Carlow County Council was named Local Authority of the Year at the Chambers Ireland Annual Excellence in Local Government Awards on 12th of November 2015, held in association with the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government. The 12th annual awards ceremony recognises and celebrates the best of Local Government.

Ian Talbot, Chief Executive, Chambers Ireland said, “In spite of the many challenges they have faced in recent years, Local Authorities continue to deliver innovative and necessary projects that benefit and support local communities. It is an honour to host these awards and recognise the hard work that takes place at the core of local government across the country. I want to congratulate Carlow County Council, the sixteen winners, the many shortlisted organisations but also just as importantly, the people who made all these projects and activities happen.

“Carlow County Council has been recognised for its commitment to the best possible public service standards for the people and businesses of Carlow. Carlow is a Council that has been prepared to “think big”, has shown ambition for the county and has delivered on that basis.”

In presenting the awards, Alan Kelly, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government commented, “These awards are an opportunity for each local authority to showcase to the public the hard work being undertaken in the community year on year and the real benefits being delivered. I congratulate all who delivered the nominated projects for work excellently well done and encourage the local government sector to come forward next year with even more examples of the good that is being done at local level.”

There were sixteen awards presented on the night plus the overall award for Local Authority of the Year. Individual awards were sponsored by: Waterford Crystal, Eirgrid, Healthy Ireland (Department of Health), Fáilte Ireland, ERP, GloHealth, ESB Networks, Zurich, Shell E&P, AIB, CBRE and An Post. Specially commissioned trophies designed by Waterford Crystal were presented to the winners on the night.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Supporting Active Communities sponsored by Eirgrid: 

• Monaghan County Council – The Peace Link

Best Practice in Citizen Engagement sponsored by ESB Networks:

• Fingal County Council – Fingal Age Friendly Facilities

Health & Wellbeing sponsored by Healthy Ireland:

• Dublin City Council – The Ballybough Community, Youth and Fitness Centre

Supporting Tourism sponsored by Fáilte Ireland:

• Carlow County Council – Tourism Planning and Execution

Promoting Economic Development sponsored by Eirgrid:

• Cork City Council – ‘I wish’ stands for Inspire young Women to Investigate opportunities in STEM

Local Authority Innovation sponsored by AIB:

• Wexford County Council – Environmental Incidents – Mobilised Investigation and Management

Sustainable Environment sponsored by ERP:

• Cork County Council – Cork County Hall Campus Beyond 2020

Smarter Travel sponsored by Waterford Crystal:

• Mayo County Council – Westport Smarter Travel (WST)

Best Library Service sponsored by CBRE:

• South Dublin County Council – Creative Campus: Supporting our second level students in South Dublin

Sustaining the Arts sponsored by Shell E&P Ireland:

• South Dublin County Council – TENDERFOOT: A volume of plays by & for young people

Joint Local Authority Initiative sponsored by GloHealth:

• Donegal County Council – SPACEial is an acronym for ‘Spatial Planning and Collaborative Exchange of Information and Learning’

Festival of the Year sponsored by Fáilte Ireland:

• Limerick City and County Council – A Giant’s Journey, Limerick, September 2014

Parks and Recreation sponsored by Healthy Ireland:

• Wicklow County Council – Arklow Duck Pond, Nature Walk & Leisure Area

Outstanding Customer Service sponsored by Zurich:

• Cork County Council – Your Good Self: Cork’s Positive Self Help Programme

Enhancing the Urban Environment sponsored by ERP:

• Wexford County Council – New Ross Quayfront redevelopment

Heritage and Built Environment sponsored by An Post:

• Cavan County Council – World War 1 Experience at Cavan County Museum