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THERE has been a 19.6% increase in the total amount of salaries, expenses and allowances paid by Clare County Council to its elected members over a three year-period, new figures have revealed. Official statistics obtained by the Clare Champion show payments totalling almost €750,000 were paid to 28 Clare County Councillors in 2019. This jumped by almost 20% to a total of €897,002 in 2021 for 29 councillors after the salary for every Clare councillor went up from €17,060 to €21,894 over a three-year period. Former council chairman, Councillor P J Ryan finished at the top of the payments table with a total payment of €40,556 after he received an additional payment of €10,400 for his work as first citizen. Councillor Liam Grant came at the bottom of the table with a payment of €7,464 after he only served on the councillor for part of the year, replacing Councillor Susan Crawford, who resigned her seat last year. Councillor Ryan said …

CONTROVERSIAL legislation which revises the grant scheme for homeowners with defective concrete blocks has been signed into law by President Michael D Higgins.  After the Bill passed through the Oireachtas earlier this month, as distraught campaigners looked on from the public gallery, and others protested outside Leinster House, the President signed the draft legislation at the end of last week. A spokesperson for Áras an Uachtaráin said: “Having considered the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022, the President has signed the Bill and it has accordingly become law.”  The terms of the new scheme have been sharply criticised by campaigners in Clare, as well as those in Mayo and Donegal where a grant has been available since 2020. While there had been hopes that it would improve on the previous scheme, which covered only 90% of remediation cots, campaigners are adamant that homeowners will still be left seriously out of pocket. Concerns have …

A JUDGE has granted a three-year barring order against a man after hearing that in the past he has taken out a belt to try to whip his wife. At the Family Law Court, Judge Mary Larkin issued the order which bars the man from the family home for three years after hearing a daughter of the couple describing her father as “a very violent person” and said that in the past he has taken out his belt to try to whip her mother. Previously, the man’s wife here alleged as part of her Protection Order application against the man that he has “secretly got married to three of four ladies in Nigeria”. When asked in court by solicitor, Ann Walsh for the woman “what about these wives in Africa?” the man replied “there are no wives in Nigeria – point of correction. I had one wife before her”. The man denied assaulting his wife and daughter but Judge Larkin …

A Clare-based mother, who was once homeless on the streets in London, is raising funds for a mobile shower for homeless people in Ennis, saying, “I believe people deserve to be treated with dignity. For homeless individuals, having access to a hot shower is the first step in reigniting a feeling of self worth.” Fiona Faulkes has been living in Ennis for nearly 10 years and regularly helps the town’s homeless, having experienced first-hand sleeping under cardboard in England’s capital. She describes becoming homeless as feeling like “the whole world is going to just collapse”. However support from those working with people on the streets in London as well as others who were homeless helped her get through it. She is now hoping to raise €10,000 through an online GoFundMe campaign to buy a caravan and convert it to give people living on the streets here in Clare a wheelchair accessible place to wash and dress. “This is just a …

A father has told a judge that he is refusing to sign forms to allow his two-year-old son to obtain a passport because he doesn’t like the name given to the boy by his mother. At the Family Law Court, the father told Judge Mary Larkin that the middle name given to the boy by his mother “is a name you give to people who beat drums and dance – we don’t beat drums and we don’t dance in our family”. The man said that when his estranged wife had the baby “we sat down together and made a decision of the name we were going to give to the baby”. The man said however that his estranged wife included the additional name in their son’s birth certificate without telling him. He said, “We have no such name in our family. It is for people who beat drums and dance and we don’t belong to that family.” He said, “I …

The Burren has been named as ‘The Best Place to Holiday in Ireland 2022′ with judges praising its stunning landscape, breath-taking coast, grassroots food culture and vision for sustainable tourism. The win caps a remarkable double for Clare as the inaugural competition back in 2013 was won by the Loop Head Peninsula. The north Clare region, which was the unanimous choice of the judging panel, beat off stiff competition from the four other shortlisted locations: Achill, Co Mayo, Carlingford, Co Louth, The Causeway Coast / Portrush in Co Antrim and Inisbofin Co Galway. Among the other things which impressed the judges about The Burren are its breath-taking coastal scenery and world-class tourist attractions, its grassroots food culture, and its joined-up community approach to warmly welcoming visitors while also protecting what is a unique environment. The announcement was made live simultaneously on www.irishtimes.com and on The Ray Darcy Show on RTE Radio One. The win caps a remarkable double for Clare …

AHEAD of the August Bank Holiday weekend, renewed concerns have been voiced about a spike in unauthorised camping and the flouting of bye-laws at a number of waterside amenities in East Clare.  Local councillors were told that, at one small harbour, signage showing that camping is prohibited had been painted over and blanked out, by those illegally using the car park overnight.  At the July meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District committee, Councillor Pat Burke highlighted recent issues at waterside facilities at Killaloe, Mountshannon and Dromaan. “Unfortunately, there is vandalism and anti-social behaviour going on this summer at some of our amenities,” he said. “If you take the toilet block in Mountshannon, there are constant issues every week. I have spoke to Gardaí about this and they are aware of it.” The Whitegate native also expressed his annoyance at issues involving jetskis in Killaloe and Mountshannon. “Some people are responsible jetski users, but the majority are not,” he said. “I …

DEPUTY Cathal Crowe has fired a shot across the bow of government policy by calling for an end to the allocation of more Ukrainian refugees in Clare due to the lack of suitable accommodation. While Deputy Crowe stressed he agreed that the Banner County should take as many refugees as possible, there was now a point where these refugees were sleeping on airport floors and new tents in Meelick. The Fianna Fáil Deputy said Ukrainian refugees needed a roof over their heads, education, transport, health provision and pastoral care to deal with the trauma of coming from a war-torn country. He believes the government is now doing a “disservice” to these refugees by not properly meeting their needs and by proceeding to accommodate them in tents on a so-called temporary basis, which is likely to continue for months due to the lack of permanent dwellings. The provision of tented facilities for up to new 100 asylum seekers in Meelick has …