Brendan Hegarty, the Clerk and Chief Executive of the new Fermanagh and Omagh Council
Current Fermanagh District Council Chief Executive Brendan Hegarty has confirmed he has been appointed the Clerk and Chief Executive of the new Fermanagh and Omagh Council and local councillor Thomas O’Reilly is the new Chair to the Fermanagh and Omagh Statutory Transition Committee .
He told the Herald how he is looking forward to his new role “working with elected representatives and the existing Councils, on the immediate priority, which will be to achieve a successful transition over to the new Council in April 2015.”
The role will command a significantly higher salary than Mr Hegarty’s current position with the new payscale for the chairman position in the 11 new super councils, set to begin operation in 2015, between £95,000 and £110,000
Mr Hegarty was one of a number of candidates who interviewed for the advertised position.
Mr Hegarty will start work as Clerk and Chief Executive designate in the near future to lead the preparations and convergence work for the new council in the run up to it taking over from the current two councils on April 1 2015. He will then take up the position of Clerk and Chief Executive of the new Council from this date.
Environment Minister Mark H. Durkan welcomed Mr Hegarty to his new role: “I extend my warm congratulations to Brendan. I also welcome the appointments of Councillor Thomas O’Reilly as Chair to the Fermanagh and Omagh Statutory Transition Committee and Councillor Sean Begley as Vice-Chair.
“As the new structures are being put in place, which will transform local government, the real drive behind this transformation will be the leadership and partnership working of elected members and Council staff. These appointments will enable the transition to continue at a pace.
He added: “It will be their dedication, determination and drive, their courage and imagination, their goodwill and generosity of spirit which will deliver a much more effective, efficient, citizen centred and responsive system of local government.”
Elections to the new 11 councils will take place on May 22 2014. At this stage the new councils will operate in ‘shadow form’ until they take over on 1 April 2015. During this period it will be business as usual for the current 26 councils.
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