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Irish Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
Council accused of breaching department rules with controversial sale of site
Mayo County Council insists that it complied with all legal requirements in relation to the controversial sale of a site in Westport following accusations that it breached department rules and the Public Spending Code. A protest took place outside the council's offices last week as elected members approved plans to sell land in the town centre to The Wyatt Hotel Unlimited for €670,000. The site was not advertised for sale, and only one valuation was obtained before the transaction was agreed. A motion to delay the sale pending a public consultation was defeated at last week's council meeting. However, a councillor has now called on the disposal of the site to be halted, claiming that the local authority breached both department rules and the Public Spending Code in its 'rush' to sell the property. Michael Kilcoyne said he was 'utterly shocked' that the local authority did not comply with legal requirements in respect of the proposed sale, and the deal should be paused pending a full inquiry. Under a 2016 circular, public authorities are required to place lands on the State Property Register before selling them. This allows other agencies to express interest in the properties for certain uses, such as housing. The Public Spending Code also requires public authorities to prepare a business case for the disposal of properties. Mr Kilcoyne claims that a short document circulated to some elected members last month fell far short of the requirements for a business case under the code. Asked whether the site in Westport had been placed on the State Property Register as required under the departmental circular, Mayo County Council said it was 'satisfied that the proposed disposal was conducted in accordance with relevant guidance'. Mr Kilcoyne said the sale of the site appeared to have been 'very rushed', adding: 'It didn't go to the market at all.' 'I was just amazed that it wasn't considered for housing, particularly when there are over 200 people in Mayo who are in emergency accommodation. 'I am utterly shocked that the council didn't comply with the legal requirements,' he said. Speaking at last week's meeting, Councillor Peter Flynn said comments by members of the public about 'corruption and shady deals' in relation to the sale were 'really off the mark'. Chief Executive Kevin Kelly asserted that there had been no obligation to advertise the land for sale, adding: 'There is nothing untoward in respect of this proposal or this transaction'. A spokesperson for Mayo County Council said the sale of the land represented 'a significant opportunity to revitalise the area, providing economic stimulation and increased visitor numbers to the locality'. They said the proposal would also ensure that public amenity space would be provided. A business case was circulated to elected members from the relevant municipal district last month, the spokesperson added. 'Following an independent valuation, agreement was reached on the sale of the subject lands for a total consideration of €670,000. In addition to the purchase price, the purchaser has committed a further €280,000 towards the co-development of the adjoining public amenity area, reflecting a collaborative approach to enhancing local infrastructure.' Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Irish Independent
22-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
County Mayo short 90 homes as social housing targets missed by 23%
The statistics, released by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, show that of a target of 395 houses, only 304 were built. The issue was raised by Cllr Michael Kilcoyne at the last meeting of Mayo County Council where he questioned management on the shortfall. 'You achieved 77% of the target in a county where we have over 200 people in emergency accommodation. I think it's a reasonable question to ask, why did you miss the target by so much?' His question was aimed at the Director of Services Tom Gilligan, who stated that Mayo County Council did deliver on its targets. However, the shortfall arose in contributions from the Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). Under the Housing For All plan, local authorities are responsible for 60pc of new-build social houses, while AHBs are responsible for the remaining 40pc. Housing can be built directly by a local authority or an AHB, alternatively it can be delivered through turnkey, the purchasing of new housing units from private developers. 