The new mayor, who took over the chains of office from Cllr Liam Walsh (SF) at Carrick Town Council's annual meeting on Monday, listed a rates hike freeze among the top priorities she will be campaigning for during her term in office.

The Fianna Fail councillor also pledged to do her best, with the support of her council colleagues, to secure jobs for Carrick-on-Suir and attract competitive retail business to the town.

She said she would also be looking to all State agencies, TDs and ministers with responsibility for towns like Carrick-on-Suir for support in tackling the town's high unemployment problem.

And she promised to continue to press for government funding for the Ballylynch Regeneration Scheme.

Cllr Cooney-Sheehan said the people of Carrick-on-Suir wanted change and they got change in the election.

"We had tough times on the council before this election and there will be tough times ahead.

"I was elected for my stand on the issues of no building on flood plains; condemning the supplementary development charges; my great concerns over a bridge coming without any public consultation and, the most controversial of all, letting Heatons slip out of our hands, even though I tried on two occasions unsuccessfully to get it through rezoning".

She warned these issues are still there and will be revisited during her term of office. She also hoped there would be a new energy in this new council to push for more transparency and accountability between council officials, members of the council and the public.

The outspoken councillor, who had many clashes with council management during the council's last term, said she was not on the council to argue for the sake of argument and insisted she was willing to sit down with management and discuss issues with them.

Cllr Cooney-Sheehan was proposed for the mayoralty by party colleague Cllr Kieran Bourke and seconded by Fine Gael Cllr Margaret Croke.

Members of her family and party colleagues Minister of State Martin Mansergh and retired Ballingarry Cllr Susan Meagher were among the observers in the public gallery at the annual meeting.

Newly elected Independent Cllr Richie O'Neill was proposed and seconded as the Deputy Mayor by WUAG Cllr Martin Henzey and Cllr Liam Walsh (SF) respectively.

In an unusual step, a mayoralty voting pact has not been formed within the new council between a majority coalition of councillors.

Instead, the holders of the offices of mayor and deputy mayor for the next five years as well as committee positions have been mutually agreed between the council's nine members.

Cllr O'Neill, who is from Ballylynch, said his main priority will be the regeneration of Ballylynch.