Agreement reached on who will become new council Cathaoirleach 

Fianna Fáil councillor Paschal Fitzmaurice from Castlerea will become the new Cathaoirleach of Roscommon County Council, it has emerged. 

In a joint statement issued this morning, the new coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and three Independents, Tom Crosby, Laurence Fallon and Emer Kelly, officially confirmed that the grouping will propose Cllr Fitzmaurice as the new Cathaoirleach at the council's first meeting this afternoon, Friday.

The Fianna Fáil councillor will be elected chairperson in the first year of the council's  five-year term. His party colleague and Roscommon Town based businessman, Cllr Larry Brennan will be elected as Leas-Cathaoirleach.

“Both Cllr Fitzmaurice and Cllr Brennan will have much to offer in leading the way forward for the year ahead, and as a coalition we look forward to working with them as they lead forward on the issues,” said the statement.

As expected, the new coalition also officially confirmed that the new power sharing deal will comprise the five Fianna Fáil councillors, the four Fine Gael councillors and three of the seven Independents, Crosby, Fallon and Kelly.

The ruling group will have a clear 12 to six majority in the council chamber, allowing it to strengthen its control in terms of implementing policy.

The inaugural meeting of the new council will be chaired by Cllr Fitzmaurice, and councillors will also consider appointments for a range of bodies, such as the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, the GRETB, Regional Health Forum West and TFI Local Link Longford Westmeath Roscommon.

In the statement, the grouping laid out a detailed programme for the next five years. It covers a wide ranges of issues, including roads funding; road safety; climate change and biodiversity emergency; healthcare; energy efficiency; rural transport links; tourism; supporting the farming community; rural housing; tackling rural isolation; childcare, and job creation.

“Key to achieving our goals is ensuring that we have a well-balanced team to promote and help develop the county. Therefore, we have established a team to lead the council forward over the course of the next five years, to bring balance in the county and to ensure that no part of the county is left behind.

"A programme for local government has been agreed for the next five years that will endeavour to ensure that all our citizens get treated equally and fairly in the work which the Council undertakes and the services it provides," said the statement.

In the last council term, the previous pact was made up of six Fianna Fáil councillors, two Fine Gael councillors and two Independents, Laurence Fallon and Tom Crosby.

Following the recent local elections, Fianna Fail councillors Paschal Fitzmaurice, John Keogh and Marty McDermott retained their seats. They are joined on the council by their party colleagues and newcomers, Larry Brennan and Sean Moylan.

Fine Gael doubled their seats in the elections to four. Outgoing councillors John Naughten and Liam Callaghan will be joined by former councillor Domnick Connolly and new face Gareth Scahill.

Apart from Fallon, Crosby and Kelly who make up the new grouping, four other Independents were also recently elected. They are outgoing councillors Valerie Byrne, Tony Ward and Tony Waldron, and newcomer Micheal Frain.

Outgoing Independent Ireland councillor Nigel Dineen and successful first-time candidate, Leah Cull of Sinn Féin are the two other councillors who will make up the 18 seat local authority.