Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council welcomed its new Chief Executive at its monthly meeting last night.
Frank Curran left his role as Chief Executive of Wicklow County Council in December to take the top job at Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown.
Speaking at last night's meeting, Mr Curran said the job is "a great honour" and he is "delighted to be coming to such a vibrant and progressive county".
He said: "One thing I've found over the last few weeks is that the priorities I saw are very similar to the priorities as the members see them.
"The Cathaoirleach mentioned the County Development Plan and it's great to see so many really good policies come out of that around healthy placemaking, liveable towns and villages and economic opportunity.
"Contact me at any stage. if I can help, I will."
Fine Gael Councillor Barry Saul said the council are "very lucky to have attracted a candidate of this calibre" to the job.
He said: "You'll be the fourth permanent Chief Executive that I have worked with and the most successful ones, in my opinion, have developed strong relationships with councillors. The most successful ones have had a door-open policy when dealing with councillors.
"The role of councillors over the last decade has been reduced and powers withdrawn. We need to encourage and empower our staff, our management team and our councillors.
"We need to re-establish relationships with the Chief Executive, management team and our councillors.
"This leadership needs to come from you, Frank. I have no doubt given your track record and your previous stints in Wicklow that you will be able to deliver on that."
Councillor Tom Kivlehan welcomed Mr Curran on behalf of Green Party councillors.
He said: "We have challenges within the county, whether it's housing or climate change.
"We have declared an emergency on climate change and biodiversity in this council, back in 2019. It's one of the big focuses that we have within the council and I know it will be a focus for yourself as well. It's high on your priority list."
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