Monaghan County Council is to progress with plans to develop new Civic Offices.
The decision comes after a special meeting this morning to discuss the development on a new space in Monaghan town.
An Office Accommodation Working Group was first established in March 2018 to undertake a review of Monaghan County Council’s civic buildings to see if there’s a need for new facilities.
For this, the Town Hall on Dublin Street, the Glen Building, the Motor Tax office and the M:Tek Buildings were examined.
It found that the current buildings didn’t provide quality and inclusive customer services, weren’t accessible to all, were spread out at different locations in the town and would cost an estimated €900,000 per year more to operate than a modern space.
The presentation outlined how building a more energy efficient space with a fixed rate loan over 30 years would save the local authority money.
Cathaoirleach of Monaghan County Council, Colm Carthy proposed that they move forward with plans to develop a new headquarters in Rooskey, to futureproof services for years to come.
This was seconded by Councillor Raymond Aughey who said there’ll be economic benefits to come from the new offices and the regeneration of Dublin Street.
Other councillors rowed in behind the proposal saying Monaghan town has lagged behind the likes of Cavan, Longford and Letterkenny; that the savings on rent is equivalent to a family getting a first mortgage and that Monaghan County Council will be able to provide all services under one roof.
A counter-proposal was put forward by Independents Paudge Connolly and Seamus Treanor, who questioned if the investment made economic sense, especially with businesses in the county being hit by Brexit and Covid.
They also questioned the Grant Thornton Cost-Benefit Analysis and added that the people of Monaghan would rather see money spent on issues like flooding than “building castles in the cloud”.
Chief Executive Eamonn O’Sullivan said it will provide a better place for the people of Monaghan to interact with the council, and will be costed for “function over form” rather than being a “trophy room”.
The motion to move forward in the plans was passed by 17 votes to 2.
