Agenda and minutes

The Chair informed the meeting that the Seoul Metropolitan Government responded to the Committee’s request for clarification regarding the proposed Animal Welfare legislation. They confirmed that on January 9th, the National Assembly passed a special bill prohibiting the slaughter, breeding, and propagation of dogs for the purpose of consumption. The law was enacted on February 6th and it will come into effect from 7^th February, 2027, after a three-year grace period. It was agreed that the correspondence would be circulated to the Committee.

Order: Minutes agreed.

Order: Receptions and Engagements noted.

Eileen Quinlivan gave a presentation to the Members on the issues facing the Council with regard to the recruitment and retention of employees. (Presentation attached).

The Members thanked Eileen for the presentation and raised the following issues:

·         The delays in appointing Rangers to Bull Island

·         GO recruitment and targeted recruitment in areas such as Ballymun, Cherry Orchard and Darndale.

·         Recruitment from within the Traveller Community.

Order: Presentation noted.

Donncha Ó’Dúlaing gave an update to the Committee. He confirmed that Newcomen Bank will be a flexible space providing cultural, social and meeting facilities. The usage will be determined in part by the capacity of each floor. The Pre Part 8 consultation had been completed before Christmas and the Preliminary Business case has been approved. The Part 8 Application will be lodged within the next two weeks. Thereafter, there will be a six week period for submissions which will be hosted through Citizen Space. It was agreed that Councillors would be notified when the application goes out for public consultation. It was envisaged that the Part 8 application would come before the City Council at the July meeting, with detailed designs finalised in August and a tender issued in September.

Costs for the construction phases are estimated at €10 million. Currently, no funding source has been identified. However, the City Council is investigating Central Government funding through the URDF, as well as through the DCC Capital Programme and the European Office.

Cllr. Mannix Flynn asked if efforts could be made to improve the visual appearance of the building and to inform the public of what is proposed as in its current state it is attracting anti-social behaviour. Donncha confirmed that they were considering temporary ground floor use in the interim and would also look at creating formal signage for the front of the building. Ruth also confirmed that Michael Ryan in the Press Office was working on improving the branding of Capital Projects.

Donncha also confirmed that he was happy to facilitate an onsite inspection of the building for the Protocol and South East Area Committees. A possible date was after the Protocol Committee meeting in March.

Ruth confirmed that she would bring an update to the Members on works in City Hall at the next meeting and would investigate shower facilities and report back. 

Order: Report noted.  

·         The Manager reported that the Lord Mayors Awards would take place on 22^nd March 2024 at 7pm in the Round Room of the Mansion House. Members were asked to RSVP.

·         The March Council agenda would be published in English in advance to allow Members to prepare for the meeting as Gaeilge. A bilingual version would be published on the Wednesday prior to the meeting.

·         The deadline for registering to vote in time for the Referenda was 20^th February. The Franchise Section has received thousands of applications and was working extended hours and weekends to process all the requests. The Franchise Section will also be operating a customer care service on polling day, operating from 7am until 10pm to assist with those who encounter difficulties on the day. The Manager will circulate details of the service to the Councillors in advance of polling day.

The Members proposed a formal event to acknowledge the contribution made by all Members of the current council but in particular those not standing for re-election. The Manager agreed to raise the matter with the Lord Mayor and would report back at to the next meeting.   

Order: Noted.

Order: Agreed.