The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
JUST weeks after the last occupants were forced to leave an illegal encampment at Sixmilebridge railway station, they have set up home in a housing estate less than a mile away.
While the encampment consists of just one caravan at the moment, there is a degree of concern among locals as the issue at the railway station also started small before growing, while it took two and a half years for all the occupants to leave.
Even after the encampment was closed at the Station, parking there had to be restricted, to prevent any recurrence.
Residents of Lios Anama are understood to be very upset at the situation in their estate and many of them attended a meeting with local elected representatives on Monday evening.
While he wasn’t in attendance at that meeting, Clare TD Cathal Crowe wrote to residents afterwards and said efforts are being made to end the encampment.
“I have been maintaining contact with the housing department of Clare County Council and An Garda Síochána. I have also had some communications with Mrs Harty to see if this ridiculous impasse situation can be resolved.
“As I am sure many of you are aware, Mrs Harty was offered a house in Newmarket-on-Fergus a number of months ago but she declined this offer. This house has since been allocated to another applicant on the social housing list – therefore it is no longer available for her. Mrs Harty has demanded a four-bedroomed property and at this very moment there is no such property in the county that could meet her needs and that of her children.
“I will continue to maintain contact with An Garda Síochána and Clare County Council but it’s important to note – as I advised you in an email on Sunday evening – that An Garda Síochána is insisting that an accommodation plan be in place before they tow the caravan out of Lios Anama.
“I think it’s essential that the Section 24 order is executed and enforced as soon as possible and in this regard I will continue to speak with senior officials in Clare County Council’s housing department.”
He said that the current situation should not be allowed to continue. “A continuation of this illegal encampment simply isn’t an option that anybody should have to tolerate.
“I will keep you updated and I think that your local councillors can also play a positive role in this in the coming days – in particular, Cllr Gerry Flynn from Shannon who is one of your local representatives and chairperson of the council’s housing committee.
“As I continue my correspondence with the council and Gardaí on this matter, I will keep you updated on any developments as I have them.”
Senator Timmy Dooley said that the current situation is not good enough. “People who live in the estate are rightly very put out about an illegal encampment in their estate. These are people who have worked hard, bought their homes, have paid or are paying for them, they’re getting up every morning and going to work, and I can understand their justified frustration. A long term solution has to be found here. It’s just unacceptable that people land into the middle of a private estate. That’s just not acceptable.”
A long term solution is now required, he added. “It now falls to all concerned to find a long term solution. There’s no point in having a situation where the family concerned are moving from estate to estate; that’s not a workable solution. A compromise will have to be found in relation to an appropriate long term location for this family. That’s what the Council and all of us need to address.”
Local councillor PJ Ryan also said that a solution is required. “It needs to be solved sooner rather than later. The residents of Lios Anama are very upset and I don’t blame them, their space has been encroached on. They shouldn’t have to tolerate it.”
He said that housing those in the encampment is the only real solution, but that is not a simple matter. “There is a difficulty because they want to be housed where they want a house, not where there’s one available. There is none where they want one at the minute.
“There is a budget to purchase a four bedroom house, but a lot of the four bedroom houses that have come on are way in excess of what Clare County Council are allowed to pay for a four bedroom house.”
Councillor Gerry Flynn said that legislation is making things very hard for local authorities in such situations. “The bottom line is that it’s a no win situation for the Council, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”
He also warned that such problems could be more prevalent, and he added that ” the Government seem to have taken their eye off the ball.”
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
