Ashbourne loses out in scaling back of county council offices

As Meath County Council prepares to move administrative services currently provided in the Ashbourne Civic Offices for the Dunshaughlin electoral area to its offices on the Drumree Road, Dunshaughlin, there have been calls to ensure the building is fully used by the local community. Meath County Council announced last week that from 1st March, its administrative services in Ashbourne would be moved to Dunshaughlin. Spokesman, Bill Sweeney said Meath County Council was fully committed to providing a range of services to the public from its offices in Ashbourne and to expanding the range of services in co-operation with other agencies. He said the council was currently engaging with other organisations who provide a service to the community, to explore how best to optimise the use of the offices. The Ashbourne branch library will continue to be based at Killegland Square providing a full range of library and community services. "The state of the art library is one of the busiest in the country with some 5,000 members and over 100,000 visits a year. The branch provided over 27,000 internet sessions to the public last year and accommodates a wide range of community groups in its dedicated meeting space on the first floor," he said. Cllr Joe Bonner said there was a hug demand for space from community groups in Ashbourne and the building at Killegland Square would be an ideal location for many of them. He said the council was also looking for other agencies who could provide services from the building. "We have a growing population with an ever-increasing demand for community space," he said. Cllr Bonner said that among the agencies that had also been suggested could operate from the offices were FAS and the VEC. Cllr Niamh McGowan said she hoped the premises would be for community facilities which would benefit the entire area. Cllr Nick Killian said that while he accept the council's decision it left the second largest populated town in Meath without an administrative setting, which spoke volumes as to how Ashbourne was viewed from Navan. "I have stated for years that as far as the administration of the county is concerned, we in the largest populated area, the Dunshaughlin Electoral area, are outside the pale, with the border finishing at Garlow Cross. "I am calling on the senior management and officials to fill the gap in Ashbourne as quickly as possible," he said. Cllr Killian said a local Social Welfare office could be provided there to stop unemployed residents from travelling to Finglas or Navan to sign on. He also suggested that FAS would also be an ideal candidate to start up a training centre there.