Athlone has a new mayor

PHOTO: Cllr Aengus O'Rourke, with his wife Lisa and children after his election.

Athlone has a new mayor after Cllr Aengus O'Rourke was elected to the position at the AGM of the Athlone Municipal District this afternoon.

O'Rourke replaces his fellow Fianna Fail councillor, Frankie Keena, in the area's premier role.

O'Rourke was elected unopposed at the meeting. Green Party Cllr Louise Heavin was elected as deputy mayor.

Speaking at today's meeting, Cllr O'Rourke said: “This is a proud day for me and for my family. There is no doubt about it, it is a huge honour to serve your home town and your electoral district as the chairperson and Mayor.

He said facing the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact would require innovation.

“There is an opportunity now for this local authority to steal a march on all others. If we are smart we will embrace the opportunities that technology presents and streamline what we do and how we do it. This crisis has shown us that technology can provide us with great solutions and clever ways of working.

“Local authorities by their very nature are clunky, sometimes difficult to do business with, it is just the way it is with many large organisations. But, it doesn’t have to be that way.

He said the biggest daily challenge public representatives and the local authority faced remained social housing.

“Government have failed for the past 9 years to respond to the problem in a meaningful way,” he said and he urged the new government to take a more courageous and pro-active role,