Annual Report 2011 - Roscommon County Council

Manager’s
Introduction
2011 has been another challenging year for Roscommon County Council, with reduced
funding and reduced staffing numbers. The Council made major adjustments in response
to the reduction in available financial resources. Whilst the contraction in staffing numbers
has had an impact on the Council’s capacity to deliver services, the potential impact
has been minimised by the flexibility shown by the remaining staff to meet our service
priorities. We continue to provide vital services and infrastructure across the county to a
population of 64,065, an increase of 9% from 58,768, since 2006.
The scale and diversity of activities carried out by Roscommon County Council in 2011 is outlined in this Report.
g g €28m was spent on the county roads investment programme in 2011.
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The Council provided €50,000 in grant assistance to 74 voluntary groups under the Cemetery
Improvement and Maintenance Scheme in 2011.
The Council continues to be a major employer in the county with 544 staff employed.
Total expenditure under Housing grants schemes for 2011 was €1,850,000 assisting 286 people with
housing adaptations, mobility aids and assistance for older people.
33 houses were completed in 2011 under the Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP).
The IT department implemented the Mapalerter email and SMS location based alert service for members
of the general public.
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44 Tidy Towns projects were funded from the total fund of €35,000.
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As part of the County Roscommon Tourism Strategy 2010 – 2014, a 40-birth marina was developed at
Lough Key in association with Waterways Ireland and Fáilte Ireland. Amenity areas have been developed at
Errit Lake and Lough O’Flynn in partnership with the local community groups.
Under Roscommon County Council’s Water Conservation Programme, a 25% overall reduction in water
demand has been achieved at the end of 2011.
Extensive capital investment to construct new and upgraded infrastructure under the Water Investment
Programme continued during the year.
As part of the Libraries Capital Programme, a refurbishment of the County Library Building was completed
with funding of €400,000.
Roscommon Arts Centre programmed almost 140 events in the auditorium, workshop and gallery spaces,
including over 1,500 people attending the 2011 Roscommon Drama Festival.
The Heritage Office organised a number of events in 2011 as part of the actions outlined County
Roscommon Heritage Plan.
Planning Enforcement Section continued to investigate unauthorised development in county Roscommon
and ensure compliance with conditions of planning permission granted. Under its enforcement action
Roscommon County Council served Warning Letters in 154 cases, served Enforcement Notices in 55
cases and initiated legal action in 5 cases in 2011.
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