The new Mayor of Tramore is Fine Gael Councillor, Ray Hayden, seen here at the town’s Civic Offices with his wife, Eilis, and children Conor (4), Amy (3) and Rebecca (6months) following his election. Photo: Gavin Downey
Raymond Hayden (FG) is Tramore’s new Mayor and Pat O’Callaghan (Lab) is Deputy Mayor for the coming year. Both were elected unopposed at Tuesday night’s AGM of the Town Council.
Cllr. Hayden, first elected in 2004, represents the Council on the SPC for Transport and Infrastructure and the County Development Board. An ex-chairperson of Tramore Bay Conservation Group, he has a degree in economics and finance, a Msc in Logistics and Supply Chain Management and a PGDip Law. He is employed in Waterford Port.
He is married to Eilis and is father to Conor (4), Amy (3) and Rebecca (6 months).
In his inaugural address, the Mayor referred to the town’s growing population (9,634) and retail base and said the development of new housing units and estates was the defining challenge facing the Council in the coming years.
He said the town’s environment had been transformed for the better, closure of the local landfill site and opening of the treatment plant at Riverstown being crucial in that regard.
He made reference to the pending opening of an environmentally friendly Tesco store which, he said, would be a source of great pride to the people of the resort and as Mayor he looked forward to that and to the ongoing development of the town’s retail facilities.
Development of the industrial park at Riverstown was vital, he said, as was completion of the Riverstown Relief Road within the next 18 months. It was essential that the efforts of the working group on the town’s traffic management plan continued in order to ensure efficient traffic flow and create additional parking space.
With a quarter of its population under 14 it was vital that the town secured more investment in education and he expressed disappointment that the Department had so far failed to deliver on its promise to provide an amalgamated secondary school. Additional primary school buildings were also urgently needed and the downturn in the economy must not be used as an excuse for failure in that regard.
Finally, the new Mayor said the proposed town park would be an essential ingredient in the ongoing regeneration of the resort, while he undertook to push until successful for a second playground.
Tributes
There were glowing tributes to outgoing Mayor Joe Conway, for the dedication, energy, flair and panache he brought to the role.
There was a giggle when Dan Cowman, having told him he did an excellent job, added that, fair play, he had also “promoted himself well”.
