Tag Archives: clare county council

Clare County Council has been urged to apply, without delay, for its share of the €3.8billion social housing fund announced by Environment Minister, Alan Kelly. “We have a real social housing need in Clare, and today’s announcement by Minister Kelly to deliver 35,000 homes across the country over the next six years is greatly welcome,”commented Clare TD, Michael McNamara. “I am urging Clare County Council to submit applications to this fund, to address the social housing problem. New rules put in place by Minister Kelly mean that the county council will take a strong leading role in social housing provision in the county, where previously it was mainly the job of private operators,” he added.

Clare County Council has announced the establishment of a new forum aimed at enhancing and expanding the role played by the public in formulating local government policy and the future development of communities. The Public Participation Network (PPN), which replaces the Clare Community Forum, will be the new representative voice of the community, voluntary and environmental sectors in Clare. An information briefing and registration event will be held at Glór in Ennis at 7.00pm on Wednesday, December 3. The event will outline how community, voluntary, social inclusion and environmental groups can benefit from the new network and why they should consider becoming members. Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council,  John Crowe said the PPN will enable community groups to interact with local government at different levels, as well as facilitate Clare County Council in developing policy and in plan making. A Clare County PPN will be established along with a PPN in each of the four municipal districts; Ennis, Shannon, Killaloe …

Clare County Council has been accused of “massaging” official figures on its social housing list, amid growing concern of a 28% hike in applicants seeking local authority accommodation. Strategic policy committee chairman, Councillor Gerry Flynn, claimed official figures did not fully reflect the real social housing waiting list, which is already at “crisis point” and of “epidemic” proportions. Councillor Flynn claimed the council is “massaging” the overall figures due to the lack of a proper validation process, as applicants were knocked off the list if they didn’t respond to a council letter, asking them if they had a house. He believes an applicant should be left on a list unless the council has “concrete proof” they have obtained permanent accommodation. His charge coincides with a challenge from Housing Minister Paudie Coffey for the council and other local authorities to “step up to the plate” in terms of social housing provision. According to the most recent figures provided by the council, …

A Lahinch county councillor has claimed that Clare County Council employees are “roaming” around North Clare, checking if graves are the required depth, which Councillor Bill Slattery has heard should now be eight-foot deep. Councillor Slattery has challenged the local authority to dig 10 eight-foot graves in Lahinch, where he says the rock formation mitigate against deep graves. “In recent times, a person was being buried and somebody came out and told them the coffin wasn’t down far enough,” Councillor Slattery claimed. “Was it someone from the council?” director of services, Ann Haugh asked. “I believe so. They couldn’t go down any further because they had met rock. They were down five-foot-nine and he said ‘ye better go down to eight foot. Those are the new guidelines.’ This was the morning of the funeral. The graveyards around here are all rock. Are there new EU guidelines or guidelines from the Department of Environment, as regards new requirements for burial grounds, …

Clare County Council says the zoning of more than 345 hectares of land along the Shannon Estuary will give ‘greater investor confidence’ for anyone considering large-scale marine related development proposals. Earlier this week the council’s elected members unanimously backed the move to incorporate the zoned lands into the Clare County Development Plan 2011-17 along with the Strategic Integrated Framework Plan (SIFP) for the Shannon Estuary, a major strategic plan for the future development and management of marine-related industry and tourism along Ireland’s largest estuary. The newly zoned lands relate to Strategic Development Locations (SDL) at Cahercon and Moneypoint where existing pier facilities and deep estuarial water provide potential for maritime industry investment. Clare County Council says it would welcome any opportunity to discuss suitable development proposals for the locations. A new working group has also been established to promote and market the sites and wider Estuary as a key investment location. Led by Clare County Council, the group also comprises …

Clare County Council says it has “ample” supplies of rock salt to treat the County’s roads during the coming winter. In excess of 1,o00 tonnes of rock salt are currently in storage at the local authority’s depot and maintenance facility at Beechpark including stocks held over from last winter, which was one of the mildest in recent years. Salt stocks will also be drawn down by the council during the winter from the National Roads Authority (NRA) and the Department of Transport (DTTAS), which has allocated 2,200 additional tonnes to Clare. Further stocks will be available if required in an emergency situation from the NRA’s strategic salt reserve. Clare County Council’s fleet of salt spreader trucks will facilitate road treatment operations during the winter season. Salt stocks will be used to treat strategic national, excluding the motorway network, and non-national routes around Clare during the winter season. Clare’s motorway and dual carriageways will be treated directly by contractors on behalf …

LONG awaited works are to begin on Quin bridge next week, which will see the removal of temporary bollards providing pedestrian access on the bridge. The local bridge committee held a meeting at Quin Hall this week where it was revealed that Clare County Council is to begin works on agreed plans to provide pedestrian access on the bridge from Monday. The news comes on the back of nine months work by the local committee, under the chairmanship of Tony Demspey, who said they are pleased to see the project to progress to the construction stage. It is expected the work will take about four weeks to complete, weather-permitting. This will mean the project will be completed by Christmas. Local councillor Clare Colleran Molloy said, “Thankfully, the bollards will be removed next week and there will be a pathway paved and edged in Liscannor limestone, which will be put on the bridge”. The work, when complete, will see the bridge …

A 22-apartment complex in Pound Lane, Ennis, was officially opened this Thursday by Housing Minister, Paudie Coffey. The one and two-bedroomed apartments are owned and managed by Clúid Housing, one of the State’s largest housing associations. The apartments were originally built as a private development and, following consultation with Clare County Council, Clúid purchased the units for €970,000 in April this year, under the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) scheme and invested a further €130,000 in refurbishing the complex. The first tenants, including returned emigrant Jim Houlihan, took up residence in September 2014. A Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) driver, Jim Houlihan arrived back from London to his native Kilrush seven years ago, just as the Celtic Tiger era came to an abrupt end. “I was living and working in London for 30 years as a HGV driver and then as a bus driver for a year and I decided to come back to live and work in Ennis. But the …