Matters Brought Forward-Sept 2009
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
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The need for dedicated grounds for Kilkenny’s fastest growing sport has been put to Kilkenny Co Council’s parks staff by Mayor Malcolm Noonan. Cricket is becoming increasingly popular among people of all ages in Kilkenny and was once played widely throughout the county. Mayor Noonan feels that Kilkenny needs a cricket ground
September16th to 22nd is European Mobility Week and Kilkenny as a registered participating city has a journey to go in becoming a model for sustainable transport, walking and cycling. Kilkenny Mayor Malcolm Noonan is confident that Kilkenny can become a leader among regional towns in reducing car dependency and moving towards walking
Speaking following the publication of the an Bord Snip Nua report, Kilkenny City’s Mayor, Malcolm Noonan said that while the report has some worthwhile proposals, it largely fails rural Ireland and was written with a myopic Dublin worldview. Mayor Noonan is also critical of the report and its implications for local government funding.
‘Certainly there’s plenty of food for thought for Government in here’, he said. ‘However, proposals to downgrade rural… Continue reading
