Laois County Council
Encyclopedia
Laois County Council is the local authority
which is responsible for County Laois
in Ireland
. The Council is responsible for housing
and community, roads and transportation
, urban planning
and development, amenity and culture
, and environment
. The head of the council has the title of Cathaoirleach
(Chairperson). The county seat
is at Aras an Contae in Port Laoise
.
The county council is governed by the Local Government Act 2001
. The county is divided into five local electoral area
s and has 25 councillors who are elected every five years by single transferable vote
. The county administration is headed by a county manager, currently Peter Carey.
(6), Emo
(4), Luggacurren (4), Mountmellick
(4) and Port Laoise
(7).
Local government in the Republic of Ireland
Local government functions in the Republic of Ireland are mostly exercised by thirty-four local authorities, termed county or city councils, which cover the entire territory of the state. The area under the jurisdiction of each of these authorities corresponds to the area of each of the 34 LAU I...
which is responsible for County Laois
County Laois
County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It was formerly known as Queen's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The county's name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix. Laois County Council...
in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The Council is responsible for housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
and community, roads and transportation
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
, urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
and development, amenity and culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, and environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
. The head of the council has the title of Cathaoirleach
Cathaoirleach
Cathaoirleach is the title of the chairman of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach is Senator Paddy Burke...
(Chairperson). The county seat
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
is at Aras an Contae in Port Laoise
Port Laoise
Portlaoise or Port Laoise , historically spelled Port Laoighise or Portlaoighise, is the county town of County Laois in the midlands of Ireland. The population was 14,613.-History:...
.
The county council is governed by the Local Government Act 2001
Local Government Act 2001
The Local Government Act, 2001 was enacted by the Oireachtas of the Republic of Ireland on 21 July 2001. Most of the provisions of the Act came into operation on 1 January 2002....
. The county is divided into five local electoral area
Local electoral area
A local electoral area is a sub-division of a county and city-level local government used for electoral purposes in Ireland. Each local electoral area consists of a number of lower-level units known as district electoral divisions...
s and has 25 councillors who are elected every five years by single transferable vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
. The county administration is headed by a county manager, currently Peter Carey.
Councillors
For the purpose of elections Laois is divided into five local electoral areas: Borris-in-OssoryBorris-in-Ossory
Borris-in-Ossory is a village in west County Laois, Ireland. Bypassed by the M7 motorway on 28 May, 2010, the village is situated on the R445 road close to the County Tipperary border between the towns of Mountrath and Roscrea.-Features:...
(6), Emo
Emo, County Laois
Emo is a village in County Laois, Ireland. It is located near Portlaoise on the R422 regional road just off the M7 Dublin–Limerick motorway.The late 18th century village of Emo originally sprang up around the gates of Emo Court...
(4), Luggacurren (4), Mountmellick
Mountmellick
Other than that its a 15th-century settlement on the narrow Owenass river with an encampment on its banks at Irishtown. Overlooking this valley with its trees and wildlife was a small church called Kilmongan which was closed by the Penal Laws in 1640...
(4) and Port Laoise
Port Laoise
Portlaoise or Port Laoise , historically spelled Port Laoighise or Portlaoighise, is the county town of County Laois in the midlands of Ireland. The population was 14,613.-History:...
(7).
2009 Seats summary
| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| Fine Gael Fine Gael Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000... |
12 | |
| Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál... |
8 | |
| Labour Party Labour Party (Ireland) The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish... |
1 | |
| Sinn Féin Sinn Féin Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970... |
1 | |
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... s |
3 | |
Councillors by electoral area
This list reflects the order in which councillors were elected on 5 June 2009.2011 co-option
| Elected to 31st Dáil | Electoral area | Party | Co-optee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Stanley Brian Stanley Brian Stanley is an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He was elected as a Teachta Dála for the Laois–Offaly constituency at the 2011 general election, after the 7th count. He serves as Sinn Féin's Spokesperson on Environment, Community and Local Government... |
Port Laoise Port Laoise Portlaoise or Port Laoise , historically spelled Port Laoighise or Portlaoighise, is the county town of County Laois in the midlands of Ireland. The population was 14,613.-History:... |
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970... |
Alan Hand | |
See also
- Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898The Local Government Act 1898 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that established a system of local government in Ireland similar to that already created for England, Wales and Scotland by legislation in 1888 and 1889...
- Local government in the Republic of IrelandLocal government in the Republic of IrelandLocal government functions in the Republic of Ireland are mostly exercised by thirty-four local authorities, termed county or city councils, which cover the entire territory of the state. The area under the jurisdiction of each of these authorities corresponds to the area of each of the 34 LAU I...