Positive outlook as first step taken
THE third Monday of the month is the date for the statutory meeting of Louth county council.
On 18 May the latest get-together took place. The day also marked Phase 1 of the roadmap to re-opening Ireland.
The COVID-19 lockdown is unprecedented and has placed unique demands on citizens, and so it was that chief executive Joan Martin accentuated the positive on reaching the first step of a path back to normality.
‘ This is truly a big day,’ she enthused before later adding: ‘It’s an exciting day, even though it doesn’t take much to excite us at the moment.’
Last Monday signalled a return to work for some 100 council staff, all of whom have new protocols to deal with when carrying out their duties.
More of the local authority’s services will be getting back on track over the next three months.
The meeting itself was much changed from the norm.
Strict guidelines were adhered to, from hand-sanitising to one person at a time in the lift.
Those taking the stairs saw a one-way system clearly laid out.
‘Did you sanitise your hands?’ was the enquiry on arrival at the chamber.
A maximum of 10 councillors was allowed in, and there were significantly fewer officials, with everyone socially-distant.
There was a short agenda, so much so that the meeting was wrapped up in around ten minutes.
The main order of business was for members to give the nod to St. Gerard’s Hall as a venue for meetings for the rest of the year, starting with the June meeting and AGM on 15 June.
A move across the road to beside St. Joseph’s Redemptorist Church got the necessary approval.
The switch is to allow social distancing be adhered to when all 29 members are in attendance.
When our elected representatives assemble in the hall, they will be forgiven for thinking they are back in school as exam-type seating is the plan.
Meanwhile, former councillor Nicky McCabe was remembered at last week’s meeting by chairman Cllr. Liam Reilly.
Mr McCabe passed away at the age of 92 on 14 May. He served just shy of 50 years on the council and was chairman on eight occasions before his retirement from public office in 2004.
Cllr. Reilly said tributes will be heard at the June meeting.