The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
CAPPA playground in Kilrush had to be closed for a few days from last Friday due to safety concerns.
At last Thursday night’s meeting of the town council, Councillor Paul Moroney produced pictures showing the playground in a state of some disrepair and he was critical of how expenditure on the playground had been used.
Councillor Moroney put forward a motion requesting a breakdown on how much was spent on upgrade works at the playground. In the report from clerk, John Corry, it showed that a total of €45,124.96 had been spent, with the largest payment of €19,550 going to Cavanagh Playground Equipment.
Councillor Moroney said he was “staggered” that so much had been spent on playground equipment, as the pictures he presented showed a number of serious faults.
He said that the state of the playground was “absolutely disgraceful” and he asked if there had been any proper monitoring of the work. “Did anyone go out and view it after it was done?” he asked.
While engineer, Derek Troy said that padding on the ground had been a major expense, Councillor Moroney said that this had been rendered useless, as there were stones all over it now.
He said the €45,000 might not be available for some time again and he reiterated his view that the checks carried out hadn’t been adequate. “If someone was doing a job on my house they wouldn’t be paid until it was done properly.”
Councillor Liam O’Looney said that the problem with the stones should be looked into, while he said further investment may be needed going forward.
The temporary closure of the playground was suggested by Councillor Tom Prendeville. “We have a duty of care to young children and the law of negligence kicks in fairly fast,” he said.
“It has been brought to our notice now and it should close until it’s in a state of repair so that it’s not likely to cause an injury to any child.”
Following an assessment on Friday, the playground was closed but on Monday evening a Kilrush Town Council spokesperson said it had been reopened following repair works.
