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Joe Cooney elected Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council

FINE Gael’s Joe Cooney was this afternoon elected Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council at its AGM, succeeding Killaloe’s Tony O’Brien. Councillor Gabriel Keating was elected leas Cathaoirleach. It was the 50th Council AGM to be attended by Councillor PJ Kelly and a special presentation was made to him to mark the milestone. On his last day wearing the chain of office, Councillor O’Brien said that when he was first elected to the Council the possiblity of one day being Cathaoirleach had been in the back of his mind, and he said it had been “a dream come true” to represent Clare locally, nationally and internationally. He praised the Council staff and his colleagues for their support over the last years, while he said that Clare’s volunteers are “the heartbeat of our county.” When the presentation was made to Councillor Kelly he said that when he was first elected in 1974 “I didn’t expect to be here after nine elections or …

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Cabinet approves multi million euro deal for Shannon Heritage takeover

A CABINET meeting earlier today saw approval granted for a funding package that is set to see Clare County Council take over responsibility for Shannon Heritage attractions in the county. It is understood that the Council will receive €6 million in funding this year. They will also receive a ‘letter of comfort’ promising further support in 2024 and 2025. Clare County Council are set to discuss the offer in the coming days and are likely to accept it, which would end a long running saga around the future of the sites. In a statement this afternoon Clare TD Cathal Crowe welcomed the development. “Today the Cabinet met and approved a funding package which will now go to Clare County Council to be ratified. “This funding package secures the future of the iconic sites in our region including Bunratty Castle and brings certainty to the workers of these sites who, for far too long, have been left wondering what the future …

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Call to extend 15-minute free parking at Shannon Airport

SHANNON Airport Group is to be asked to consider extending the free 15-minute access to the car park at the airport. At last week’s meeting of Shannon Municipal District, Councillor Pat McMahon said that while first of all the Airport should be thanked for the free access, there are problems with it, especially in the evenings. A motion he put before the meeting asked that Shannon Airport Group “consider providing additional free short-term parking for pick-up or drop-off of passengers as the current 15 minute free park is not sufficient”. Councillor McMahon said that at the moment people park up at the roadside on the way in, as they don’t want to go in too early and face the €3 charge if they are inside for longer than a quarter of an hour. The Fianna Fáil councillor said that it can be “quite dangerous”, with people parked at the side of the road on the way towards the car park …

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County Council passes 2023 budget

CLARE County Council has this evening passed a budget for 2023. The Council’s spending will increase by €13.3 million next year, up to €151.9 million, but an increase in commercial rates has been avoided. An extra €1.9 million is going to be spent on energy next year, reflecting very high levels of inflation in the market. The Council’s head of Finance Noeleen Fitzgerald said that things are increasingly challenging and discipline will be required next year. “It was one year that it was very difficult to get a balanced budget, but I feel that the hard work will start now,” she warned. In his address to the members, Council Chief Executive Pat Dowling said that climate change, inflation, war and the legacy of the pandemic are posing a huge amount of challenges. He said that the Council has to be responsible in its budgeting. “We must not simply balance figures that are not based on reality.” Mr Dowling said that …

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Kelly: dozy Oireachtas members let small farmers get shafted

A CLARE councillor has railed against what he calls discrimination against small farmers and their families. Councillor PJ Kelly said that new regulations which he said are being introduced because members of the Oireachtas “who were asleep or half asleep and let through legislation that they didn’t understand” have the potential to be very harmful for small farmers. “Under the new regulations, up to 90% of the farmers in West Clare, if we adopt the County Development Plan, will not be recognised as farmers, because they are under the limit of 20 hectares, which is 49.42 acres, say 50 acres,” Councillor Kelly pointed out. “In other words the priviliged will have 50 acres, their sons and daughters will be recognised as the sons and daughters of farmers and get the benefits accordingly. “Those who have less than 50 acres will not be recognised as the progeny of farmers anymore,” said Councillor Kelly. He said there had been a “stealth move” …

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College plans expansion but needs student accommodation

THE Shannon College of Hotel Management has an economic impact of over €5 million per annum, its head Dr Phillip J Smyth told a meeting of Shannon Municipal District councillors on Tuesday. The meeting was held at the College and at its outset the members heard a presentation from Dr Smyth, which was somewhat disrupted because of a cyber attack on NUI Galway, of which the college is a part. Dr Smyth said that it is now quite difficult to get housing for its approximately 400 students. “The biggest problem we have is accommodation,” he said. Dr Smyth said that a mail shot is going out throughout the Municipal District, looking for expressions of interest in housing students. Explaining some of the college’s history, he said that when it was being established by Dr Brendan O’Regan, approaches were made to Government for funding. However Dr Smyth said the Government’s position was that “there were not jobs for 12 trained hotel …

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Case involving Council and Travellers not over, says CEO

CLARE County Council, CEO Pat Dowling has explained that the recent decision by the Supreme Court requiring members of the Traveller community to vacate a site in Ennis does not mean the case has relatively limited implications, and the matter has not been concluded. Two Ennis councillors Johnny Flynn and Clare Colleran Molloy, had motions before February’s meeting of Clare County Council seeking information. Responding to them, Mr Dowling read a statement on the matter, before saying that the case is still ongoing and appealing that further debate not take place in the circumstances. Mr Dowling said that he wanted to “give a very quick factual background” to the members. He said that there have been legal issues between the Council and the people involved in the case for some time. “As you know there is a history of litigation between the Council and Mr and Mrs McDonagh over the past five years. They initially sought to prevent the development …

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CEO: ‘I will not leave Clare County Council exposed’

CLARE County Council won’t be taking over the Shannon Heritage sites in the county until a funding package is put in place to support it. That was the message contained in a report provided to councillors at their meeting on Monday. Councillor Alan O’Callaghan had asked for an update on the expected transfer. He noted that staff have been “in limbo” for some time now, while he said repairs and improvements are required at some of the sites.  Responding CEO Pat Dowling said that the Council has put a lot of emphasis on the transfer, and there have been meetings with the staff on two occasions. He said that it is crucial that the appropriate level of due diligence takes place. “I will not and cannot expose Clare County Council to any unforeseen expenditure.” Further detail to Mr O’Callaghan’s query regarding this due diligence was provided in a response from Director of Rural Development Leonard Cleary. “Clare County Council and …

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