South Clare

CLARE County Council has quashed hopes that the proposed €120 million motorway crossing South-East Clare may be scuppered because of the alleged risk it poses to the Headrace Canal.A concerned Clonlara resident believes the latest revelation contained in the Draft Supplementary Constraints Study for Phase Two of the Northern Distributor Road may scupper the controversial Emerging Preferred Route, which splits Parteen village and crosses a flood plain on the outskirts of Clonlara.In response to the route options public consultation process, the ESB highlighted the hydro-geological sensitivity of the area immediately south of the Headrace Canal, in the vicinity of the most northerly route options.The Headrace Canal is formed by Category A earthen embankment dams. According to the Draft Supplementary Constraints Study published last week, this categorisation is one where a breach of the structure could lead to loss of life downstream.“This constraint had previously been recognised as a restriction on the construction of routes that cross the Headrace but had …

THE huge tourism potential of twin communities on the banks of Lough Derg has been described as a “hidden tourism secret” by a Minister of State.Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Alan Kelly, who officially launched the Discover Killaloe and Ballina event on Monday, is delighted the tourism initiative has come to fruition.“The Ballina-Killaloe area is a hidden secret and I’m delighted Fáilte Ireland, working with Waterways Ireland, have chosen to recognise its great tourism potential. I only see that growing into the future.“I want to recognise the efforts of all the local tourism and hospitality operators, as well as the broader community of Ballina and Killaloe, for their support for this and other initiatives that will go a long way to promoting the area and supporting local job creation,” he said.Discover Killaloe and Ballina takes place on Sunday, April 29 from 1pm to 6pm, as locals and visitors alike are encouraged to come along and enjoy an …

THE proposed construction of a River Shannon Crossing, Killaloe Bypass and other road improvements costing an estimated €40 million could remove 40% of the current traffic from the existing bridge in Killaloe.That’s just one of the conclusions of a future traffic forecast included in a Natura Impact Statement completed by Roughan and O’Donovan Consulting Engineers on behalf of Clare and North Tipperary County Councils.A traffic survey revealed approximately 550 vehicles cross Killaloe Bridge during the peak hour last year.Having spent over a year in limbo, Environment Minister Leo Varadkar approved the publication of the Statutory Orders by Clare County Council for the construction of the Killaloe Bypass (€11.93m), the Shannon Bridge Crossing (€12m), Killaloe bypass (€11.93m) and upgrading works costing (€16.6m) on the existing regional road linking Ballina and Birdhill in July 2011.In terms of assessing the proposed Shannon Bridge Crossing, Killaloe Bypass, upgrading of the regional road linking Ballina and Birdhill, the consulting engineers assumed an opening year of …

MUNSTER rugby may not be in the pink after Sunday’s unhappy clash with Ulster at Thomond Park but hooker Damien Varley isn’t singing the blues. He’s singing for the Pink Ribbon movement instead, with the Killaloe Gospel choir.The choir has produced a CD, the proceeds of which are going to the Killaloe Pink Ribbon walk and Damien took time off from training to serenade the organisers of this year’s event, which takes place on Saturday, June 16.The 10km sponsored walk, now in its third year in the picturesque Shannonside venue, is a fundraising endeavour for Action Breast Cancer, a part of the Irish Cancer Society which raises awareness and provides much needed services and information for cancer patients and their families.It’s a cause that Damien is happy to support.“It’s a very worthy cause. Some of my friends have lost their mothers to breast cancer and I’m very happy to be in a position to help out,” said the rugby star.He …

IMPROVEMENT works costing an estimated €1 million is needed in one of the largest housing estates in South-East Clare, a local senior engineer has revealed.Senior executive engineer Hugh McGrath has estimated the large scale work needs to be done before Clare County Council can take in charge the Westbury Housing Estate.Mr McGrath told a recent meeting of the Killaloe Electoral Area that he didn’t have a definite date as to when the council would be in a position to take Westbury in charge.Acknowledging the frustration being expressed by local county councillors about the delay, Mr McGrath said when he joined the council as an engineer in 2001 he was sent to Westbury to complete some work in relation to assessing what work needed to be done.“Negotiations are continuing with the insurance companies holding bonds on this estate. While progress has been very slow, it is anticipated that sufficient information will be in place in the next six to eight weeks …

Claims that the taxpayer will have to fork out over €352 million to construct a controversial new motorway through South-East Clare have been refuted by Clare County Council.The Lisnagry Action Group, which is opposing the construction of Phase Two of the Northern Distributor Road, has predicted the length of this route is similar to the existing Southern Ring Road, which cost about €352 million to complete.The proposed road has been recommended initially by the Fitzgerald Report (2007) on ‘Addressing issues of social exclusion in Moyross’. Since then, the group pointed out circumstances have changed after the downturn in the economy, the opening of the Limerick Tunnel and the subsequent drop in the projected volume of traffic. Currently, due to lower than projected volume of traffic through the tunnel the operator (Direct Route) is subsidised annually to the average amount of €6.7 million. The contract between the NRA and the tunnel operators is to run until 2035. Even with the current …

THE Department of Transport requested Clare County Council to publish a controversial report about the route selection process for a new €120 million motorway, a senior engineer has admitted.Despite intense pressure from Dáil deputies, county councillors and a local opposition group, the council had consistently rejected calls to publish the Draft Constraints Report outlining the factors and issues, which influenced the choice of the emerging Preferred Route Corridor for the proposed Limerick Northern Distributor Road.The council had argued it was against best practice to release this report at this stage of the public consultation process and was committed to publishing it in a few months’ time.Now it seems Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has bowed to public pressure after senior engineer, Tom Tiernan revealed on Tuesday that the Department of Transport had requested the council to publish this report in the near future.In a surprise move, the council announced on Monday it would publish the Draft Constraints Report on Tuesday, April …

A LONG-term solution has to be found to resolve the ongoing crux surrounding the closure of the €187,000 Cratloe Community Playground at weekends, according to a local county councillor.The Clare Champion has learned that a meeting between Cratloe Community Playground Co-op and concerned residents who have been adversely affected by indiscriminate parking will take place next Wednesday at 9pm.Councillor PJ Ryan stressed a resolution has to be found to facilitate the reopening of the playground with the approval of local residents.He hopes that Coillte will be in a position to provide extra land to facilitate parking, while the law has to be enforced concerning illegal parking on a narrow country road.While the playground is open during the week, the committee have set up a new rota system to act as marshals handing out leaflets and advising people they can’t park on the country road.The marshals monitor the situation and once the area becomes too busy particularly during a fine day …