'In Mayo our target was 395 houses. The council itself, and through turnkey, delivered 63% of that, a total of 250. The AHB sector for that three-year period delivered 38 units, and 16 units were delivered through part five,' said Mr Gilligan Part five refers to a part of the planning legislation that allows local authorities to purchase a percentage of land for housing development where planning permission has already been granted. They can purchase up to 20pc of the land at market value and use it to deliver social and affordable housing. Mr Gilligan continued, 'The reality is that in the last three years or so, the council itself delivered. The AHBs did not deliver. I've raised this on numerous occasions, outlined it to the members, and I've also raised it with the department. Unfortunately we have a very low level of activity here in relation to AHBs.' In response to this, Cllr Kilcoyne said: 'Over the three-year period, the number of houses - whether it was the man on the moon, Santa Claus, the council or the AHBs who built them - were 90 short.' Speaking to the Irish Independent after the meeting, Cllr Kilcoyne expanded on this remark: 'I don't need excuses, I just want it corrected and done. It seems to me the local authority always has somebody else to blame except themselves. Management in Mayo County Council always puts forward whatever is necessary to avoid taking the blame, 'I regard the excuse given as a flimsy excuse. The fact is, the management of Mayo County Council, for whatever reason, missed their target by 90 houses. You can blame everybody else, the storm, Christmas, the weather, or the man on the moon. At the end of the day they are the housing authority.' The Irish Independent also spoke to Mr Gilligan after the meeting. He reiterated that the council is responsible for 60pc of new-build social houses, they delivered 63pc of their target, and 77pc of the overall target was achieved. 'Unfortunately, the delivery levels in Mayo by the AHB sector have not yet reached the scale required to meet our ambitious housing targets. We remain committed to achieving our targets overall and working with various stakeholders in order for that to happen,' he said. Mr Gilligan pointed out that western counties are not attracting the same attention from large-scale AHBs as those on the east coast, 'As regards the large AHBs, they have concentrated on the urban centres and the larger local authorities, particularly on the east coast. I would say it's a situation where the population demand is higher, the economies are of scale, developments are viable and there is greater access to infrastructure services, 'Rural and regional areas like Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim often fall outside their core delivery focus, which is regrettable.' The statistics show that in Sligo, 55pc of its 270 house target was met. Of the 149 houses that were built, 29 were delivered by AHBs. Meaning they produced only 19pc of their 40pc build target. In contrast, Meath had a target of 832 houses but built 1,405, achieving 168pc of its target. Of these, AHBs produced 682 houses. In Laois, the target was 359 houses, but 670 were built, smashing the target by 187pc. AHBs produced 395 of these houses in Laois. For comparison, Mayo's overall target for 2022-2024 was also 395. Mr Gilligan raised the issue with the Department for Housing, he said that it has been acknowledged by them, 'I'm hopeful that as part of the new Housing For All plan that will be coming out in September, there will be more emphasis on the larger AHBs and they will develop and build more houses here in the west of Ireland, 'There is a huge need here, we have the same housing crisis as the rest of the country.' He noted that housing bodies Tuath and Co-Operative Housing Ireland are working on projects in the county, but mentioned it would be great to get other large-scale AHBs such as Respond and Clúid, to turn their attention to Mayo. In response to Cllr Kilcoyne's criticism that the council was placing blame elsewhere, and his description of the AHBs explanation as a "flimsy excuse', Mr Gilligan said: 'I'm not into the blame game myself, it's not about trying to portion blame or demonise anyone in the sector. We really do want to work collaboratively with housing bodies to deliver, 'Cllr Kilcoyne is right, we do have a housing crisis, we do have people on our housing list, we have people who are in emergency accommodation and we want to provide long term sustainable housing for people. We all have to get involved in order to make that happen, 'If you look in relation to a tripod, we are one leg of that. We need the other two legs as well. The AHBs and part five.' In county Leitrim, AHBs produced zero houses between 2022 - 2024, but the county still managed 98pc of its 82 house target. Leitrim County Council built 73 houses meeting 89pc of the 60pc target. The remaining seven houses were delivered through part five. Cllr Kilcoyne called on Mayo County Council to take responsibility for housing delivery. The statistics from Leitrim suggest their council took on the responsibility Cllr Kilcoyne believes is needed in Mayo.
Boston Globe
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Patrick Kilcoyne and 2023 champion Ryan Downes reach Massachusetts Amateur final
Downes, the 18th seed, reached the semifinals by defeating Jake Ratti 6 and 5 in the quarterfinals. Downes is the youngest Mass Am champion in history, winning the 2023 title at Essex County Club when he was 17. Lenane, the No. 3 seed, advanced to the semifinals by defeating fellow George Wright member and 2006 champion Ben Spitz 3 and 1 in the quarterfinals. Kilcoyne, a two-time Globe All-Scholastic pick from Belmont who plays at Gettysburg College, defeated No. 13 Billy Walthouse of GreatHorse 3 and 2 in the morning quarterfinals before holding off Aiden Emmerich 2 and 1 in the semifinals. Advertisement Kilcoyne, the No. 8 seed who plays out of Woodland Golf Club, was 3-up after 11 holes but he bogeyed Nos. 14 and 15 to see his lead cut to 1-up. Kilcoyne clinched the match with a birdie on the par-4 17th.
