CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL ‘LOCAL AUTHORITY OF THE YEAR’ 2022 
Clare County Council was named ‘Local Authority of the Year 2022’ at the Chambers
Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards. The Banner County also picked up category awards for the ‘Festival of the Year’ and ‘Sustaining the Arts’, and was shortlisted in five other categories. LOCAL GOVERNMENT AWARD WINNERS FOR 2022
Clare County Council scooped the ‘Local
Authority of the Year’ accolade for 2022 at
the Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local
Government Awards in Dublin, as the 19th
Annual Awards ceremony in November
2022, in association with the Department
of Housing, Local Government & Heritage,
again served to showcase the best of local
government in Ireland. ACTIVE CITIES FOR AN ACTIVE FUTURE
A new national campaign
has been launched to get as
many people participating in
physical activity as possible
in the country’s biggest
urban cities. Sport Ireland’s
‘Active Cities’ project is
calling on everyone across
Dublin, Cork, Limerick,
Galway and Waterford to
create more opportunities
for participation in sport
and physical activity through
collaboration, partnership
and planning. €50M FUNDING TO DEVELOP LOCAL COMMUNITY PROJECTS
The new €50 million Community Recognition
Fund will specifically support communities in
Ireland that are hosting people from Ukraine
and other countries. Applications are now
being sought from local authorities based
on engagement with local communities
and clear targeting of proposed projects to
areas with the highest level of need. ROYAL COUNTY’S LATEST SOCIAL HOUSING SCHEME IS A GEM!
Gem Construction played a crucial role in
the latest development of 96 social homes
at The Willows in Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath
– the first social housing project of this year
for the Royal County – and it forms a key
part of the ‘Housing for All’ strategy, aimed
at providing long-term, secure homes to
those households in need. THE LDA – OPENING DOORS TO AFFORDABLE HOMES
The Land Development Agency (LDA)
is committed to meeting the need for
affordable homes for purchase and
rent across Ireland, and the Affordable
Living programme, which it launched
in October 2022, now aims to meet
this need by providing homes for both
purchase and rent, which is a core
objective of the Agency. LACK OF EV CHARGE POINTS IN NORTHERN AND WESTERN REGION
The number of publicly
available electric vehicle
charge points is notably
low in rural counties,
according to research
released by the Northern
and Western Regional
Assembly (NWRA). The
study revealed that the
target of one million
electric vehicles by 2030
is not achievable without
proper charging point
infrastructure. MID EAST COUNTY COUNCILS UNITE TO MITIGATE AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
As climate change continues to pose
global challenges coupled with significant
local impacts, Wicklow, Meath and Kildare
County Councils have collaborated to
address their combined climate mitigation
ambitions through the formation of the
Mid East Energy Unit, which was officially
launched at Wicklow County Council’s
head office in December 2022. PATHFINDER PROJECT FOR SOUTH DUBLIN ON THE RIGHT TRACK
South Dublin County Council will focus on the Dublin 24 Rapid Build and Castletymon
Neighbourhood Scheme, which will include rapid delivery of a 11km cycle network in
Tallaght/D24, and the development of Castletymon as a 10-minute neighbourhood
via walking and cycling infrastructure, with public realm improvements. DÚN LAOGHAIRE COASTS TO VICTORY WITH GREAT TOWN AWARD
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council picked up the Great Town 2022 award for Dún
Laoghaire, which was chosen by the Great Places Urbanism Awards for the Coastal Mobility
Cycle Route, which encourages local commuter and recreational cycling, public realm
improvements; connecting urban villages, bathing places, walks and parks along the coast. DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL ROLLS OUT ACTIVE TRAVEL NETWORK FOR CAPITAL
Dublin City Council has rolled out a series of proposals for an active travel network to
transform the way people walk, wheel and cycle throughout the capital, and has a timeline
of up to ten years to deliver over 80 infrastructure projects along the 310km network.