News

A MULTI-million euro redevelopment of Knockanean National School has moved a step closer as planning permission is now being sought for a ‘decant’ temporary school at a local GAA club. The board of management at Knockanean has lodged an application with Clare County Council for a temporary school on lands at St Joseph’s Doora – Barefield GAA Club to be used during construction of a long awaited new school development which has already been given the go-ahead. The temporary primary school will consist of seven prefabricated buildings to accommodate 12 classrooms, five SET Rooms, staff room, principal office and administration. Other works include roads, parking and a drop-off area. According to a services report lodged with the application on behalf of the school, no set-down or pick up will be facilitated on the public road. The proposed development will use the existing gates which are 6 metres wide with adequate sight lines available without works. It is proposed to provide …

CLARE County Council has urged the State to introduce an NCT-type certification for landlords who are renting houses to tentants. At Monday’s meeting Councillor Johnny Flynn proposed that such certification be brought in, noting that in Clare there are around 1,700 houses rented to tenants who receive State support, meaning the taxpayer is putting €10-15 million into the rental market. He said that while most landlords keep their properties to a good standard, there are those who don’t. The Ennis representative said that he knew of one instance where a person left a tenant without any heating for 13 months, a situation he described as “dreadful”. He added that a lot of vulnerable people are in households that are damp and poorly ventilated. The motion was seconded by Councillor Donna McGettigan, who said she was doing so with reservations. She said people in the rental market would be concerned that if works are done landlords could use it as an …

ARMADILLOS on the loose could result in a trip hazard on Ennis roads, an Ennis councillor has warned. However, these aren’t armadillos of an animal kind, instead they are safety measures which have been installed as part of the county capital’s network of cycle lanes. Councillor Mary Howard raised the need to clean bollards and armadillos along the route from Clon Road to College View at a recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District. The council confirmed that there are a small number of armadillos and kerb bollards that need resetting or replacing between Eire Óg and the Kilrush Road, and this work is on the local authority crew’s work list. The councillor pointed out that over the last number of years the council has invested a large amount of money in Active Travel initiatives throughout the town. She requested that these initiatives be maintained “as your built environment leads your social environment.” She urged that cycle path markings need …

VERY high levels of demand are behind the high prices currently being charged for certain flights from Shannon Airport, its CEO Mary Considine told Clare county councillors. Independent councillor Michael Begley and Fianna Fáil’s Pat Hayes both questioned prices currently being charged, and in response Ms Considine said that with strong sales, airlines are charging more for the few remaining seats on flights. “We have 27 routes now if you include Paris, available from Shannon, at the moment the load factors are very high for the summer season. That is driving up price, that is the quandary. “If you have a flight with 95% load factor already, only 5% seat capacity available, the airline will manage their own yield and you’ll pay more for that.” She said that airlines rather than the airport set the prices. “Unfortunately that’s outside our control, that’s not washing our hands of it, the reality is that we are very competitive as an airport, we …

A ONE way traffic system will be implemented in the vicinity of Spancil Hill on the R325 Ennis/Tulla Road between 7.30am and 6pm on Thursday, June, 23. Traffic heading from Ennis to Tulla will proceed as normal throughout the day. Traffic coming from Tulla towards Ennis will diverted left at Norrie Henchy’s Bar. To proceed following ‘Detour Ahead’ signs for Ennis as far as the Quin Road, Lynch’s Cross and/or proceed following Detour ahead signs for M18 Motorway through Lynches cross and exiting at Killoo East junction. Gardaí advise there will be four car parks for vehicles not pulling trailers/possession of animals. These will be situated in: Kelly’s Car Park/Field – non-towing vehicles only (from Ennis direction); Duggan’s (pub) Car Park – non-trailer/towing vehicles only (from Ennis direction); McGrath Car Park – non-trailer/towing vehicles only (from Tulla direction) and Carolan’s Car Park – non-towing vehicles only (from Crusheen/Gort direction). The Fair-Field and McDonagh’s fields for vehicles towing horses/trucks only etc. …

NINE and a half months after a visit to Clare to see the damage caused by pyrite, Minister Darragh O’Brien announced this county’s inclusion in an updated grant scheme.  To secure inclusion, exhaustive technical detail was provided by the Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) and Clare County Council. In addition to an original report submitted last July, further testing was required as well as scientific proof that was likened by experts to ‘finding a needle in a haystack’. While the breakthrough has been welcomed, CPAG and many of Clare’s Oireachtas members are adamant that there is a way to go to secure a grant that is fit for purpose. Specific concerns relate to eligibility criteria as well as the costs that the scheme will not cover. Members of the CPAG protested outside the Dáil over the terms of the General Scheme of the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill, 2022. Minister O’Brien outlined the …

FINAL preparations are underway ahead of the return of the legendary Spancilhill Fair to the festival calendar on Thursday, June 23.  The event, which had to be cancelled for the last two years due to the pandemic, was almost mothballed permanently, due to insurance issues. In April, an eleventh hour intervention by Clare County Council secured its future and paved the way for celebrations this year to mark the 400th anniversary of the world renowned horse fair.  “It’s the 400th anniversary and we really hope that people will come along and enjoy the event,” said PRO and local vet Paddy Hassett. “People tend to arrive the night before and, on the day of the fair, we’ll have the car parks open from around 6.30am. We have significant visitor parking in place, as well as a large parking facility for those transporting horses. We’re finalising the traffic management plan and would ask people to respect the stewards and the Gardaí.” With …

FIRE safety reports are not being adhered to in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) due to chronic overcrowding, a nursing union has claimed. In a statement issued to The Clare Champion, the Irish Nurses and Midwives’ Organisation (INMO) called on the Health and Safety Authority to act on the “unsafe conditions” affecting nurses and patients. It has also emerged that the union is considering consulting its members on the possibility of balloting for industrial action. “The dignity of patients is often diminished because of the conditions they are being treated in,” the INMO states. “Emergency Departments are pressure cooker environments leading to the physical and verbal assault of our members in some instances. “The HSE has a duty to provide a safe environment for employees and patients and this just is not being adhered to in the vast majority of hospitals. “Our nurses are at the end of our tether, and they cannot provide the clinical care that is required. They …