THE FIRST ever meeting of the New Ross Municipal District Council is scheduled to take place at 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11.
The meeting, which will include six rural councillors along with two urban representatives, will take place in the Tholsel. It’s likely that all future meetings of the District Council will be held in New Ross town.
The meeting will be preceded by the first session of the newly expanded County Council whose 34 members will meet for the first time in County Hall this coming Friday, June 6, at 11.30 a.m.
The Echo contacted former New Ross Town Clerk (the role was abolished with the dissolution of the Town Council), Anthony Bailey, and asked him what arrangements are in place to facilitate the new local authority taking over from the old Town Council.
He said that for the short term him, former Town Manager, Eamonn Hore, and former Housing Officer, Mick McCormack, will remain in situ, however, that could change under the direction of the County Manager, Tom Enright.
“For now it looks like we will be staying here [in New Ross] but if the County Manager decides that our time would be better served elsewhere then that’s what you have to go with,” he said.
“The three of us are responsible for the administration of the New Ross and District,” he added.
With regard to his own role he said it will evolve, along with those of Mr. Hore and Mr. McCormack.
“We are at the embryonic stage of the new authority and it is evolving,” he said.
“The New Ross and District Council will need to be serviced and that will be our responsibility,” he added.
Mr. Bailey confirmed that the Town Clerk’s role is now gone.
“The Town Council was effectively an independent authority with control over its own budget and things like commercial rates but that will now be done through County Hall,” he said.
“At the moment, for example, we are a different housing authority but from next week that will be handled by Wexford County Council but there will be a level of local service,” he added.
Mr. Bailey went on to comment: “Our primary goal at the moment is to ensure provision of services to New Ross.”
Mr. Hore confirmed to the Echo that he is happy in New Ross while Mr. Bailey said that although the titles of the officials’ roles in the new authority will change from what they were known in the old ‘Town Council’ their importance will be, if anything increased.
The Municipal District Council will be composed of two urban Councillors, Michael Sheehan and Anthony Bailey.
They will work alongside their rural based counterparts in a body that it’s hoped will help both the town and district to develop in the next five years. The rural Councillors include: Martin Murphy, Oisin O’Connell, Larry O’Brien, Willie Fitzharris, John Fleming and Michael Whelan.
