Matters Brought Forward By Direction of the Mayor to Kilkenny Borough Council Meeting 21/9/09
These are just some of the initiatives I have been involved in over the months of July and August; I reported this to members at September’s Borough Council Meeting
The Mayor acknowledges the work done by Sheasky and Borough staff on their own four in a row welcome home ceremony for the Kilkenny Senior Hurlers on September 7th. Once again they carried out a flawless event. The logistics of such an event are staggering, dealing with over twenty thousand supporters on the narrow streets of Kilkenny and in the Market Yard. We look forward to the five in a row homecoming.
Also to commend Brian Tyrrell, our staff and Mc Donagh Junction for the homecoming event for the Senior and Minor Camogie Players and the U21 hurlers on Sept 14th. Once again a very well run event.
The Mayor signed the Nagasaki Protocol and joined the International Mayors for Peace campaign on behalf of the City of Kilkenny and received certification from the Mayor of Heroshima in august.
The Mayor sent a gift and correspondence to the Mayor of Moret Sur Loing reiterating the city’s continued commitment towards our twinning. A delegation from Kilkenny met with Moret’s Mayor and it is hoped to invite him to one of the closing events for the 400 celebrations. The mayor is also seeking support from the members to explore thematic cultural twinnings with other municipalities such as Fermo in Italy. Some funding is available for projects with support from IPA.
The Mayor has attended an event in Hillsborough Castle to mark the 400th anniversary of the Lisburn City Charter and has invited the Mayor of Lisburn to one of Kilkenny’s 400 celebration events.
The Mayor is to meet with Kilkenny Arts Festival organisers next week to talk about the success of this year’s festival and to discuss plans for next year’s event.
The Mayor has submitted plans to the European Union for funding to develop a model of Community supported agriculture and to promote local agricultural food produce in Kilkenny City. He will keep members informed of this initiative.
Several events worth noting took place during the summer months that could be of immense tourism benefit to Kilkenny. The ‘Tour De Kilkenny’ cycle run and the Half Marathon run in conjunction with European Mobility Week which took place yesterday were both hugely successful events. The Mayor is keen that these events are supported by Kilkenny Local Authorities and Kilkenny Tourism, as they are green, low impact events, yet could grow into significant events in the sporting and leisure calendar and fill B and B’s and hotels around the city.
The Mayor commended Kilkenny Local Authorities outdoor staff and Keep Kilkenny Beautiful Committee for the excellent results in this year’s Tidy Towns competition. The Mayor attended the prize giving in Kilmanham on September 7th. Kilkenny retained its Gold Medal status and with 302 overall points fell just three points short of the main award of Tidiest Large Urban Centre. The award went to Ennis. This is an incredible achievement, given the visitor numbers, strain on our resources and the fact that the Parade Project was still in construction. The mayor believes that with continued effort and a completed parade, we could win it outright next year.
He is calling on communities throughout the city to become active and for the members to drive initiatives in their own areas. He will be in discussion with a number of transition year students and KKB re using the An Gaisce award as a driver of clean healthy environments throughout the city. There is also a need to develop a volunteer database for this and other community projects, given the economic downturn and the increased need of communities for services. (This item is open for discussion)
Mayor Noonan held a civic reception for the Sudanese community in Kilkenny to mark the 1 year anniversary of the UNHCR resettlement programme. He also used the event to launch an integration forum to foster the development of an inter cultural Kilkenny.
The Mayor commented on recent job losses at Kilkenny People printing in Purcellsinch. He said that his foremost thoughts and those of the Borough Council are with the workers and their families. He also said that while the printing industry was undergoing a very difficult transition at present, he could not comprehend why a business that was viable and thriving a few short years ago was now at this point. He referred to a long tradition of printing in Kilkenny and the loss of generations of a skills base. He is calling on Enterprise Ireland, the County Enterprise Board and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and employment to apply whatever resources available to offer retraining and re skilling of workers in specialised areas like printing as an immediate response to redundancies in various sectors. (This item is open for discussion)
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Mayor Malcolm Noonan
September 21 2009
Malcolm has posted some video clips addressing the electorate on issues of local concern.
Over the campaign we have tried to meet as many people in the area as possible but there sin’t enough time to reach everyone. Malcolm recorded these interviews with film maker Nicci Smith in Kilkenny in the final days of the 2009 local elections campaign.
These video clips include a great message of support from Minister Eamon Ryan as well Malcolm addressing various issues and local people
expressing why they think Malcolm should be re-elected.
