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Tag Archives: Christy Curtin

Ban animal circuses from public land plea

Clare county councillors have been asked to ban animal circuses from performing on public land. However, in a statement, the council said they do not issue permits to visiting circuses. In an open letter to the council, Mullagh resident Betty Fowler said councils in South Dublin, Monaghan, Wicklow, Waterford, Drogheda and Clonakilty have already banned animal circuses from performing locally. “Animals are being caged, transported and made to perform in unnatural ways for the fun and amusement of people. Animals are not on this planet for human entertainment. It distresses me to see circuses like this being given permission to tour this misery around Clare and Ireland,” her letter read. “I am calling on you, as our public representative, to put forward and vote to pass a motion to ban animal circuses on public land in Clare and I look forward to hearing back from you,” Ms Fowler wrote. Independent councillor Christy Curtin said councillors will consider Ms Fowler’s request. However, …

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Councillors call to have recruitment embargo lifted

CALLS were made to have the recruitment embargo on the employment of local authority workers lifted at a meeting of Clare County Council. Councillor Christy Curtin raised a motion calling for an update on staffing and budgetary matters arising from the newly established Municipal District Offices and Local Enterprise Office and Service Centre. Meanwhile, Councillor PJ Ryan asked the council to request the relevant minister to lift the embargo on the employment of local authority workers. Councillor Curtin asked for a time-frame for alignment of road engineering areas with municipal district areas and the implications for delivery of the road and allied infrastructural services. According to Eddie Power senior executive officer at the Human Resources Department of the council, the realignment of the five roads engineering areas to four roads engineering areas to coincide with the new Municipal Districts of Shannon, Ennis, West Clare and Killaloe has been completed. “An adjustment at operational level to the functional areas of SGSS’s …

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Horse trading on Council positions continues

BROAD power sharing of positions of responsibility on Clare County Council between the various political groupings will almost certainly continue over the next five years, although a final agreement has yet to be reached. Talks on how positions, including those of mayor and deputy mayor, are to be allocated began on Tuesday of last week and were continuing on Wednesday evening, with another meeting slated for Thursday morning. It is hoped an agreement will have been reached by the time the new council holds its first meeting this Friday afternoon. Following the local elections, Fianna Fáil has 12 seats, Fine Gael eight, Independents seven and Sinn Féin one. For the purposes of the negotiations, two representatives from Fine Gael, two from Fianna Fáil and two representing Independents/Sinn Féin are in discussions. Wednesday was the ninth time they met. It is understood one of the main stumbling blocks is due to Fine Gael and Independents/Sinn Féin having the same amount of …

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Mulqueen seeks room for new blood

By Owen Ryan WITH local elections looming, Councillor Tony Mulqueen didn’t get any support from his colleagues this week, when he called for new legislation to stop people completing more than three terms, or 15 years, as a county councillor, TD or senator. Giving their backing to such a proposal would, for many members of Clare County Council, effectively say that it would be better if they were not allowed hold their seats, so it was unsurprising that Councillor Mulqueen was the only one who voted in favour of his motion. It was, however, seconded by Councillor Brian Meaney, who presumably wanted to hear what arguments would be put in favour of the motion but, when it came to a vote, he didn’t back the motion. Arguing in favour of his motion, Councillor Mulqueen (who has been elected since 2009) pointed out that a President of Ireland can only be elected twice, thus only holding the office for a maximum …

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Future of water supply under the spotlight

NUMEROUS questions and concerns about the future of water supply in the country were raised at last week’s meeting of Clare County Council, which was addressed by Ray O’Dwyer of Irish Water. Councillors expressed concerns that the new authority will eventually be privatised, while there were also claims that taking it out of the hands of local authorities will lead to an increasingly centralised approach, with rural areas being neglected. A number of other concerns were raised, with the members clearly concerned about the future regime. While Mr O’Dwyer did his best to deal with what was coming at him, he wasn’t in a position to answer everything to the satisfaction of the councillors. Lissycasey-based Fianna Fáil Councillor PJ Kelly asked about the future of Irish Water. “Will Irish Water, because of its relationship with Bord Gais, possibly be sold on in the future and if so, what protection is there for water users?” He said privatisation had produced “disasters” …

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