The Deputy Mayor is Cllr Frank O'Rourke (FF) of the Celbridge-Leixlip Municipal District. The elections were held at the Annual Meeting of Kildare County Council today, the first meeting of the new Council.
Outgoing Mayor Mark Wall (LAB) thanked the previous Council, and also the staff, managers, and outdoor staff, for what they had done for Kildare during the duration of the previous authority. Equally the community groups and other organisations around the county who invited him to their events, which he considered as 'a great honour'. "On my own behalf, and on behalf of the people in the Athy area which I represent, it was great to work with all of them," he said. "I look forward to working in the new municipal district."
His area colleague Martin Miley (FF) responded, saying the Mayor had served with distinction and pride. "It was a pride to the Athy area that you were Mayor, and your neutrality was present throughout." Compliments were also given by councillors from other parties and independents.
Fiona O'Loughlin was proposed as the first Mayor of the new Council by her party colleague Cllr Suzanne Doyle, who said her record of public service is 'outstanding'. Cllr O'Loughlin was elected with 22 votes, against 11 for Cllr Padraig McEvoy, Independent, and three for Cllr Sorcha O'Neill of Sinn Fein.
Mayor O'Loughlin thanked everybody for their support, and particularly those others who had allowed their names be put forward. "I feel it is very important that there be an election, especially at the beginning of a Council."
She noted that her journey to the Mayor position had been 'a very long one', with 15 years of service on Kildare County Council and 20 on Naas Town Council and its previous incarnation. She recalled that her father Jimmy was a councillor for many years also, and there had been an O'Loughlin on the very first Kildare local authority.
"Every one of us here today has come through a gruelling election process," she continued. "I would also like to thank all those who went for election but didn't make it. We're all thinking of them today."
The Mayor said everyone in the Chamber was there with one motivation, to make their county a good place in which to live and work. There are many issues and challenges to be resolved, and it was vitally important that the Council be responsive to the citizens of the county, and address the economic and cultural issues facing it.
She said the Council must also prioritise the support of excellent voluntary and sporting groups, and use the facilities of the Council to help them as well as the families and communities which have been 'hollowed out' by job losses and emigration. "This is a very different council," she concluded. "I look forward to working with you for the benefit of the Council and the county."
The Council's CEO Eamon O'Sullivan said the new Mayor will carry out her duties 'with aplomb and with dignity' and that he looked forward to working with her. He noted that the local authority reforms will 'fundamentally alter the way we do business'. "We in the Council have to make sure that it is reform for the betterment of Kildare. It's an exciting time for this great county."
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