Call to bring council services and 'economic benefits' to towns around Donegal

There have been calls to bring more council services into towns and villages around Donegal.

Cllr Ciaran Brogan of Letterkenny-Milford brought a motion on the issue to the November plenary meeting of Donegal County Council.

He asked: “That this Council's working group on our future plans for accommodation and in line with our review plan, that we look at the possibility of decentralising our council services in line with our current plans for the regeneration of our town centres.”

Cllr Brogan emphasised that the move would bring “meaningful permanent employment and a presence of jobs and economic benefits together with the distribution of services for our county and its people.”

He also urged the executive to upgrade and invest in the County House in Lifford, saying that the current facilities in the County House in Lifford are “not up to the standard they need to be”.

“We have so many regeneration plans taking place throughout the county in different towns,” said Cllr Brogan. “That can be Dungloe, Letterkenny, Carndonagh, Milford, Ballybofey, Stranorlar or Donegal Town, or some of the smaller towns as well. There is an opportunity for us as a council to move some of our council services to different parts of the county.

“If it was only ten jobs, for example, it would be a huge economic benefit to some of the towns.”

He cited the roads management office in Milford, which he said is “working very well”. He added that the council could lease buildings in other towns to house council services.

“Another good example is the training centre Ballybofey Stranorlar, and indeed some of the services we have in the base there too.”

The motion was seconded by Cllr Martin McDermott of Inishowen MD, who said that there are “state-of-the-art” buildings across the county which would be suitable for council services.

“Some of the services that we need on a regular basis and that constituents need on a regular basis would be better served in the local community,” said Cllr McDermott.

Mr Patsy Lafferty, Director of Housing, Corporate & Cultural Services, noted in response that the council has “recently completed a review of the management and staffing structure, in parallel with the completion of a workforce plan for the next four to five years.

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“That review involved examining all the functions and demands that we must meet as a council and how we can most efficiently organise the workforce going forward to deliver on key priorities. The issue of the office accommodation is referred to in Cllr Brogan’s motion - it’s another related matter that is being examined as a follow on from the organisational review, to further examine the most appropriate locations for staff to work from across different departments. In that regard, there is a requirement to carry out an appropriate development and refurbishment here of headquarters. A working group has already been set up to explore the options in that regard.

“In addition, we have staff based in a range of other office buildings throughout the county including in the public services centres and it’s intended to examine and explore the most efficient and appropriate location of departments and staff in regard to the nature of the work being carried out. In recent years, there are updated national policies with regard to remote work and blended work that also necessitates requirements to examine how we utilise our buildings.”

“The thrust of the motion can be considered in the context of those reviews as they are carried out over a period of time.”