Irish Independent
26-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
RTE programme has put the ‘fear of God' in elderly people about nursing homes
Cllr Michael Kilcoyne from Castlebar raised the issue at this week's Regional Health Forum West Meeting, where he was informed by the HSE that the average person receiving home help in Mayo is seen for 6.3 hours a week. The data provided by the HSE showed that Mayo Home Support delivered 48,458 hours of assistance to 1,595 clients in April, with 224 people currently on the waiting list. Speaking to the Irish Independent, Cllr Kilcoyne said those kinds of hours are of "no use". "If that's the average, that's less than an hour per day. Many of these people are discharged from hospital on the basis that they are going to get home help. They have nobody at home, and in many cases, the person at home is as bad as themselves". He continued, "For the Minister of Health and the Department of Health to say we want to keep people at home, that's nonsense, that's fairyland stuff because they're not making any effort to do it even though it would save the taxpayer millions of euro." In the meeting, Cllr Kilcoyne expressed his disappointment at the number of people on the waiting list and asked how the forum plans to deal with it. The Regional Executive Officer for HSE West and North West Tony Canavan responded by saying, "We're currently just exceeding the service plan commitment in terms of home help. We are providing slightly more than we are funded for. The hours and the levels of service have increased year on year for the last number of years." Mr Canavan explained the data shows a "growing need" for home help services. He confirmed that they will be seeking additional funding in the future as he understands that, "for most people in those circumstances, they do want to remain home for as long as possible." Cllr Kilcoyne agreed that the HSE should absolutely get more money in the budget saying that "it's money well spent.' He agreed that people want to remain in their homes for as long as possible and avoid going into nursing homes, "particularly after the recent television programme, I'm not saying every place is like that, but the fear of God is in some of them." he said.
Irish Independent
25-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Donegal councillor elected as Chair of the Regional Health Forum West
The annual general meeting of the Regional Health Forum West took place t, as outgoing Chair of the forum Cllr Brogan leaves position saying 'We all have the same objective and that is to make sure that we improve the health service that we have'. Coimisiún na Meán Today at 04:40 Donegal county councillor Cllr Gerry McMonagle has been elected to the Chair of the Regional Health Forum West with Cllr Michael Kilcoyne from Mayo elected to the position of Vice Chair. Sinn Féin councillor McMonagle, was nominated by Cllr Donagh Killilea who said; 'Gerry is well experienced as we know and has served as chair in the past, we will put our faith in him for the 12 months.' Cllr Kilcoyne, an Independent representative from Mayo, will take on the position of Vice Chair of the forum. His nomination was also proposed by Cllr Killilea who said, "Albeit he's from Mayo and I'm from Galway, he's a fine man. He's served that position for the last 12 months and he's always stepped in when needed.' The outgoing Chair of the forum, Cllr Ciaran Brogan, seconded his nomination. The position of Chair of the Regional Health Forum Committee was filled by Cllr Bridie Collins. The Fianna Fáil representative from Limerick City and County Council was nominated by Cllr Francis Foley and Cllr Kilcoyne. 'Thank you to my colleagues for nominating me for Chair. I was nominated as Deputy Chair last year. I ended up chairing but its been a great learning experience for me. I'm very happy and delighted to be able to take that role on for the next year again,' she said. Lastly the position for Vice Chair of the Committee was taken by Cllr Gary Doherty, a Sinn Féin representative from Donegal County Council, whose nomination was seconded by Cllr Brogan. Outgoing Chair of the forum Cllr Brogan said: "It's been a busy time and after the local elections there's a new forum and a lot of new members. I want to thank you for the cooperation you have given me over the last 12 months, "We all have the same objective and that is to make sure that we improve the health service that we have, ADVERTISEMENT "We as elected members, irrespective of what political affiliation or what area we represent, all have the same passion to try and challenge the system towards the needs of the patient.' This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Scheme
