Shannon

WHILE the Shannon Mayor’s Ball was set to be a casualty of the recession, a U-turn has been made and it will now go ahead later this year.The Mayor’s Ball is one of the more notable events on Shannon’s social calendar but before Christmas, Mayor Seán McLoughlin announced that it would not be going ahead in 2010, due to the prevailing economic conditions.Councillor McLoughlin said that instead he was hoping to organise smaller fundraising events to benefit the Shannon Flyers Special Olympics Club and the Shannon Senior Citizens’ Club.However, he has now announced that the ball will go ahead, in part due to the reaction of the local public.“A lot of people came to me and they said it was a shame it wasn’t going ahead. People said that it was one of three main social events in Shannon, along with the St Patrick’s Day Parade and the performance by the Shannon Musical Society. “They are the three events that …

A LACK of finance was the reason put forward for not providing new car-parking spaces at O’Brien Park, by Clare County Council engineer Eugene O’Shea.At the February meeting of Shannon Town Council, Councillor Michael Fleming introduced a motion asking for Clare County Council to look at providing spaces in the area but in his response, Mr O’Shea ruled it out.“Due to financial constraints, it is not possible to provide these car-parking spaces in the current year,” he stated.Councillor Fleming said that there was a real problem in the area. “People come out to go to work and there are three or four cars parked every way, blocking you.”He said he understood that the council’s coffers weren’t overflowing but said that an effort might be made to find some funding.Councillor Tony McMahon said that there had been a failure of long-term planning.“This was designed for families that had one car and it should be obvious to these enlightened people that remedial …

THERE will be an increase in the cost of allotments in Shannon for the coming year but they will still be less than one-third of the price being charged in Ennis.At the February meeting of Shannon Town Council, Councillor Seán McLoughlin asked for a change of dates for tenants to vacate the allotments from January 31-March 1 to November 31-January 1. He said that, if required, each tenant could be asked to sign a waiver that squatters’ rights cannot be claimed due to the change and he requested that the price of renting an allotment be frozen.In reply, Michael McNamara of Clare County Council claimed there was little point in changing the dates.“Given that a practical approach is being taken to issues that have arisen following on from the request to the allotment users to vacate their allotment for a month, it is not deemed necessary to change the dates as suggested in the motion. “In any case, having spoken …

CLARE County Council are set to spend more than €7 million (before VAT) on building affordable housing in Cluain Airne and, despite the ongoing correction in the property market, they expect the scheme to sell out.At this week’s meeting of Shannon Town Council, Councillor Cathy McCafferty put forward a motion asking for the unit cost of an affordable home at the site. In response, town manager Bernadette Kinsella said, “The contract construction prices is €7,005,236.59, exclusive of VAT, for the total scheme of 60 houses. This figure will be adjusted to reflect the type of house and to include consultants’ fees, legal fees and any other associated costs to arrive at a final unit cost.”She said that 135 applicants have sought affordable housing in the scheme. “Having regard to the existing database and current enquiries, it is expected that the number of qualifying applicants will exceed the number of units available.”Councillor McCafferty said that there is already “an abundance of …

CLARE County Council are set to spend more than €7 million (before VAT) on building affordable housing in Cluain Airne and, despite the ongoing correction in the property market, they expect the scheme to sell out.At this week’s meeting of Shannon Town Council, Councillor Cathy McCafferty put forward a motion asking for the unit cost of an affordable home at the site. In response, town manager Bernadette Kinsella said, “The contract construction prices is €7,005,236.59, exclusive of VAT, for the total scheme of 60 houses. This figure will be adjusted to reflect the type of house and to include consultants’ fees, legal fees and any other associated costs to arrive at a final unit cost.”She said that 135 applicants have sought affordable housing in the scheme. “Having regard to the existing database and current enquiries, it is expected that the number of qualifying applicants will exceed the number of units available.”Councillor McCafferty said that there is already “an abundance of …

THE introduction of water charges should be strongly resisted, possibly through civil disobedience, according to Councillor Gerry Flynn.The Independent TD said that the Irish people are too compliant and that it may be a legacy of centuries of oppression. “Maybe it comes from hundreds of years of British rule, that we go along with whatever our lords and masters in Dublin tell us.”He said that John Gormley should be told to “shove it where he likes to shove it” and to “go off in his green machine somewhere else”.Councillor Michael Fleming also voiced his opposition to water charges. “I think it’s ridiculous, a lot of senior citizens will be affected,” he said.While Councillor Tony McMahon said that he agreed with the concept of metered charging, it couldn’t possibly be introduced, given the amount of water that is lost. “Forty to 50% of water is being lost and it’s ridiculous to impose charges on the public.”He said that the public already …

A SHANNON mother was thrown into crisis after her family was hit by a gastric bug causing vomiting and diarrhoea, while her house was without running water.Sue Egan was without running water for 10 days and without heating for two, due to persistent freezing conditions earlier this month.She lives in Cúl na Gréine with her nine-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter and they were without running water from January 2 to 13.Things were particularly bad after her son contracted the bug. “On January 9, I had to bring my son to ShannonDoc because he was vomiting and had diarrohea. We needed running water and I called a plumber because I thought it was the pipes, not the mains. He couldn’t fix it though.”Sue also contracted the bug and while they have had running water back for some time now, on Tuesday, they were still without it in the upstairs part of their home.Also on Tuesday, Shannon got its regular water supply …

THE odds of getting a local authority house in the Shannon Electoral area are mighty slim at the moment.