Barry McElduff ‘honoured’ to be appointed chair of council

COUNCILLOR Barry McElduff says he is ‘honoured’ to be appointed chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council for 2022/23.

The Sinn Féin councillor was nominated during the annual meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, held in the Townhall chamber, with some members in the Chamber and others joining via video conference platform, ‘Webex’.

Councillor Allan Rainey MBE, Ulster Unionist Party, has been nominated as council vice chair for the incoming year.

Mr McElduff said that he was simply ‘delighted’ to accept the role for the ensuing year. 

“The position of chair of the council is a great honour,” he said. “I am grateful to my party colleagues for entrusting me with this responsibility.

“I look forward to serving all the people of the district to the best of my ability, and I will take every opportunity to promote our district.”

The proud council chair explained that the theme during his term of office will be ‘wellbeing of the people and of the district’. 

“I would also like to support, particularly, the work of St Vincent de Paul during my term,” he added. “Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is committed to working in partnership with stakeholders across a range of sectors to improve the lives of all residents, and I am keen to see that collaboration continues to deliver such positive results. 

“I am committed to ensuring that the council, as a civic authority, provides strong leadership and continues to support business, voluntary and community sectors right across the district to ensure that the recovery from the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic remains strong and sustainable.

“I look forward to working with all councillors as council chair to deliver a positive and creative agenda to reinforce the position of the district as a great place to live, work, visit and invest in.”

The council chair added that one of his ‘key priorities will be to ensure that the potential of the district is fully maximised’.

“Our district has a rich natural and built environment which attracts visitors to the area in large numbers,” he said. “It is encouraging to see some of our flagship events return to the calendar after a three year hiatus.”

Concluding, councillor McElduff expressed his congratulations to outgoing chair, councillor Errol Thompson and vice chair, councillor Chris McCaffrey, for ‘doing such an excellent job in their respective roles’. 

“I certainly look forward to building on the work which they have undertaken over the past year on behalf of all the people of the district, in a positive and constructive manner over the next year,” he said.

The following councillors were nominated as chairs of the council’s standing committees for 2022-23: Environmental services: Councillor John McClaughry; regeneration & community: Councillor Mark Buchanan; policy & resources: Councillor Errol Thompson; planning: Councillor Thomas O’Reilly; and Brexit: Councillor Eamon Keenan.

All 40 councillors are members of the standing committees, with the exception of the planning committee, which has a membership of 13 councillors.

The members of the Planning Committee were nominated as follows: Councillor Thomas O’Reilly (Chair); Councillor Glenn Campbell; Councillor John Coyle; Councillor Josephine Deehan; Councillor Anthony Feely; Councillor Mary Garrity; Councillor Robert Irvine; Councillor Tommy Maguire; Councillor John McClaughry; Councillor Barry McElduff; Councillor Allan Rainey MBE; Councillor Paul Robinson; and Councillor Errol Thompson.

The first full council meeting of the 2022-23 council term will take place both in the council chamber, The Grange and virtually, via ‘Webex’ on Tuesday (June 7) at 7pm, and it will be live-streamed on the council YouTube channel at ‘www.youtube.com/c/FermanaghOmaghDistrictCouncil’.