So for those of you tired of opeing the door to the canvassers we give you the ‘video canvass’
1. Minister Eamon Ryan tags Malcolm Noonan as the ‘best green candidate’ running in this election.
2. Kilkennys Borough Boundary…green light at the end of the tunnel?
3. Malcolm Noonan faces the harsh reality of Kilkennys drug problem head on.
4. Kilkennys Hospice, ‘A Basic Human Right’. Malcolms loyalty to a dear friend and his community.
5. Climate Change – the single biggest threat facing humanity today!
6. Kilkennys thriving Arts Community, ‘The Jewel in Irelands Crown’
7. Malcolm Noonan proves why he should be re-elected on the 5th of June.
8. (part 1) Malcolm Noonan talks openly about his time in politics and the June 5th election.
The extension of the Borough Boundary in Kilkenny City is a key priority of Borough and County Councillor, Malcolm Noonan and he believes the extension will be granted by Environment Minister, John Gormley in coming months.
‘I have asked the Minister to look favourably on Kilkenny’s proposal to extend the boundary, it has been the express wish of all the members of Kilkenny Borough Council and could yield significant benefits for the City’ said Cllr Noonan.
Cllr Noonan believes that Kilkenny’s hand in attracting inward investment, further third level faculties and meeting targets under the city’s hub status under the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) would be greatly strengthened by an extended city boundary. On a practical level, the expansion of shared services by both local authorities in housing, sanitary services, environment and parks and planning will greatly benefit people living in the environs of the city.
Minister Gormley has informed me that he will give due consideration to Kilkenny’s application, this is encouraging news for the city as we try to build the critical mass needed to improve our public transport and attract investment and clean industry, but moreover it will reflect a city that is progressive and ambitious in its outlook as we meet the many challenges that lie ahead’ he concluded.
Kilkenny Local Authorities could divert funding earmarked for the Central Access Scheme into many civic and cultural projects if the road is refused by An Bord Pleanala in coming weeks. This is the view of Borough and County Councillor Malcolm Noonan. Projects such as an Arts Centre, the restoration of St Mary’s Church and graveyard, a city museum, the upgrade of High St and the park and skate park facility at the Closh could be prioritised if the city spur of the road and bridge crossing is refused.
‘Given the fact that the bulk of the 27m needed for the scheme will have to be drawn from local funding, the ability of the local authorities to fund anything else while the road and bridge are being constructed will be greatly undermined. This funding was also predicated on an economic growth rate of 4.2% at the time it was put forward to An Bord Pleanala and this has clearly not materialised’ said Cllr Noonan.
Cllr Noonan pointed out that the Council is now moving in the right direction with the Mobility Plan for the city and that international best practice was now directing authorities away from excessive engineering projects to address urban mobility. Freeing up of available and future development contributions monies towards civic and cultural projects could redirect the whole dynamic of the city and place Kilkenny among the leading destinations in Ireland, if not Europe.
‘The obvious answer is the linking of the western environs section of the road with a completed outer ring road, our focus should be on consolidating the unique character of Kilkenny for present and future generations and enhancing our tourism potential, which is by far our biggest employer. This can only be done by continually striving to be better and more ambitious in our vision’ he said.
Cllr Noonan is the only sitting member of Kilkenny Local Authorities to have opposed the Central Access Scheme and has been campaigning against it for twelve years. A decision by An Bord Pleanala is due shortly.
Voters in this year’s European Parliament elections should question the environmental credentials of candidates in considering who to vote for in the East constituency. This is the view of Kilkenny Councillor Malcolm Noonan. He is calling on the electorate to take on board issues of climate change, support for Irish agriculture, genetic modification of food and water quality in deciding who to vote for in the upcoming elections.
Cllr Noonan, who was widely tipped to be the Green Party’s candidate for the East constituency, withdrew his name from the running to focus solely on his local election campaign. He also felt it was unfair that, had he been ratified, four of the five candidates would have been based in Kilkenny.
“I have spoken to a number of the candidates from other parties and I feel that there is nothing to be gained by my name being put forward at this stage,” said Cllr Noonan. “I would like to see voters taking environmental issues into consideration in deciding who to vote for. Climate change is the single biggest threat facing humanity in coming decades and I think it essential that Ireland has good representation in Europe which will reflect our commitment to tackling the climate crisis. I have worked to try and bring into effect a Climate Law which was first proposed in the Seanad by the Labour Party and I think that in the East constituency, they have a credible environmental candidate in Nessa Childers”, he said. “In my view, party politics have very little currency in these difficult times and I think it’s time for voters to think strategically about issues and policies.”
Cllr Noonan reiterated his call for a cross-party consensus in dealing with the economic crisis in Ireland.
“Everywhere I go, people are asking that political parties put aside their differences and show collective leadership to get us through our difficulties. This has gone beyond punishing Fianna Fáil for their mismanagement of the economy, people are looking for answers, they are looking for hope and we must provide some of that hope,” he concluded.
