The CEO of Kilkenny County Council’s stepping down.
Colette Byrne’s informed the local authority that she’s not seeking an extension of her contract with her seven years up in the coming months.
She was the first female to hold the position locally but now is set to depart in the next six months having served the public at points across the country for four decades.
Cllr Joe Malone’s says the announcement’s a blow telling KCLR News “Yeah, it was a bit of a shock, she just told us that she was stepping down from her role as CEO, she started I think it was August in 2015 and her contract was for seven years and, legislation she has to let us know what she’s doing six months out so she’s decided that she’s going to step down, on my own behalf I wish her well, I always got on well with her, anything I needed done I always had a line to her and I’m sure that’s the same with all the other councillors and it’s a big shock and a big blow”.
He adds “She put a big stamp on the Brewery Site, the Abbey Quarter, the Borough Council at the time and the County Council took it over from Diageo, think it was about €2million we paid for about 12-14 acres and there’s big plans and people wanted it kinda done straight away, she got involved and took her time and we’re still not there but there’s a lot of progress, that’s going to be her legacy I’d say, a lot of good work taking place there”.