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Tag Archives: Mayor of Clare

Green light for council beach toy ban

A BAN on the use of inflatable toys at Clare beaches and waterways is in the offing, as part of a review of bye-laws designed to improve safety. Mayor of Clare, Councillor Mary Howard, proposed updating the regulations to ban the toys. She described them as being “meant for the pool in Ibiza, not Ballyalla, Killaloe or Lahinch”. The motion, which received a warm welcome at the monthly meeting of Clare County Council, comes on foot of a number of near misses over the summer months when children got into difficulties. Over the summer, lifeguards around Clare and other coastal counties, reported a sharp rise in the use of air mattresses, inflatable rings and other toys. Councillor Howard said that despite the known dangers, many people were still buying the items because they were inexpensive and widely available. “It was just €5 in one shop last week for what was either an inflatable unicorn or a flamingo,” she remarked. The …

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Sunny summer soundtrack on Ennis streets

THE streets of the town have come alive to the sweet sound of music, to the delight of locals and visitors alike, thanks to musician Damien Gormley and some very special friends. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the Ennis singer-songwriter is bringing a lively set to the heart of the town, teaming up with the likes of Stockton’s Wing front-man Mike Hanrahan. “When the pubs closed I had two options,” Damien outlined, “sit and get depressed over having no music, or get a live Facebook gig going. I chose ‘option two’. I have played online on Saturday nights for the last 20 weeks and have gained an enormous following, from as far away as Australia tuning in every week. It’s fantastic. The people lifted my spirits and gave me hope.” That support inspired Damien to think beyond the lockdown and, when the economy started to re-open, he decided to get back out performing in real life. “Fast forward to Phase Two, …

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New kits for Clare firefighters

Mayor of Clare Tom McNamara, today (Friday) presented Clare County Fire and Rescue Service with 166 sets of next generation fire kits for firefighters. The Fire Action Matrix X-treme kits were acquired from Hunter Apparel Solutions Limited at a cost of €243,000 and represent the latest in a number of positive developments for the local fire service. Earlier this year, construction works began on upgrading and extending Kilkee Fire Station as part of a €661,000 investment in modernising the facilities for the local fire brigade. The fire service recently took delivery of high pressure lifting bags at a cost of €66,000 to enhance the response to road based incidents. The fire service is also awaiting final approval to order a new Class B Fire Appliance costing €340,000 for expected delivery in 2019. Mayor McNamara said, “The new protective clothing will continue to provide crews with the best protection they have ever had at incidents. The high quality specification underlines Clare …

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Mayor fears hospital waiting lists will rise

THE Mayor of Clare has expressed fears that Mid-West outpatient and in-patient waiting lists will increase even further, as a result of the recent overcrowding in local acute hospitals. The UL Hospitals Group has been forced to cancel surgery at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) as a short-term measure to free up beds to deal with overcrowding in the emergency department (ED). Councillor Tom McNamara believes out-patient and in-patient waiting lists will “get worse before they get better”, following the recent widescale cancellations of surgical procedures. “We are talking about the need to tackle waiting lists but nothing is happening. We have become desensitised to seeing thousands of patients on waiting lists. It is unacceptable to have more than 32,000 patients on a waiting list in the Mid-West,” he said. Councillor McNamara has called on the HSE to make people aware of the criteria of the Cross Border Initiative, as a means of tackling large in-patient and out-patient lists in the …

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Councillors meet Transport Minister over Aer Lingus

A delegation of County Councillors from the West of Ireland met with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Pascal Donohue, T.D., in Dublin this afternoon to express their concerns about the proposed sale of Aer Lingus to IAG. The meeting was organised by Councillor John Crowe, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council who was joined in Leinster House by Damien Ryan, Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council and Michael Fitzgerald , Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council. While unable to attend this afternoon’s meeting, the Mayors of Limerick, Galway and Kerry have also backed the message delivered to the Minister which outlined that elected members in the West rejected any commitment from IAG that does not “explicitly guarantee” Aer Lingus’ long term commitment to services between Shannon Airport and London Heathrow, as well as transatlantic services. “At today’s meeting we stressed the necessity of securing a 15-year guarantee from IAG in respect of Shannon’s Heathrow slots and service levels as the 5-year guarantee …

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Clare councillors share €671,842 gratuity payout

  Twenty eight former local authority members who retired or lost their seats will receive gratuity payments totalling €671,842, subject to their individual tax liabilities. According to figures obtained by the Clare Champion, former Mayor of Clare, Councillor Patricia McCarthy, will receive the highest gratuity payment worth €61,781 after 35 years of local authority service on the county council and Shannon Town Council. In fact, three former first citizens, Councillor McCarthy, Councillor Tommy Brennan and Councillor Joe Arkins will be paid gratuity payments totalling €169, 320. Ten former Clare County Councillors, who are over 50 years of age, will collect gratuity payments totalling €412,953, giving an average payout of €42,115. They include Councillors Patricia McCarthy, Tommy Brennan, Sonny Scanlan and Michael Kelly, who bowed out after the local elections as well as Joe Arkins, Pat Keane, Pascal Fitzgerald, Oliver Garry, Tony Mulqueen and Sean McLoughlin, who failed to get re-elected. Eighteen former town councillors in Ennis, Shannon, Kilrush and Kilkee will …

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Roses bloom in Ennis

Two Rose of  Tralee contestants with links to County Clare paid a courtesy visit to Ennis where they were provided with a tour of Clare County Council’s headquarters building. Arizona Rose Sarah Hines, whose native city of Phoenix is twinned with Ennis, and South California Rose Katie Bergman, whose ancestors come from Ennistymon, were shown around Áras Contae an Chláir by Mayor of Clare John Crowe and Councillor Mary Howard of the Ennis Phoenix Twinning Board. The 2014 Rose of Tralee International Festival takes place from August  15-19.

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Mayor of Clare Joe Arkins

Arkins pays tribute to ‘fallen’ in final speech as mayor

It was the end of a three-term 15-year stint in the council for Ruan’s Joe Arkins when he handed over the mayoral chain he has worn for the past year at the Clare County Council annual general meeting last week. When Mr Arkins lost his seat in the May local election he was widely seen as a victim of the redrawing of the electoral area boundaries. It was therefore poignant that as out-going mayor, he paid tribute “to the fallen.” “To Pat Keane, Oliver Garry, Brian Meaney, Pascal Fitzgerald, Tony Mulqueen, Sean McLoughlin who along with the retirees have given nearly two centuries of service, I want to acknowledge their service and their contribution to their respective communities and to county Clare and to wish each and every one of them the very best in the future,” he said. The former councillor complimented his retired colleagues and congratulated the newly-elected members “especially the three lady councillors. Patricia [McCarthy] was the …

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