Roscommon County Council (Ireland)

The May 2026 meeting centers on procurement-related housing regeneration grants and public realm funding. Key items include expansion of vacant property refurbishment grants (Above the Shop and VPRG schemes) with substantial per-unit caps, allocation of €75k Tidytown grants to 58 groups, scrutiny of staff capacity to deliver new schemes, and governance items such as LCDC representation and ESB supervision roles. The council also considers advocacy for unfinished estates funding and related wastewater infrastructure support.

This meeting identified and acted on two procurement-related items: (1) adoption of a burial grounds budget policy for 2026, defining a dedicated funding envelope for major repairs (25,000 per municipal district annually) and emergency repairs (7,500 per municipal district annually) and outlining processes for prioritization, approval, and delivery of works; (2) a continuing revenue commitment to a public health prevention program, Planet Youth, with Roscommon CC contributing €3,150 per annum to Iceland-based SLA funding. The discussion also touched on the broader planning variation process under the National Planning Framework, but no tender or contract awards were decided at this session.

Key procurement-related items: (1) disposal/lease of council lands with multiple negotiated prices (sale of 90k for 2 acres; 60k for 1.63 acres; 25k for 0.5 acres; 3k for 0.25 ha; 23.2k/year lease for Greener Ideas). (2) Local Link transport: presentation on Local Link operations under PSO funding, with no new services planned in 2026 due to funding constraints, despite growth in passenger numbers (over 130k weekly journeys nationally by 2024/25). (3) Cemetery grants: 2026 cemetery improvement/maintenance scheme set at 90k (up from 70k previously), with up to three MD-funded projects per year. The meeting also touched on SNA allocations and related education policy discussions.

The Roscommon council discussed a government-led Athlone 2040 master plan led by Ballymore, including a push for SDZ-style powers and CPOs to fast-track planning, with a formal endorsement to the Taoiseach. A separate debate proposed changing Part V housing policy (10% of the 20% Part V allocation to social housing and 10% to affordable housing) and referred to the Housing SPC for deeper analysis. Ballymore also announced an apprenticeship bursary launching soon to build local construction skills. The discussions signal substantial procurement and infrastructure opportunities across education, housing, transport, and energy, contingent on government support and timely policy changes.

This Roscommon County Council monthly meeting (December 2025) discussed several key procurement and service matters including: adoption of a vacant property rates scheme to tackle dereliction in towns and villages (implementation planned for 2027 with discretionary exemptions for owner-occupiers); launch of the council's first affordable housing scheme with 6 units available in Q1 2026; nomination of councillor to Roscommon Sports Partnership board; fire service communications resilience concerns regarding the national Tetra system backup power failures during recent storms; and matters arising including the N61 road upgrade submission to TII and potential Ballymore Properties development presentation. The council also addressed the Mercosur trade deal concerns regarding beef imports and standards.