Wicklow County Council leaders to be all female for first time
But the move to put a Government party in the chair was not welcomed by all.
On Monday, Melanie Corrigan was elected as the new cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council.
The Fine Gael representative in Bray West comfortably beat independent councillor John Snell by 22 votes to 10 during the local authority's annual general meeting at County Buildings.
Ms Corrigan succeeds Paul O'Brien, who took up the position last summer.
In his outgoing speech the Labour councillor said it was an honour to represent the people of Wicklow both at home and abroad over the past year.
'The role is one I'll cherish for the rest of my life. I honestly never dreamt when I was elected in 2019, then re-elected in 2024 that I'd ever be cathaoirleach and that's the truth. I've given it my all and enjoyed every minute of the journey.
There are a lot of people to thank, they know who they are, they know what they mean to me. I can never repay them, I just hope I made them proud.'
Numerous tributes were paid to the LGBTQ+ advocate who was the first openly gay cathaoirleach in the county.
Councillor Stephen Stokes acknowledged his professionalism and how he 'always let people speak.'
Councillor Dermot O' Brien praised his 'great skill in facilitating groups', while Councillor Peir Leonard appreciated his 'pleasant and fair manner during meetings.'
Ms Corrigan was nominated by her Fine Gael colleague in Arklow. Sylvester Bourke. and seconded by Green Party councillor in Greystones Lourda Scott.
Cllr Scott welcomed the appointment and believes it will help to promote a more positive gender balance following the recent resignation of Ms Corrigan's party colleague Aoife Flynn Kennedy.
She added; 'I believe councillor Corrigan will bring more diversity and new perspectives to the role.'
In opposition to the appointment, independent councillor Gerry O' Neill called for a shift away from electing members of Government-led parties to council roles, a sentiment echoed by his independent colleague Joe Behan.
In her acceptance speech Cllr Corrigan thanked her family, friends and outgoing cathaoirleach Paul O' Brien for his 'exceptional service to the county'.
She vowed to work collaboratively with those inside and outside the chamber in the months ahead.
'Starting off in politics as an elected representative six years ago was a huge honour, and it still is for me to represent my community, but to be elected cathaoirleach of the county was an even bigger honour for me, and my family.
'Thank you to everyone who supported me today and to my family and friends for always being there.
'I'm looking forward to working together with you all, to visiting all the districts in Wicklow and will be as fair and inclusive as I possibly can, to make Wicklow an even better place for us all to live in, work in and visit.'
Ms Corrigan will be joined by Caroline Winstanley as Leas Cathaoirleach in what will be the first all-female ticket in Wicklow.
The Social Democrats representative in Bray West was nominated by her party colleague in Wicklow, Danny Alvey, and seconded by councillor Paul O' Brien.
She faced off competition from independent councillor John Snell after he was nominated by councillor Gerry O' Neill and seconded by ndependent Ireland councillor Ian Neary.
Councillor Winstanley expressed gratitude for the trust that has been placed in her and looks forward to working with all councillors in the year ahead.
'It's a privilege to take on this role, and I'll do my best to represent the council and my community with fairness and respect.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
30 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Govt green light €148.2m purchase of Dublin hotel & campus to house asylum seekers despite local's anger at move
THE Government has approved the purchase of the Citywest Hotel and Convention Centre for €148.2 million, the Justice Minister has said. Advertisement 2 Jim O'Callaghan said the move is 'value for money' in the long term Credit: PA He said it would be used as a screening centre where applications for Minister O'Callaghan added it was in line with the commitment in the programme for He said there are no 'immediate' plans to expand the number of places at Citywest, which is currently being used as a reception centre for asylum seekers and The Fianna Fail TD said: 'Over a period of four years, we believe we'd be in the position where we would have got our money back in terms of the investment. Advertisement READ MORE IN IRISH NEWS 'Over a longer period of time, if you compare what we're spending in the private sector from the amount of Locals from Saggart protested outside They raised concerns about losing the amenity of the hotel complex and about demand for services. Minister of State Colm Brophy said that local representatives would be engaged with so that the local community is informed. Advertisement Most read in The Irish Sun He said the decision was being made on a 'value for money' basis and that if it is directly owned by the State, it can save around 50 per cent of the operating costs. He said: 'Very importantly, the purchase of Citywest will not result in any immediate increase in numbers. Stark pictures show migrant 'tent city' weaving through roads outside Dublin asylum processing centre 'The plan with Citywest is very simply to develop the asset and make sure that we have the ability, particularly under the Migration Pact, to have a state-of-the-art processing facility whereby people's applications can be cleared within 13 weeks from when they arrive in the country.' He added: 'Citywest has actually been working very effectively in terms of having an Ipas centre there, having Ukrainians also present, and having a range of services and facilities which have been working effectively and successfully for many, many years. Advertisement 'We are not planning on changing those numbers.' 2 The purchase of the Citywest Hotel for €148.2million has been approved Credit:
