TRALEE’S new Mayor said a priority during his year in the position is to establish a Jobs Taskforce for the town to attract employment.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Johnnie Wall was proposed by his party colleague, Cllr Mikey Sheehy, to succeed Cllr Terry O’Brien at the Tralee Municipal District AGM on Thursday morning, held at Kerry County Council buildings. Cllr Mikey Sheehy is Deputy Mayor.

Cllr Wall was first elected to Tralee Town Council in 1985 and this is his sixth term as Cathaoirleach/Mayor of the town.

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In his address to fellow councillors, Mayor Wall said it was an honour to be appointed Mayor and looked forward to the challenges of the coming year in office.

Mayor Wall and his fellow councillors paid tribute to the outgoing Mayor, Cllr Terry O’Brien, who, it was all agreed, did an excellent job in the position during what was a most challenging year.

He said the past year has been bleak when it came to job losses in Tralee in particular with the loss of the Debenhams Retail outlet in Manor and the Borg Warner facility in Monavalley.

“We appear to be at a loss and unable to attract inward, quality investment and employment,” he said.

“It is my contention that we will not get any extra employment in the area, if we are reliant on an outside agency to bring it in, we will have to do it ourselves. It’s high time for Tralee to set up its own ‘Jobs Task Force’ and this is one project I would like to bring to fruition during my tenure as Mayor,” he said.

“Such a group, if properly constituted, should have, in my opinion, direct linkage to and expertise in our Tax and Employment Laws, the local property situation, communications, ‘quality of life’ in Tralee and Kerry and an in-depth knowledge of the courses and facilities that our Munster Technology University has to offer.”

Mayor Wall also said he would like to see more housing built over the coming year
and additional land bought to ensure that an ongoing supply of social housing across the MD.

He hoped for the greater provision of on and off street parking, near the town centre and the facilitation of ‘weather proof’, covered areas within the central zone, specifically The Square.

Mayor Wall also suggested showcasing Tralee Town Park by means of a mini-festival of celebration to be held during late August.

He looked forward to the return of normality, “when people can socialise in a free and hospitable manner and we can return to being the sociable people we once were.”

“I would like to thank my colleagues for placing their trust in me to represent the Municipality as Mayor, for the coming year, and I pledge to them and to the people of Tralee Municipal District to give the task my all,” concluded Mayor Wall.