The Corporate Affairs Department is responsible for the provision and management of a very wide range of services, which include County Council Meetings, Building Administration, Corporate Planning, Organisation Development, Franchise, Policy Research.

 

Register of Electors:

A Register of Electors is produced annually. The Register is a list of all persons over 18 years of age resident in the County who are entitled to vote in Elections to the Dail, European Assembly, Presidential, Local Elections and Referenda.

Local Electoral Area	No of Electors
Piltown	16,200
Kilkenny City	13,708
Ballyragget	12,945
Thomastown	10,950
Callan	10,391
Kilkenny	3,418

 

In May 2006 the Minister for the Environment announced a package of measures aimed at assisting local authorities in securing significant improvements in the accuracy of the register. These measures were continued throughout 2007 and 2008.

• Ensuring a minimum of two calls per dwelling by field workers where information was not obtained on the first visit or a form has not been returned
• Obtain information from the household only - no third party information
• Date of birth to be collected for all persons, where possible
• Use of a customized and user-friendly Register Work Book to record appropriate details
• Consistently adhering to the Department of Environment Guidelines as issued
• On-going publicity of the registration process
• Adequate back-up office staff to update the Register on an on- going basis
• Adequate checking and audit of the process

A total of 35 fieldworkers were employed on compiling the Register during 2008.

The Draft Register is printed on the 1st November of every year and distributed to Post Offices, Libraries, and Garda Stations thus providing people with the opportunity to check if they were on the Draft Register. A website is also available for this purpose www.checktheregister.ie

The Live Register is subsequently published on 1st February and comes into force on the 15th February.

Supplement to the Register: A person who is qualified to be registered but, for any reason, is not included on the published register, may apply to be included on a supplement to the register before the fourteenth day before polling day (Sundays, Public Holidays and Good Friday are excluded). Following the Electoral Amendment Act, 2001 applications to be included on the supplement to the Register of Electors must now be witnessed by a member of the Gárda Siochana.

Under the provisions of the Electoral (Amendment) Act, 2001, a person who is on a Register of Electors and moves residence from one constituency to another constituency or from one local electoral area to another local electoral area, can apply for entry onto the supplement at their new address, provided the person authorises the appropriate local authority to delete their name from their old address.

Section 66 Grants:

A total of 75 Grants were awarded under the above Scheme totalling €50,000.

 

Ombudsman Complaints

Complaints received	7
Complaints responded to	7

 

Number of Council Meetings + Payments to Councillors

Number of Council Meetings, Committee Meetings Held from 1st January, 2008 to 31st December, 2008.

No. of Ordinary Monthly Meetings.	11	Woodstock	0
Annual Meeting.	1	Goul Joint Drainage	2
Special Meetings of the Council.	5	County Development Board	5
Estimates.	1	Corporate Policy Group	11
Thomastown Electoral Area.	5	Water Safety	5
Kilkenny Electoral Area.	7	Joint Traffic Committee	0
Callan Electoral Area.	7	County Kilkenny Leader Partnership	8
Piltown Electoral Area.	6	Kilkenny Community Action Network (KCAN)	11
Ballyragget Electoral Area.	5	County Enterprise Board	7
Rural Water Monitoring.	6	Draft Development Plan	8
Traveller Accommodation	5	Briefing	1
SPC1 - Economic Development & Planning Policy	3	Rapid AIT	7
SPC2 - Infrastructure, Transportation, Water Services & Other	4	Integrated Area Plan	1
SPC3 - Environmental Policy including Sanitary Services, Fire Services, Emergency Planning	4
SPC4 - Housing Policy, Social	5
SPC5 - Arts, Culture, Heritage, Tourism, Education	4

 

Payments to Councillors

Monthly Allowance :	€130,874.42
Training and Education Allowance, Incl. Conference Fees	€155,081.96
Representational Payment :	€456,438.81
SPC Allowance :	€30,400.00
Chairpersons Allowance :	€34,913.00
Vice Chairperson :	€8,298.00

 

 

 

Workplace Partnership in Kilkenny County and City Councils

Facing the challenges of the worsening economic situation was the overriding issue for workplace partnership in 2008. At a handling significant change meeting in November of that year Joe Crockett County Manager outlined to the senior management, union officials and partnership committee members present of the cost saving measures being imposed by central government on local authorities and outlined the areas that would be examined to achieve savings in 2009.

This key meeting also saw the partnership committee agreeing a work programme for 2009 and agreeing the drawing up of a protocol document as to how Kilkenny Local Authorities do their business through partnership.

This protocol document was presented to the committee in December 2008.

Amongst the significant issues progress through the partnership process in 2008 were the following:

• Public Private Partnerships. A working group set up to examine to examine potential PPP's met on a number of occasions in 2008. Following a request by union representatives on the working group, Dr. Eoin Reeves from the University of Limerick was engaged as an independent consultant to examine the draft preliminary reports submitted in respect of a number of schemes. Following extensive consultations involving the full working group which comprised of relevant shop stewards, union officials, senior water services staff together with Dr. Reeves and representatives of the various consultants, reports were submitted to the Department of Environment on a number of schemes.
• The issue of restructuring of services in Kilkenny Borough Council was completed in 2008.
• Various staff policy issues were concluded through Partnership in 2008 including:
  • An Attendance Management Policy,
  • A Staff Security Policy following which information on dealing with workplace violence was forwarded to all staff members.
  • A survey was completed on work life balance following which a booklet on same was forwarded to all staff members informing them of schemes available.
• As part of the verification process required under the Towards 2016 Agreement action plans were agreed by the partnership committee and submitted. A group from Kilkenny Local Authorities also attended to meet with the Performance Verification Group in Portlaoise in April 2008, following which payment of that section of the Towards 2016 agreement was sanctioned.

 

Some of the students receiving an award made by Junior Achievement Ireland

 

Other notable achievements made by Partnership during 2008 were the following:-

• Continuance of the Return to Learning Programme and successful completion of an upskilling course in partnership with FAS and the VEC for which Kilkenny County Council was one of the pilots.
• The Junior Achievement programme continued successfully with volunteers from Kilkenny County Council attending a number of schools throughout the City and County. In all 450 pupils finished various junior achievement programmes at primary and post primary level. Kilkenny Local Authorities commitment to this programme as recognised by an award made by Junior Achievement Ireland at a function in May 2008.
• Kilkenny Local Authorities policy at promoting health in the workplace was recognised by them reaching the final stages of a European Health Campaign known as "MOVE" Europe. These initiatives have been coordinated by Workplace Partnership in conjunction with HR/Corporate and Kilkenny Local Authorities Social Club.