IT isn’t just the political landscape that will be affected by upcoming changes to the Ennis constituency, with the mayor of the county capital expressing his fear that the abolition of the town council could lead to a “death knell” for business.

 

The long-awaited report from the boundary committee has confirmed the new Ennis constituency will be formed by bringing both Ennis East and West together, while Ennis Town Council will be abolished.

The next local election could potentially see 18 councillors, nine from the town council and nine from the county council, battling it out for just eight seats.
The abolition of Ennis Town Council has been widely condemned by members of the local authority since the proposals were first revealed.

Following the publication of the boundary report, Mayor of Ennis Peter Considine described the move as a “retrograde step” and worried higher rates for businesses could be on the cards.

He outlined that the rates currently applied by the town council are 11% lower than those by the county council and said it will be the county council who will have the power to strike rates once the town councils are gone.

“An increase would be an absolute disaster. It would close shops that are hanging by a thread. This is coming at a time when a lot of businesses are struggling and it could be the death knell for a lot of them.

“I don’t think any great thought has gone into this. There is a potential for an imbalance in representation,” he stated. He criticised Chambers Ireland for not showing support for the preservation of urban authorities.
The boundary committee is recommending a configuration that would provide for a local electoral area for Ennis that would include its hinterland.

According to the report, the committee were “mindful” of the position of Ennis as a county town with a town council.
With eight seats in the new constituency, there will be 4,126 people for every local representative in the Ennis area, with its population of more than 33,000.

Commenting on the plans for the area, chairman of Ennis Fine Gael, Cillian Griffey, said he believes the new boundaries will resolve the “confusion” felt at the last local election, when parts of the town were split.
He said, “The committee took into account the confusion among the Ennis people at the last local election, when the county town was split into Ennis East and Ennis West. With the announcement of the amalgamation of the electoral areas back into one, the Ennis electorate will have a better understanding of who their local public representative is.

“I acknowledge that Ennis’ public representation on Clare County Council will be reduced by one and that our town council is being abolished but I believe there is broad public support for this in making local governance work more efficiently and effectively.

“Ennis and its importance as Clare’s county town must not be forgotten in these changes. Ennis, as a town, needs to grow and prosper for the whole of the county to be successful.

“We are at a turning point in the reform of local governance in this country but let’s just hope it doesn’t mean the decline of our towns.”

 

Highest population per councillor

LOCAL elections are generally hard-fought but the contest will probably be particularly intense in the new Shannon Electoral Area in 2014.
Areas of South-East Clare, including Ardnacrusha, Meelick and Westbury, will be added, meaning Councillors Cathal Crowe and Pascal Fitzgerald are coming into the mix.

If all six councillors currently representing the Shannon area stand again, that would leave eight sitting councillors chasing six seats. Also, Shannon Town Council will be no more, which may encourage some to focus their political ambitions in another direction.

The Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee Report states the Shannon area will have the highest population per councillor after the changes come in.
While Clare as a whole would have a population per member of 4,186, in the new Shannon area it will be one per 4,466, 6.7% above average.

Parts of what is currently the Shannon Electoral Area are to be included in the new Killaloe area and Sixmilebridge Councillor PJ Ryan said he isn’t enamoured with this.
“I think it’s a total disaster to split Sixmilebridge. Kilmurry and Rossroe are part of Sixmilebridge parish and now that has been divided, I think it creates a big problem. It’s actually splitting a community.”
He said people in the areas in question have long-standing ties to Sixmilebridge and the move is poorly thought out.

Councillor Ryan, who stood as an independent in 2009, also said he is concerned about the size of the new Killaloe area, which some of his current constituents will be included in.
“The Killaloe area is going to become very unwieldy altogether because it stretches from Ballina up beyond Tubber and up near Kinvara.”

Patricia McCarthy is currently the only woman sitting on the county council and she has decades of experience of local politics.

Speaking to The Clare Champion on Wednesday, she feels the decision to join the town of Shannon with other well-populated areas in the south of the county is the right one.
“I think it’s appropriate that the two major centres of population in South Clare are joined up. We would have been seen as unique in our own ways but I think joining together is good for both, as well as for the hinterland and the areas in between.”

She isn’t sure how the moves will impact on new entrants to politics. “I don’t know whether it’ll be easier or harder for new people to come forward. I can’t read that yet.”
Councillor Pat McMahon is another veteran who intends to run next year. He said the review makes the challenge more difficult. “With eight sitting councillors, it’s going to be tough,” he commented.

 

Two town councils abolished

CURRENTLY six county councillors serve the Kilrush Electoral Area. However, under the terms of reference of the Boundary Commission, eight councillors will represent the new West Clare area, which will extend from Loop Head to Ballyvaughan.

The eight councillors, who will fill the seats on the new 28-seat county council in 2014, will represent a catchment area of 34,449 people. Each councillor will represent an average of 4,306 people.
With Kilkee and Kilrush town councils facing abolition next May, county councillors will be the sole local representatives in the region.

Current Kilrush Electoral Area chairman Bill Chambers has confirmed he will stand for election next May but says it’s difficult to read how the changes will affect the election at this juncture.
“As of now, I’m going anyway and as far as I know, I haven’t heard of anyone retiring,” he said with reference to Councillors Christy Curtin, Oliver Garry, Gabriel Keating, Pat Keane and PJ Kelly, all of whom are sitting Kilrush Electoral Area councillors.

“It’s very hard to read it but Kilrush town will have a big bearing on it. That’s the biggest population centre, along with Ennistymon.

“You have a big area when you look at the map. We’ll be going from the Shannon to Ennistymon and up to Ballyvaughan. It’s going to be a massive area but you have to deal with the hand of cards you’re dealt,” the Cooraclare councillor added.