About the Council - Waterford City & County Council

Waterford City and County Council (Comhairle Cathrach agus Contae Phort Láirge) is the authority responsible for local government in the City & County of Waterford, Ireland.

The organisation came into operation on 1st June 2014 after that year’s local elections, and is a merger of Waterford City Council and Waterford County Council, as brought about under the provisions of the Local Government Reform Act 2014.

Our Mission Statement

Our mission is to make Waterford the best possible place for all its people and for those that wish to live, visit, work or invest here.

Governance

The City and County Council is headed by Chief Executive, Mr. Seán McKeown. It comprises five (5) directorates, each with a different area(s) of responsibility. Day to day management of the organisation is carried out by over 850 staff under the leadership of the Senior Management Team.

The Corporate Headquarters are based in City Hall, The Mall, Waterford, X91 PK14.

Seán McKeown, Chief Executive Senior Management Team

Both the Senior Management Team and the Elected Members are “Designated Public Officials” under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015.

Information on the services, responsibilities and functions of the organisation can be found here.

Plenary Council

The Plenary Council refers to Waterford City & County Council as a whole, it being the sum of the constituent districts of Comeragh, Dungarvan/Lismore and the Metropolitan District of Waterford.

The Plenary Council has 32 elected members, each representing one of the above named districts. The current members of Council were elected in the local elections of 2024.

The Plenary Council meets once per month, with meetings scheduled for the second Thursday of every month. Venues alternate between the Council Chambers in Waterford City and those in Dungarvan. There is no meeting of the Plenary Council in August.

Current Mayor

The current plenary Mayor of Waterford City & County is Cllr. Jason Murphy (FF).

To contact the mayor, please email mayor@waterfordcouncil.ie

The process for inviting the Mayor to attend a function is outlined in the document below.

Mayoral Protocol

Strategic Policy Committees

SPCs

Waterford City & County Council operates 5 Strategic Policy Committees (SPCs), each served by the relevant Director of Service.

The Chairs of the SPCs are selected by the Council members at the AGM. The SPCs are sub-committees of Waterford City and Council and must abide by the Standing Orders and rules of procedure of the Council.

CPG

The Corporate Policy Group is a formal committee of the Council, consisting of the Mayor of the day and the Chairs of the 5 Strategic Policy Committees (SPCs).

Plans, Reports & Strategies

The many Plans, Reports and Strategy documents that the Council produces can be found in our documents section.

Openness & Transparency

The Openness & Transparency section contains information on Ethics, Freedom of Information, Procurement, Protected Disclosures and so on.