The Journal
an hour ago
- The Journal
Taoiseach tells Ivana Bacik she 'didn't have the courage' to be in Government
TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN lashed out at Labour leader Ivana Bacik during Leaders' Questions today, telling her she did not 'have the courage' to be in Government. The heated exchange came as the Labour leader accused the Government of 'chaotic decision-making' in relation to rental regulation. Referring to the Government's decision to extend Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) across the country, Bacik said: 'Of course we support the extension of RPZs across the country, but not a hollowed out version of RPZs that offer no real protections for renters.' In response to her comments, the Taoiseach said the Government's actions will help increase the supply of rental properties. He then claimed that the Labour Party would not make 'difficult decisions' to increase supply. 'You will not support anything that in any way you perceive to be injurious to your electoral base or might cost you a few votes. That's the prism through which you're looking at our housing crisis,' he said. Bacik hit back:'I think anyone watching will be wondering when you're going to take political responsibility for the housing crisis. 'You're the Taoiseach, you're in Government, your party and Fine Gael have effectively governed together for the best part of a decade, and yet you're resorting to throwing critiques of the opposition for not building homes.' The Taoiseach then said that he had 'no difficulty' taking responsibility. 'You're the opposition, you say. You could have been in Government, you could have been a Government. 'You could have been a Government, but you didn't have the courage,' he said. Advertisement 'You and many in your party didn't have the courage,' Martin said, adding that he knows former Labour leader and TD Alan Kelly did want to go into Government, 'to be fair to him'. The Labour Party walked away from Government formation talks in December last year after the general election. At the time, Bacik said it was because the policy gap between her party and Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael was too large. Rental regulation Leaders' questions in the Dáil today focused on the Government's proposed changes to how the rental sector in Ireland is regulated. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald accused the Government of implementing changes that will lead to rent hikes for tenants. She said the changes will be a 'blueprint to boost the profit of the big boys and to screw over renters'. 'That's your plan, and you do this during a persistent cost-of-living crisis, when people are hit with price hikes right across the board. Over the last four years, the cost of the weekly shop has skyrocketed by €3000 a year for many, many families,' she said. Likewise, Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore used her slot to criticise the Government's changes to rental regulation. 'You've been planning these rental reforms for months, and yet you made an absolute hames of them last week. Even your own Cabinet colleagues couldn't make sense of them,' she said. 'For the avoidance of any doubt, there was one simple thing that these reforms were to do, and that was to drive rents higher,' Whitmore said. Defending the changes, the Taoiseach said reforms will enhance protection for renters and highlighted the fact that every existing tenant will have their rents capped at 2% once the emergency legislation to extend the RPZs is passed later this week. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Government buys Citywest Hotel for €148m as part of long term asylum strategy
The Government has approved the purchase of the Citywest Hotel and convention centre for €148.2 million, the Justice Minister said. Jim O'Callaghan said that it would be 'far cheaper' to own the facility in west Dublin instead of paying private providers for the services and accommodation. He said it would be used as a screening centre where applications for asylum will be processed. He said it was in line with the commitment in the programme for government to own 14,000 accommodation units for asylum seekers. He said there are no 'immediate' plans to expand the number of places at Citywest, which is currently being used as a reception centre for asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees. 'Over a period of four years, we believe we'd be in the position where we would have got our money back in terms of the investment. Over a longer period of time, if you compare what we're spending in the private sector from the amount of money we'll be spending in terms of a state owned entity, over a period of about 25 years, we'll be looking at a saving of €1.25 billion.' Locals from Saggart protested outside Leinster House last week over government plans to buy the Citywest facility. They raised concerns about losing the amenity of the hotel complex and about demand for services. Minister of State Colm Brophy said that local representatives would be engaged with so that the local community are informed. He said the decision was being made on a 'value for money' basis and that if it is directly owned by the State, it can save around 50% of the operating costs. 'Very importantly, the purchase of Citywest will not result in any immediate increase in numbers,' he said. 'The plan with Citywest is very simply, to develop the asset and make sure that we have the ability, particularly under the Migration Pact, to have a state-of-the-art processing facility whereby people's applications can be cleared within 13 weeks from when they arrive in the country.' He added: 'Citywest has actually been working very effectively in terms of having an Ipas centre there, having Ukrainians also present, and having a range of services and facilities which have been working effectively and successfully for many, many years. We are not planning on changing those numbers.'
