Byrne elected Mayor of Fingal
Wednesday June 24 2009
FINGAL County Council has elected a new Mayor in the shape of Cllr Ciaran Byrne (Lab), who said the voters of the county had given a 'mandate for change' at the Local Elections.
Taking the helm of what looks like a Labour-run coalition with the Socialist Party and Cllr David O'Connor (NP), Cllr Byrne set out the challenges ahead for the new council.
He said: 'Some of our citizens have lost their jobs or their businesses and some may even lose their family home, a profound indictment of national Government's economic incompetence.
'Over the next year we are going to have to grapple with how best to carry out our duties as public representatives in Fingal, in conditions that are not of our making and in which we have limited powers and shrinking resources.' But sounding a more hopeful note, the new Mayor of Fingal said: 'But while our options are constrained, we are not powerless and we should use this crisis to re-think out development strategy for Fingal, over the next five years and to identify new opportunities for our shared future.'
He called on councillors and council management to work together to set the priorities for the county's future and said that retaining employment, particularly in the aviation industry, was key for Fingal.' Despite having had heated arguments with Socialist Party members of the council in the past, Cllr Byrne said he was ready to work with the party in the new alliance that emerged at the council's AGM last Friday.
He said: 'I will work with anybody who has the interests of the county at heart. I don't like gesture politics and I won't accept it from anyone. I want to hear a coherent approach to the development of the county over the next five years and anybody who will work with us on that is certainly an ally.'
- John MANNING
