Collaborative approach to continue as Mayo's Ballina MD elects new cathaoirleach
Councillor Jarlath Munnelly has indicated his intention to work with colleagues in a collaborative way as cathaoirleach of Ballina Municicpal District.
Elected unopposed as Ballina MD chair for the first time, the Fine Gael man, a native of Killala, said it was nice to get the endorsement of all his colleagues.
He was proposed for the position by Councillor John O'Hara and seconded by Councillor Marie Therese Duffy, and succeeds Councillor Michael Loftus.
“Accepting the chain of office, Councillor Munnelly said: “If we work together we can't go too far wrong.”
Councillor Annie May Reape was elected leas cathaoirleach. She was proposed by Councillor Loftus and seconded by Councillor O'Hara.
The collaborative approach was the theme of the Ballina MD annual general meeting, held in the chamber of Ballina Civic Office late this afternoon, as Councillor Loftus was praised by his colleagues for adopting that stance and being even-handed during his year at the helm.
On behalf of Mayo County Council staff, the head of Ballina MD, Declan Turnbull, thanked Councillor Loftus for his work with them throughout this past year.
“I found you very fair to work with and always very cooperative,” said Mr. Turnbull.
In thanking fellow councillors and council staff for their help during the past year, the outgoing cathaoirleach expressed some frustration at the amount of criticism that comes the way of elected representatives for issues such as traffic delays.
He suggested people do not realise the amount of work councillors put in to their jobs.
“We work to the best of our ability to get things done,” he said, pointing out that they kept issues such as the proposed Ballina bypass and the stretch of the N26 from Mount Falcon to Foxford high on the agenda, in addition to working on the Active Travel Plan for Ballina town – without getting a positive response from the Department of Transport.
He also highlighted that progress has been made on housing developments such as those in the planning system at the old Cheshire Homes and Duffy's Bakery sites in Ballina town.
With regard to housing, Councillor Loftus said private developers need to be helped by government to build more houses, and he also decried the NIMBY (not in my back yard) attitude displayed by many people.
“People need to be less greedy and less selfish when objections (to housing developments) are being put in,” he stated.
Mentioning some highlights during his time as cathaoirleach, among them the honour of being in Pittsfield – a sister city of Ballina in Massachusetts – for their St. Patrick's Day celebrations, Councillor Loftus concluded by thanking everyone who helped him in any way in the past year.