News

A SUM of €318,250 is available for discretionary spending by the Councillors of the Shannon Municipal District in 2022. The councillors held a special meeting on Monday, and in a document sent to the members in advance, County Council chief executive Pat Dowling said that the level of funding next year would be similar to 2021. “The Local Government Reform Act 2014 and its related regulations set out various matters in relation to Municipal Districts. This includes the General Municipal Allocation (GMA) which is defined as the discretionary funding available to the municipal district members for allocation in the draft budgetary plan. “In determining the General Municipal Allocation for the municipal districts, the chief executive has considered the overall income available to the Council and the budget strategy discussions to date with the Corporate Policy Group. “The General Municipal Allocation formed a large part of the Local Property Tax income deliberations of the Council bringing the total 2022 Budget to …

A LIMERICK TD who argued against supports for aviation during discussion of the Finance Bill 2021 has been severely criticised, given the crisis facing Shannon Airport, writes Owen Ryan. During the course of the debate Deputy Richard O’Donoghue said that “Significant incentives have been given to the aviation industry, which is carbon exempt.” He added that the sector ” enjoys a hefty €634 million tax break via exemptions relating to jet fuel. Airlines receive €2.4 billion through exemptions from excise duty, carbon tax and the National Oil Reserve Agency levy on fuel for commercial and international flights.” He said that “It would take a year for one acre of forestry to absorb the CO2 emissions produced by a one-way flight from Dublin to New York.” He also said that in 2019 the airline industry brought 38 million passenger through Irish airports, working out at half a tonne of carbon per passenger each way. Deputy O’Donoghue said that farmers in contrast …

A KILLALOE tennis coach has netted signed jerseys from high profile international sports stars that will be auctioned to raise money for an Irish and an international charity, writes Dan Danaher. The items that will be auctioned by Wesley O’Brien include a signed Usain Bolt shirt; a signed Rafel Nadal shirt; a signed Franz Beckenbaur Bayern Munich shirt, a print of the Formula One car driven by Lewis Hamilton, which is signed by Mr Hamilton and other key figures in Mercedes; and a signed Rory McElroy golf flag. All of the jerseys are included in a special frame that has been professionally inserted. The raffle winners will also receive a certificate of authenticity with each of the jerseys. Any Irish winner will have the bonus of free postage, unlike people outside Ireland who will have to pay for the cost of receiving it by mail. The sports memorabilia were posted on idonate under the Access Foundation banner on Monday as …

COW dung got a large share of the blame for the state of the L2000 road, at last week’s meeting of Kilrush and Ennistymon area councillors. Councillor Cillian Murphy called for repairs to the road, in a motion he put to the meeting which asked that, “an assessment of the works required to bring the L2000 up to a standard expected of a primary route for tourism on the Loop Head Peninsula, including to the Bridges of Ross, be carried out, including a timeline for undertaking them.” However in a written reply, Senior Executive Engineer Alan Kennelly said livestock are causing an issue which would need to be resolved first. “The L-2000-0 is the access route to the Bridges of Ross and Ross Bay and is an important tourist route. While the road surface overall is in reasonable condition there are sections of it that would benefit from resurfacing works. Shorter sections require both road reconstruction and resurfacing works. “There …

AN Ennis woman accused of drugs and money laundering offences is to have her case heard in the circuit criminal court, writes Ronan Judge. Heather McNamara (38), with an address at 10 Childers Road, Cloughleigh, Ennis is accused of processing €5445 cash and a Rolex watch worth €17,500, alleged to be the proceeds of criminal conduct. Her case came before Ennis District Court and Ms McNamara was not present for the brief hearing. Her solicitor, Colum Doherty, told the court his client could not attend as she is caring for a baby. Sgt Louis Moloney told the court that the director of public prosecutions (DPP) has directed that the case against Ms McNamara is proceeding on indictment to the circuit criminal court. Judge Mary Larkin granted legal aid following an application from Mr Doherty. Judge Larkin remanded Ms McNamara on bail to appear again in court on December 15 for service of the book of evidence. In total, Ms McNamara …

SINN Féin TD Violet Anne Wynne has raised, at national level, a number of questions over Clare County Council’s track record on providing accommodation for Travellers, writes Fiona McGarry. In a Dáil debate on a report by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Committee (IHREC), she said more must be done for those struggling to secure appropriate housing. “In Clare, based on information compiled by the council, members of the Traveller community accounted for a stark 52% of the homeless figures last year, although they comprise less than 1% of the overall population,” Deputy Wynne told the chamber. “They represent more than half of the total number of people affected by homelessness in Clare. The report flags that only 2% of those on the summary of social housing assessments for 2020, which catalogues the level of unmet need for social housing, are categorised as Travellers. “These numbers just do not add up. It is concerning because without proper disaggregated data, …

VEGETABLE growers need to sell their produce for more than the cost of production, according to a local Dáil deputy. Speaking in the Dáil recently, Deputy Michael McNamara acknowledged the importance of replacing imported horticulture with Irish horticulture. However, he warned it would be difficult to do that when carrots are for sale at 49 cent per bag. “There has to be some correlation between the price at which products are sold and the cost of production. I grew up in Clare and there was extensive market gardening in Kinvara, presumably supplying Galway mainly, and in Ogonnelloe, supplying Limerick. “That is all gone because who can compete? People think they are doing the world a favour when they are buying organic carrots from Morocco that have been flown in here. “Unless there is some type of link between the cost of production and the price at which produce is sold, there will be a difficulty.” “A further difficulty is that …

ELECTIONS for the newly formed Love Shannon Community Council will be held on Wednesday, November 17, at 7.30pm at the Oakwood Arms Hotel. In a video posted on its website, Derek Clune, interim chairman of the group said it needs “people who are passionate about Shannon and care about this community.” He claimed that Shannon is floundering in terms of investment in local facilities. “The vast amount of our rates are spent elsewhere, except here in Shannon where they are raised. The town of Shannon and its people are being left behind.” He claimed that Clare County Council had spurned an opportunity to avail of €10 million for the development of a local community facility. “We need you, the people of Shannon, to get involved. People who are passionate, committed and care about the future of our town,” he added. Mr Clune said the organisation wishes to hold local representatives and the County Council to account. “This is our town. …