Tag Archives: clare county council

THE people of Clare are being urged to keep up their efforts to reduce the spread of Covid-19 at this “critical time.” Clare County Council and An Garda Síochána have joined forces to emphasise the importance of following the guidelines to save people’s lives. With case numbers persistently high and the health service coming under significant pressure, Chief Executive of the Council Pat Dowling and Chief Superintendent of Clare Garda Division Sean Colleran have called on everyone in the county to make another extra effort to drive down the levels of infection in our communities.  The risk of transmitting or getting Covid-19 is currently very high. The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) has described the situation in hospitals as stark, with people of all ages being admitted to hospital and being taken into intensive care units.  Pat Dowling, Chief Executive, Clare County Council, said, “This is a critical time. The situation is urgent. The Chief Medical Officer has warned …

CLARE County Council has been urged to apologise for the role it played, in the 1920s and ‘30s, in the running of the County Clare Nursery in Kilrush. Last week, in the Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, the high infant mortality rate there was revealed. The deaths of so-called “illegitimate” infants is recorded as 168 during a ten-year period from 1922 to 1932. The commission concluded that the vast majority of those children died at the home. The facility was owned and financed by Clare County Council. At the outset of this week’s meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, Councillor Shane Talty proposed that an apology would be issued by the council at its February meeting.  He said the council was proud of its history but added, “We should acknowledge our dark chapters and if the local authority had a role in that, albeit nobody today can take responsibility, I think at a …

CLARE County Council has confirmed that emergency health and safety repairs have been carried out on a section of one of the most popular walking routes in the county for tourists and locals. Repair works on the Cliffs of Moher Coastal Walk in a two kilometre zone, one kilometre north and one kilometre south of the Visitor Centre, are almost complete. Works completed by Guerin and Considine include resurfacing the entire length, reinstatement of a dry stone wall 500 metres in length, repairs to stiles, and raising of flagstones in areas of uncontrolled access. Access to the cliff edge area was achieved in collaboration with the landowners, design was  completed in-house by the Design Office and a Section Five declaration was obtained from the Planning Department for part of the works. These repair works were recently inspected by Clare County Council chief executive officer, Pat Dowling, and Geraldine Enright, Director, Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience. The works were jointly led …

THE completion of 30 residential units under social housing developments in County Clare alongside 163 additional units currently under construction will provide “badly needed homes for the people of Clare.” That’s according to Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Councillor Mary Howard who welcomed the developments adding, “It is essential that Clare County Council continues to build homes as part of our plans to address our social housing requirements, and to continue to do this in a planned and strategic way.” The completed units are located in Quilty, Kilmihil, Sixmilebridge and Roslevan. Construction on a new development of 18 units at An Cladach, Quilty West, Quilty, commenced on April 25, 2019, and was handed over to Clare County Council on December 18, 2020. This development was constructed by Martins Construction Ltd and comprises a mix of two, three and four-bedroom single and two-storey semi-detached houses. These residential units were constructed to a high standard and achieved Building Energy Ratings (BERs) of …

CLARE is faced with “a premeditated depopulation of the countryside” unless pressure is put on organisations including Irish Water to provide essential services, according to a member of the local authority. Councillor Cillian Murphy made his remarks at the January meeting of Clare County Council after warning that tracts of land are at risk of being de-zoned under a new National Planning Framework (NPF), if services are not provided within the next seven years. The Fianna Fáil member tabled a series of detailed questions about the forthcoming development plan for Clare which will be in effect up from 2022 to 2028. He noted that the NPF outlines a tiered approach, whereby lands that are unlikely to be serviced within the period of the plan are recommended to be de-zoned for development. He was sharply critical of “a lack of ambition” for rural Ireland on the part of the State, and said organisations like Irish Water, instead of being instructed to …

ACCUSATIONS of an ambush on Clare’s first citizen, as she chaired the monthly meeting of Clare County Council, were robustly denied by three members who tabled a motion calling for a ban on the use of the title ‘Mayor of Clare’. Councillors Ann Norton, Mark Nestor and Paul Murphy refused a number of requests from fellow councillors to withdrawn their motion. They noted that, under the Local Government legislation, the only mayoral title is that of ‘Mayor of the Ennis Municipal District,’ owing to the population of the area, and that the title for the county council chair is ‘Cathaoirleach’. Their motion asked “that the executive use the correct titles of Cathaoirleach of County Clare and Mayor of Ennis in all correspondence and media releases”. Responding, Councillor Howard, who is the current council chair, said she found it hard not to take the motion personally. She agreed with the assertion of Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy that it represented an ambush. …

COMMUNITY and voluntary organisations across the county are at risk and facing a funding crisis, the chairperson of the Killaloe Municipal District has warned. Councillor Pat Hayes said that the public health restrictions have left the sector reeling and fighting for survival, despite the fact that it continues to make a huge contribution to the Covid-19 response, particularly in rural parts of Clare. He is now calling on government to open up funding opportunities so that organisations can apply to cover some of their basic running costs. “What you have here is a double blow to the sector,” the Fianna Fáil member outlined. “If you take a community hall or GAA facility, they’ve had to shut down which means they’ve lost any income they might normally be able to generate. Most of them still have basic costs to cover and restrictions on gatherings have meant that most of the normal fundraising events have been impossible.” Councillor Hayes said that while …

HIGHLY-anticipated restoration works are set to get underway shortly at the Vandeleur Walled Garden, where a new interpretative museum is among the developments planned. Located in Kilrush, the gardens are among the jewels in the crown of tourism in West Clare and were visited recently by Clare County Council officials and project stakeholders. The socially-distanced site visit was in advance of the enabling works getting underway for the restoration and renovation of the old stable block. The tendering process is complete and Custy Construction Ltd, a Clare-based construction firm, has been appointed to this project. The restoration works are funded by the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, under the Department of Rural and Community Development. Additional match funding has come from the council. The main works, due to begin early this year, will include an interpretative museum and new gardeners’ building, along with the development of a new visitor experience design and approach for the complex. “I very much welcome …