NAAS, 4 July 2001: by Brian Byrne. Cllr Willie Callaghan has been elected as chairman of Naas UDC for the coming year. He won the position with the votes of six members, against three for the second candidate, Cllr Mary Glennon.
Thanking his colleagues for their support, he said he wouldn't 'make any promises' but did have a number of 'wishes' for the term of his chairmanship. These included a hope that all those around the table could 'work together for the people of Naas', and he called for an end to 'shouting matches which only caused bad blood'.
He also said he wished to see the 'small jobs' in the town completed, and hoped that by September the council would be dealing with a 'works list' instead of a progress report. He added that he also wanted quick progress on the installation of CCTV in the town and would be in contact with relevant organisations to progress this.
Congratulating Cllr Callaghan on his election, town clerk Declan Kirrane said 'a lot of energy had been dissipated' in 'fruitless rows around the table' during the previous year. He said there were many challenges facing the council on housing and land use strategies, disc parking and car park construction, and progress on the new offices for the UDC, and he called for 'trust around the table' so that they could achieve success on these issues.
Cllr Timmy Conway was elected vice-chairman, defeating Cllr Charlie Byrne who was not supported by his Fianna Fail party colleague Cllr Callaghan.
©2001brianbyrne/knn