Omagh District Council
Template:NI district Omagh District Council is a Local Council in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. It has headquarters in the town of Omagh, the county town of Tyrone. The Council area is about 440 square miles, making it the second largest local council area in Northern Ireland with a population just over 50,000 (25,000 of which live in Omagh town). Apart from Omagh the area contains smaller towns including Drumquin, Dromore, Trillick, Fintona, Beragh, Carrickmore and Sixmilecross.
The council area (especially Omagh town) has seen significant growth in the past few years, with the population rising by the most in years. Many housing estates and shopping areas have sprung up in recent times as well.
Population:
- 1982: 44,417
- 1992: 46,372
- 2002: 48,919
- 2004: 50,082
- Population Density - 44 per km²
- Home Ownership - 72%
- Unemployment - 4.5%
- Car Ownership (Households) - 75%
- 16-74 Population In Work - 56%
The Council was established in 1973 and had 20 Councillors but following a review of local government boundaries in the early 1980's, the number of Councillors representing the district was increased to 21. Omagh District Council consists of three electoral areas, Omagh Town, Mid Tyrone and West Tyrone. In the last elections in 2005 members were elected from the following political parties: 10 Sinn Fein, 3 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), 3 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), 3 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and 2 Independents. The election of Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Council takes place annually in June. The current Chairman is Councillor Sean Begley (Sinn Féin) and the Vice Chairman is Councillor Peter Kelly (Sinn Féin).
2005 Election results
| Party | seats | change +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|
| style="background-color: Template:Sinn Féin/meta/color" |• | Sinn Féin | 10 | +2 |
| style="background-color: Template:Democratic Unionist Party/meta/color" |• | Democratic Unionist Party | 3 | +1 |
| style="background-color: Template:Ulster Unionist Party/meta/color" |• | Ulster Unionist Party | 3 | = |
| style="background-color: Template:Social Democratic and Labour Party/meta/color" |• | Social Democratic and Labour Party | 3 | -3 |
| style="background-color: Template:Independent/meta/color" |• | Independent | 2 | = |
The next election is due to take place in May 2009.
In both the Westminster Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly, Omagh is completely contained within the West Tyrone constituency.
See Also: Local Councils in Northern Ireland