Councillor claims Kilkee smell could kill

SUCH is the overpowering smell in the Cluain na Mara housing estate on the Carrigaholt Road in Kilkee, former town mayor Claire Haugh fears it could kill one of the residents.

 

The re-emgerence of what Councillor Haugh described as an “obnoxious” odour was discussed in detail at Monday’s Kilkee Town Council meeting.

“We don’t want to have a situation where somebody dies as a result of this. I may be scaremongering using the phrase ‘somebody dies’ but I am very, very concerned about it,” Councillor Haugh said.
“This has been discussed here in the past. Work was done to alleviate the problem at the time. It did solve it but, unfortunately, the smell returned again. On May 24 I got several phone calls from residents, went into their homes and the smell was dreadful, absolutely horrendous. The smell was every place. It was appalling,” she recalled.

Councillor Haugh said some residents have trouble sleeping, such is the overpowering stench.
“One woman told me that the when the smell is really bad, it lasts for days. They go to bed at night and put a duvet over their nose and mouth trying to get some sleep. The smell is so bad, it’s just all over their homes. I think there’s a serious issue here that needs to be addressed and delved deep into. I think it’s injurious to residents’ health as well. I think whatever work was done in the past, it was to my mind superficial. It certainly didn’t solve the problem. It keeps on coming back. There’s no time limit and when it occurs people are very, very put out about it,” the Kilkee town councillor stressed.

Kilkee town clerk John Corry pointed out the matter had been dealt with previously and that he has received no recent emails on the issue from Cluain na Mara residents.

“We discussed this matter in detail previously. A company was brought in to carry out a detailed analysis and a contributing factor was the material that people were flushing down the toilet,” the town clerk said.

Councillor Haugh replied,“I couldn’t accept that town clerk. I live in an estate (Marian Estate) of 78 houses and never once in our 39 years have we had anything like that”.

“The pipes were flushed on a number of occasions as recently as last week. If there was an issue it should be brought to the attention of the county council. The county council haven’t received any complaints,” Mr Corry revealed.
Councillor Haugh claimed at least one resident had contacted the council while Councillor Lily Marrinan Sullivan said she had encouraged residents to complain.

“I told three of the residents to email you because they’re blue in the face from making phone calls,” Councillor Marrinan Sullivan commented.
“I didn’t receive any email,” the town clerk reiterated.

Later in the debate, Councillor Haugh called for an investigation into the source of the problem.

“Another family told me that they suffer a lot from unexplained headaches. They’re wondering is it linked to this smell? A proper, thorough investigation should start in the Cluain na Mara housing estate. I don’t think that has happened in the past,” she said.

Councillor Marrinan Sullivan suggested the sewerage pipes should be flushed regularly, something which John Corry said he understood is already happening. Newly elected town mayor Paddy Collins added that Clare County Council’s environmental section should investigate the problem.