeking to face these challenges.

 

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M. Malone

County Manager