Balbriggan Town Council is the unit of local government

Local government in the Republic of Ireland

Local government functions in the Republic of Ireland are mostly exercised by thirty-four local authorities, termed county or city councils, which cover the entire territory of the state. The area under the jurisdiction of each of these authorities corresponds to the area of each of the 34 LAU I...

 responsible for the governance of the town of Balbriggan

Balbriggan

Balbriggan is a town in the northern part of the administrative county of Fingal, within County Dublin, Ireland. The 2006 census population was 15,559 for Balbriggan and its environs.- Name :...

, in the county of Fingal

Fingal

Fingal is a county in Ireland. It is one of three smaller counties into which County Dublin was divided in 1994. With its county seat located in Swords, it has a population of 239,992 according to the 2006 census...

 in Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

.

History

The town boundaries were extended by Ministerial Order from 1 February 2009 by Statutory Instrument 17 of 2009, the Balbriggan Town Boundary Alteration Order 2009. The council has a history dating back to 1854 (as the Town Commission), representing the people of Balbriggan in a civic and executive capacity. It is not a planning authority unlike some other towns governed by a town council and therefore does not make a development plan or have the power to grant or refuse planning permission. Fingal County Council

Fingal County Council

Fingal County council is the local authority for the county of Fingal in Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that comprised the former Dublin County Council before its abolition and one of four councils in the Dublin Region. The county seat is in Swords, with another major office...

 are responsible for land use planning in the town.

The Town Council is funded in part by commercial rates levied to business in Balbriggan and from a charge to Fingal County Council. The is meets with community groups, Garda Síochána

Garda Síochána

, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...

 and all levels of local and national government. The council act as the organising body for the St Patrick's Day Parade, Christmas lighting and Town Awards.

The election of Councillors takes place every 5 years; the next election is due in June 2014.

People

The Council is staffed with a Town Manager, Town Clerk, clerical staff and the Councillors.

Town Manager: Peter Caulfield

Town Clerk: Brian Murray

Town Councillors:

• Frank Snowe, Cathaoirleach (Chairman) – Independent
  Independent (politician)
  In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
  
  
• Grainne Kilmurray, Leas Cathaoirleach (Deputy Chairman) – Labour Party
  Labour Party (Ireland)
  The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
  
  
• Sean Browne – Independent
  Independent (politician)
  In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
  
  
• Monica Harford – Labour Party
  Labour Party (Ireland)
  The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
  
  
• Terry Kelleher – Socialist Party
  Socialist Party (Ireland)
  The Socialist Party is a socialist political party active in Ireland. It is a member of the Committee for a Workers' International .Formerly known as Militant Tendency, then Militant Labour, it adopted the name The Socialist Party in 1996. From their foundation in 1972 until the 1980s, members of...
  
  
• Grainne Maguire – Independent
  Independent (politician)
  In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
  
  
• Dermot Murray – Fianna Fáil
  Fianna Fáil
  Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
  
  
• Larry Murray – Fine Gael
  Fine Gael
  Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
  
  
• Peader O'Kelly – Labour Party
  Labour Party (Ireland)
  The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
  
  

Meetings

The council meets on a monthly basis at the Town Hall in Balbriggan, where motions, questions and all correspondence is debated and voted upon.

Partner towns

Balbriggan Town Council has established Protocols of collaboration with:

• St. Wendel
  Sankt Wendel
  St. Wendel is a municipality in northeastern Saarland. It is situated on the river Blies 36 km northeast of Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland, and is named after Saint Wendelin of Trier.- Geography :...
  
  , Germany
  Germany
  Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
  
   – since 2007
• Belmar
  Belmar, New Jersey
  Belmar is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,794. The Borough of Belmar is governed under the Faulkner Act system of municipal government....
  
  , New Jersey
  New Jersey
  New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
  
  , USA – since 2008