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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 …

THERE are 6,241 adults and children on Clare County Council’s social housing waiting list, 2,998 of these on HAP, according to the local authority which says the county has a “robust housing delivery programme”. These details have been released as Clare Labour urge the local authority to speed up the Town Centre First plan and engage with over 80 towns and villages in Clare, saying local efforts will help to reduce numbers on the waiting list and house people. According to Dermot Hayes of Clare Labour this would help “to bring back to life unused houses/sites and repopulate these places again to bring vibrancy and thriving schools, shops and communities. Because most infrastructure is already in place in these settlements, it is cost effective to immediately connect these houses as they are reconstructed.” Clare Labour has carried out a housing survey based on data for April of this year showing 2,987 households approved for social housing support, however the party …

WOMEN are often driven by a sense of social injustice as a pathway to politics and more women need to support each other as allies in a bid to bring about a cultural shift. That was one of the key messages from the ‘Promoting Gender Equality & Diversity in Local Government’ event hosted by Clare County Council and See Her Elected in glór, Ennis last week. Madeleine Taylor Quinn, the first female TD for County Clare and one of the first women elected to the council in 1979 was the keynote speaker at the event.  She said that finance and childcare issues are still some of the major barriers for women entering politics as well as a lack of maternity leave for county councillors. “My first child was only two weeks old when I got a call to say you better be in Dublin tomorrow for a vote of the Government could fall- imagine being put under that sort of …

Students from Scoil Mhuire Ennistymon have taken Second prize in the Junior Category at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Finals. The winning students Bríd-Áine Rouine, Áine Hennigan and Eimear Lernihan, all 13 years old, who worked under the guidance of their teacher, Caitríona Hynes were awarded for their BEA Body Scrubs. BEA Scrubs produce eco-friendly body scrubs. Their ethos is based on the circular economy, they use bi-product from coffee granules sourced from a local coffee shop and use this product as the core ingredient for their scrubs. The students also enjoyed the support of the Local Enterprise Office in Clare. The scrubs are made from 100% sustainable and by-products as ingredients and are sold to customers, locally, regionally and nationally. The coffee granules are purchased from local coffee distributor Anam Coffee.   The Finals of the Local Enterprise Office initiative were held physically for the first time in three years at the Helix in Dublin with An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and host …

ONE young Shannon girl got to see her vision for a biodiversity garden come to fruition last week. Ten-year-old primary school student Molly McPhillips was on hand to cut the ribbon at the launch of Shannon Group’s new community biodiversity garden and see her winning design in full bloom. Last year, Molly, a fourth-class student at St Senan’s National School won a competition to design a new biodiversity garden in Shannon, after her proposal was selected as the popular vote on social media. Last Tuesday, Molly, along with her classmates, returned to see her inspiring garden design in full bloom during a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the official opening of the community garden on the Shannon Campus. After exploring the garden and seeing her inspirational design blossom into this new community amenity, Molly said, “I love all the wildflowers and the nature all around here. I am really happy, excited and proud. “I planted a tree and I got …

“PISSY beds and insects are a good thing,” members of Clare County Council heard at their May meeting.  The comments came from Green Party councillor, Liam Grant, who asked that the local authority stop using chemical herbicides in amenity areas. The Lahinch man suggested that more environmentally-friendly alternatives be found and that substances like glyphosate be limited to the control of invasive species such as Japanese Knotweed. Councillor Grant’s motion also outlined that, “A shift is needed by the public in how we manage weeds and how best to promote biodiversity”.  Addressing the meeting, Councillor Grant said he would love to see the authority follow the lead of the likes of Cork City Council. “We have done a lot of great work, but we could do more,” he said. “I know it might be easier for a city council than one like Clare which is largely rural, and I acknowledge that for Japanese Knotweed, you have to use herbicides. We …

“WHO will you save?” a member of the Council asked, during a discussion on which Clare village will be put forward first tor a slice of a €50 million fund for wastewater infrastructure.  Councillor Gerry Flynn was speaking in support of a motion from Councillors Joe Garrihy, Shane Talty and Bill Chambers. The three West Clare members asked for clarity on the funding criteria.  Councillor Garrihy welcomed the national funding allocation “as a first effort to address lack of provision of waste water treatment in rural areas”. “I commended the Chief Executive and Council staff for pushing this,” he said. “We are now looking for the criteria, targets and the bar that towns and villages have to meet to put themselves in the frame for this funding. Has there been a town or village in Clare selected? There are four in Clare waiting: Doolin, Carrigaholt, Broadford and Cooraclare.” The Lisdoonvarna said Doolin’s economic development is held back due to lack …

DOG owners risk losing thousands of euros in damages claims if their pet is left uncontrolled and causes an accident on the road, the county’s dog warden Frankie Coote has warned saying, “You could lose your house if there was a serious accident”. The stark reminder comes as Éilís Neville, chairperson of the Clare Ladies Cycling Club reveals two of the club’s members have been hurt in recent weeks following incidents involving dogs. According to Mr Coote a dog must be on its owners property unless it is with the owner or a responsible person and under control. He is aware of successful large claims for compensation by people injured on the road as a result of an uncontrolled dog. “There are dogs that chase bikes, dogs that just walk out and even dogs just outside on the road sleeping, but if a dog is outside the property and if there are any injuries or damage caused by them, then the …