Tag Archives: clare county council

A new trail showcasing the rich natural heritage of Lough Derg will be officially unveiled next week. Lough Derg (on the Shannon) Nature Trail is produced by the county councils in Clare, Galway and Tipperary, and co-funded by The Heritage Council and Lakelands & Inland Waterways. The 130-kilometre trail takes visitors from Portumna in Galway down the western shore of the lake, to Killaloe in Clare, and back up on the eastern side to Terryglass in Tipperary. The stops along the route, which can be travelled in any direction, include walking routes, lakeshore access, great bird watching locations, woodland parks for adventuring, and quiet spots to enjoy the beautiful vistas of Ireland’s third largest lake. Among the 24 discovery points featured is the monastic site at Inis Cealtra, known as the “Jewel of the Lough’, as well as the ancient woodlands of Portumna Forest Park, Derrycrag Wood, Raheen Wood and Cominchas Forest, the sheltered bays and harbours at Rosmore, Mountshannon …

IRISH Water has denied that Clare County Council will have to pay the water charges of tenants who fail to pay. The CEO of Clare County Council, Tom Coughlan told a meeting of the council that he understood that the council will have to pay Irish Water, if tenants don’t pay their quarterly water charges, the first of which have been dropping through letterboxes in recent days. But Irish Water said this Wednesday that this is not the case and under law, “the occupier of the house is liable for the bill.” “That also applies to private landlords, and once a landlord provides us with the details of the tenant then we will follow up any case on non-payment with the tenant,” a spokesperson for Irish Water told The Clare Champion. Clare County Council CEO, Tom Coughlan was responding to a series of questions put by Councillor Gerry Flynn after the council gave the names and addresses of tenants to …

A homeless family, living in emergency accommodation for the past three and a half months, is begging Clare County Council to house them, as they cannot find suitable private, rental accommodation locally. Martin Mongan, his 21-year-old partner, Kathleen Delaney, and their two young children are currently living in one bedroom in a bed and breakfast in Lahinch. “It has been very, very hard. There is a lot of moving. Where we are now, we leave at about 12 noon or 1pm and we have to be gone until about 8pm or 9pm. My parents and brothers would collect us if the weather is bad but we have a double buggie and, in the fine weather, we walk down to Lahinch and wait there until we get collected,” Martin explained. “Then we wait with my parents in their house in Miltown Malbay and then, at night, we come back again. We have breakfast here and that is good and then, within …

CLARE County Council saved more than €400,000, as a result of the abolition of three town councils and the reduction of 40 councillors since the local elections last May. Councillor Johnny Flynn had called for a report from head of finance, Niall Barrett, on savings following the abolition of the three town councils and the reduction in numbers from 68 to 28 councillors, since the mid-2014 elections. He also asked what reductions to Clare and Ennis town rates can be expected in 2016, as a result of these and other associated efficiencies that were predicted to be achieved, following the 2014 Local Government Reform package. According to Mr Barrett, payments to councillors in 2013 were €1,266,000; in 2014, €1,063,000, and this year, the cost is expected to be €858,000 – the first full year that the council is operating as a single entity – a saving of €408,000. Mr Barrett added that it should also be noted that the Local …

Clare will be represented by five communities in the 2015 IPB Pride of Place Competition, with the awards being presented in Ennis in November. The five projects will be hoping to emulate Clare’s success in last year’s competition when Killaloe and Tuamgraney received runner-up prizes in their respective categories. Clare County Council also won a special award for its contribution to the competition since it was first established in 2003. Clare will be represented in the all-island initiative by Bunratty Local Development Association  in Category 1 for population centres of up to 300 people; Doonbeg Community Development Company Ltd. in Category 2 for population centres of between 300 and 1,000 people; Kilrush Tidy Towns in Category 4 for population centres over 2,000; the Ennis based Cuan an Chláir in Category 5 (Age Friendly Initiative) and Kilmaley Voluntary Housing Association Ltd. in Category 7 (Community Health Initiative).

Figures released this week show  that 202 extra jobs were created by County Clare companies, supported by the Department of Jobs, through the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Clare during 2014. The results reveal that at the end of 2014 total direct employment among the 161 LEO client companies in Clare stood at 1,346, up from 1,142. “In comparison to other local authority areas, LEO Clare has helped to deliver significant jobs growth during its first year of operation. These figures show that the LEO model of supporting the enterprise sector in Clare in partnership with the various agencies responsible for job creation in the region is helping to directly produce real jobs,” commented Fine Gael Senator Tony Mulcahy. “By bringing the functions of the former County Enterprise Boards into the Clare County Council structure, LEO Clare clearly is offering a more streamlined service for clients and is proactively reaching out to, engaging with, advising and funding small and micro businesses. As …

Ennis will undergo one of the largest ever community-clean-ups in the history of the town this coming Saturday when businesses, community groups, sports organisations and residents hit the streets to pick up litter. Ennis Tidy Towns Committee, supported by Ennis Chamber of Commerce and Clare County Council, is calling on the people of the town and surrounding areas to show their civic pride by turning up on the day to lend their support to the initiative which is aimed at enhancing the county capital’s chances of becoming Ireland’s Tidiest Town. The weekend clean-up forms part of ‘On The Move To Become Ireland’s Tidiest Town’, a community-wide campaign launched earlier this month to help Ennis achieve national success in the 2015 SuperValu TidyTowns Competition. The clean-up takes place from 11am to 1pm with groups, businesses and individuals interested in taking part asked to gather at 10am in the grounds of Áras Contae an Chláir on the New Road. Groups carrying out …

THE three-day INIS Fest music festival, planned for Tim Smythe Park in Ennis at the end of June has been cancelled. The announcement was made over the weekend and follows two meetings between the festival organisers, Impresario Events Limited, and local residents. The residents had expressed their serious concerns about security, noise and traffic management issues, and their fears of possible anti-social behaviour and damage to their property, while questioning the legality of selling alcohol to as many as 3,500 patrons on the publicly-owned Fair Green in Ennis where drinking alcohol is banned. In a statement on their website, Impresario Events, say following numerous consultations with residents in the vicinity of the festival venue, they have decided that a number of ongoing concerns of residents required to be addressed before a festival of this nature can take place. “We are disappointed that such a positive event for the town of Ennis is not going ahead at this time but we …