Tag Archives: clare county council

AN OVERWHELMING majority of members of Clare County Council have voted to leave the rate of Local Property Tax (LPT) for 2022 at 15% above the standard rate. Councillors have the power to increase or decrease the LPT by up to 15 per cent each year from the basic rate, which is calculated based on the value of a property. On the recommendation of Council Chief Executive Pat Dowling, members voted this week to retain the higher rate, with the aim of raising an additional €1.5m for the local authority. After a motion to leave the 15% hike in place was tabled by Councillor Pat Hayes and seconded by Councillor Joe Cooney, a bid to return to the standard rate was proposed by Councillor Gerry Flynn and seconded by Councillor Donna McGettigan. When put to the vote, 24 councillors were in favour of retaining the higher rate, two members were against and two were judged to be absent from the …

HE creation of a world class Greenway along the route of the old West Clare Railway, expected to bring positive benefits to the entire county, has moved a step further with the appointment of consultants for the first section of the project. Clare County Council has announced the appointment of Roughan & O’Donovan Consulting Engineers to progress the options, route selection, design and assessment phases of the first section of the Greenway between Kilrush and Kilkee via Moyasta.  Much of the land along the old rail-line is in private ownership, and Clare County Council’s Senior Engineer, Seán Lenihan acknowledges that the project has its challenges, with success dependent on co-operation and collaboration between all parties involved. He assured that the council is committed to working with all affected parties, and the council are due to begin engagement with landowners, the public and community groups in the coming weeks. The creation of a world class Greenway from Ennis to Kilkee, connecting towns and …

DEVELOPERS behind the transformation of the former Braid’s site in Ennis into a primary healthcare facility have dropped plans for the provision of an additional deck of car parking. This comes after questions were raised about the new plans by Clare County Council, while locals have also objected to the development. The planning authority stated that the parking proposal did not accord with the site specific zoning objectives of the site with fears it could “sterilise” the parcel of land. The developers have disputed this, insisting that “the development as proposed does not represent a material contravention of the land use zoning provisions” in a response to a request for further information prepared by HRA Planning. However they say they will leave out the additional parking plans, stating, “Given the concerns of the planning authority and the nature of the further information request, it is proposed to omit the car parking deck from the development proposal, thereby ensuring that the …

DANISH midfielder Christian Eriksen inspired a motion at the local authority meeting his week, when members backed a call for funding for defibrillators and training for communities across Clare. Councillor John Crowe recalled the dramatic scenes at the Euro 2020 match against Finland last month, when the 29-year old suffered a cardiac arrest and was saved thanks to prompt intervention with a defibrillator. “The European Championships brought it home to everyone,” he said. “What happened to Christian Eriksen really highlighted the issue and showed what a defibrillator can do. The Minister for Health should be looking at a scheme to fund defibrillators and training and €1,700 for a club or village is a very small price to be looking at. We should write to the Department to seek money for communities. Every second family has heart problems going down the generations.” The Fine Gael member also recommended that all councillors receive training. The motion was seconded by Councillor Cillian Murphy. …

THREE generations of a Kilkishen family are “heart-broken” at the prospect of losing their home, after expert tests confirmed the presence of pyrite. Dan Moloney told The Champion of the family’s devastation and his fears for his elderly father-in-law and daughter who also live in the house. “We are in a living nightmare and we honestly don’t know if half the house is going to be gone when we wake up each morning,” Mr Moloney said. “My father-in-law is a widower. The man is 90 and he’s blind. When he hears noises in the night, he thinks it’s thunder, but I’m afraid it’s actually the sound of the house cracking. From day to day, it’s getting worse. We can’t close the back door anymore because the walls are bulging. We’re tried all the fixes going, but it’s at the stage now where we can’t keep patching it up. I’m a broken man, but I’m more worried about my family than …

FOR the first time since last October, Glór opened its doors to the public last Thursday, with an exhibition by three artists. “It’s lovely to have the doors open again. We were due to have our cafe open this Monday but with all the uncertainty we’ve postponed that until next month,” said director of Glór Orla Flanagan. “It’s absolutely fabulous to have the doors open again, we’re really looking forward to inviting people in to see the work in the galleries. Down the road we’re looking forward to welcoming people back to live performances in the space.” She expects that to come in the early autumn. “Basically Clare County Council have invested in upgrading our heating and ventilation systems and that’s not completed until the end of August, so there’s a practical reason for opening from September and there’s also the uncertainty with everything.” After a number of months of closure, quite a lot of preparation had to be done …

AN OVERWHELMING majority of members of Clare County Council have voted to leave the rate of Local Property Tax (LPT) for 2022 at 15% above the standard rate. Councillors have the power to increase or decrease the LPT by up to 15 per cent each year from the basic rate, which is calculated based on the value of a property. On the recommendation of Council Chief Executive Pat Dowling, members voted this week to retain the higher rate, with the aim of raising an additional €1.5m for the local authority. After a motion to leave the 15% hike in place was tabled by Councillor Pat Hayes and seconded by Councillor Joe Cooney, a bid to return to the standard rate was proposed by Councillor Gerry Flynn and seconded by Councillor Donna McGettigan. When put to the vote, 24 councillors were in favour of retaining the higher rate, two members were against and two were judged to be absent from the …

TWO contemporary Clare musicians are set to collaborate with their musical heroes from times past as part of an innovative new project which will premiere on Culture Night this September. The Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA) and the Arts Office of Clare County Council have announced that the second Duala: Creator-in-Residence Scheme has been awarded to joint applicants Tara Breen and Nuala Kennedy. The pair have been working on Ag Lorg Ár Líne – Clare Women: Listening and Performing will premiere online on Friday, September 17, as part of Culture Night 2021. They have been listening deeply to archival recordings of their female predecessors, and are attempting to ‘collaborate remotely’ across time and space with some of their County Clare musical foremothers: Kitty Hayes, song/concertina; Nell Galvin, fiddle; Mary Haren, concertina; and singer Nora Cleary.  Through creative use of digital archival recordings, Nuala and Tara will explore and reimagine the details and subtleties of the music of these influential women …