Tag Archives: Cathy McCafferty

HARSH words and some insults were traded at Tuesday night’s meeting of the town council, as the emotive issue of high commercial rates for businesses was aired yet again. Independent Cathy McCafferty put forward a motion calling on the county council to rescind fees charged at recycling centres, significantly reduce commercial rates and calling on the Minister for either Finance or the Environment to clarify which specific local services the local property tax is supporting. However, her own voting record was queried by Councillor Patricia McCarthy, who noted that the Derry native had backed increasing the town charge for Shannon from what was originally proposed in the draft budget for 2014. Councillor McCafferty was one of a majority of councillors who last month voted to reduce the town charge from 2.11 to 2.06. However, the original proposal from the council executive had been to cut it to 1.90, before a majority of the members opted to up it, to provide …

THERE is a very large demand for social housing in Shannon, this week’s meeting of the town council heard, while some of the members said there is a need for new development in the town. Councillor Cathy McCafferty put forward a motion asking for information on the number of applicants and their dependants on the waiting list; the total number of vacant houses in Shannon returned to use this year, the total number of vacant houses in the town, the average time between the council acquiring a vacant house until it is let once again and the number of social houses retrofitted for energy efficiency in Shannon this year. In a written reply, Liam O’Connor of the county council’s housing section stated there are 303 approved applicants for social housing support who have Shannon as their first preference. The number of applicants and dependants combined is 827. However, he stated, “It is likely that a significant proportion of these applicants …

DEBATE and disagreement broke out over the scale of the rat problem in Shannon at Tuesday’s town council meeting. There have been numerous complaints about the amount of rats going around the town in recent weeks but at Tuesday’s meeting, there were suggestions that the problem isn’t as bad as has been claimed, something some of the members angrily refuted. At the meeting, Councillor Sean McLoughlin put forward a motion asking that County Council carry out rat baiting on a regular basis in Shannon and for the council to clean out any place where rats might nest. Councillor Cathy McCafferty had another motion requesting that members be informed of what arrangements the council had entered into with regard to pest/rodent control since the last local elections in 2009. The written response to Councillor McLoughlin’s motion from senior executive engineer Eugene O’Shea said Shannon isn’t worse than any other county. “While it is impossible to inspect all possible locations where rodents …

“RATS the size of cats” are causing issues for residents in various parts of Shannon. This week’s meeting of the town council heard of one case where a child cannot be let play on a lawn because of the amount of vermin. The size might be a slight exaggeration but the scale of the problem isn’t. The matter was raised by Councillor Cathy McCafferty, who called on Clare County Council to “take urgent and immediate action to address the rodent problem in Aidan and Finian Parks that is a cause of much concern for residents”. She said several people have contacted her about the issue. “Over the summer, we had a number of complaints over the rat infestation in Aidan and Finian Parks and nothing appears to have been done.” The independent councillor wasn’t impressed with the response shown by Clare County Council.  “I understand that one of the engineers responded to a complaint but his solution was to tell …

“RATS the size of cats” are making themselves known and are causing issues for residents in various parts of  Shannon. The town council heard this week of one case where a child can’t be let play on a lawn because of the amount of vermin, while there are issues in a few parts of the town. The matter was raised by Councillor Cathy McCafferty, who called on Clare County Council to “take urgent and immediate action to address the rodent problem in Aidan Park  and Finian Park that is a cause of much concern for residents.” She said that several people had contacted her about the issue. “Over the summer we had a number of complaints over the rat infestation in Aidan and Finian Parks and nothing appears to have been done.”