By Dan Danaher
FORMER Clare Labour Party activist, Paula McNamara will contest the Local Elections as an independent candidate in May.
In addition to stepping down from the Labour Party’s Central Council, Paula McNamara, Magowna, Inch, resigned from the party last month.
The daughter of former Ennis Hospital Development Committee chairman and Labour Party activist, the late Peadar McNamara, Paula also relinquished a number of administrative roles including PRO of the Ennis Labour Branch, county women’s’ officer, and co-treasure.
Involved in numerous community projects from a young age, she hopes voters will judge her ability to make a difference on the council on what she has achieved in the past.
“I am young energetic person who likes to get things done. I hope my years of community involvement will give voters a glimpse of what I have and can achieve with their support,” she said.
Revitalising Ennis town centre to make it a more attractive place for local shoppers and tourists is one of her five key objectives in her local elections’ campaign. If elected, Ms McNamara has pledged to work in the council to accommodate members of the community and voluntary sector in some vacant properties to prevent them from falling into unsightly disrepair.
She believes this would help attract more people to all the retail outlets in the town
centre.
Stressing the importance of creating more active participation from people in community projects, she is planning a number of proposals including linking up with primary schools to provide edible plants in amenity areas.
Primary schools students and teachers would also play a key role in another project where elderly people would share their experience and experience during organised talks.
Through the provision of an interactive flood risk map on Clare County Council’s website, she believes that different flood risk areas in the county should be identified on the map to allow householders and businesses to plan for significant flooding events.
She also believes it would be essential to work with other elected councillors to improve flood prevention measures in Ennis and throughout the county.
Working with people who have suffered major trauma such as serious head injuries, she hopes dedicated “communication friendly spaces” could be provided in local pubs and restaurants to facilitate their specific needs.
This would be further enhanced with staff training to ensure people with these disabilities are dealt with more emphatically.
Before the substitute woodwork and construction teacher decided to try and enter the local authority arena, she was already involved in the delivery of a number of community projects.
They include the development of a new Clare Peace Park opposite Glór in Ennis, a Men’s Shed and start of the first Women’s Shed project in Europe and a drive to secure second hand instruments to facilitate an orchestra for an Ennis school, which is just in its infancy. Two weeks ago, she launched an emergency aimed at reducing response times for all emergencies in Clare.
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.