Tag Archives: clare county council

A VISION for the future of Ennis will be launched this Friday by the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD. The much anticipated Ennis 2040 Economic and Spatial Strategy is, according to Clare County Council, “a bold vision to deliver economic investment and make housing, jobs, amenity and services easier to access for all. The strategy is about building communities and creating one of the best places in the world to live, work and visit.” The strategy has set out ambitious growth targets and proposes the prioritisation of sustainable economic activities that will grow its population on average by 1.6% per annum and deliver an additional 5,000 jobs by 2040. Nine transformational projects have been identified through which the Ennis 2040 vision can be realised. The projects deliver on the concept of the ‘10-minute town’, attracting investment and delivering quality of life. In the implementation of this strategy Ennis will become Ireland’s first Climate Adaptive …

Local authority spent three times as much as Tipperary County Council refurbishing housing stock CLARE County Council’s average expenditure on reletting its own housing stock to new tenants is almost three times higher than Tipperary County Council, new figures have revealed. The National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC), has produced statistics that show Clare County Council average relet is €28,713, which is the third highest in the country. Tipperary County Council, which operates from an approved list of contractors, has an average re-let cost of €10,871. This then increases cost efficiency and reduces the time in reletting homes. Clare’s average reletting time rose 24.37% from 35.37 weeks in 2019 to 43.99 weeks in 2020. NOAC was advised by the Council that a few properties skew the data, as one property took more than two years to remove an illegal occupant. The Council outlined they had two single rural dwellings to relet, which is always more expensive to refurbish due to …

Deputy English praises the hard work of Clare LEO for supportive role THE “determination of the indigenous SME sector to succeed in the Mid-West” has been praised by a Minister of State on a visit to Clare. Damien English, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, met with the Clare Local Enterprise Office (LEO), as part of a series of nationwide visits to meet the LEO teams and engage with some of their client companies. Minister English said, “The Local Enterprise Office in Clare have worked hard with businesses across the county over the past 18 months and have continued to offer exceptional services such as mentoring, training, upskilling and financial supports during the pandemic. “I am grateful to Padraic McElwee and the LEO team for helping local firms stay afloat and protecting local job opportunities, and especially for their commitment in assisting businesses to make the transition to online trading. “People have shown that by ‘Looking for Local’ …

THE family of the late Tim Smythe has described the development of a new dressing room building at the Ennis park which bears his name as “amazing”. On Tuesday the new development, costing in the region of €500,000, was officially launched by the local authority at Tim Smythe Park. Michael Smythe, son of the late athlete and politician, told The Clare Champion he believes his father would have been thrilled at what has been done in his name. “It is absolutely amazing. He was never a person that sought out thanks or praise, but he would absolutely have been happy with this. “The dressing rooms are just a fantastic addition to what has already been done here. I remember when I used to come here to play with Lifford, this is just so amazing to see.” Michael, now based in the US, added that his father would have been particularly delighted with the park’s running track. “That was his love …

LAHINCH’S Liam Grant will next week be co-opted as a Green Party representative to Clare County Council, replacing Susan Crawford. In advance of taking the seat, Mr Grant said, “It is a great privilege and a very humbling experience to represent the Green Party in West and North Clare. As an Earth and Ocean Science graduate, I am very passionate about the environment, particularly when it comes to water. I want to put an end to beaches being closed in the county due to high levels of bacteria in the sea. We need to bring our water and wastewater infrastructure into the 21st century.” “As the incoming Green Party Councillor, I look forward to working in tandem with Senator Róisín Garvey. Róisín has already done tremendous work in the area, and we share a similar vision for the future. With sea swimming becoming ever more popular I would like to see the development of tidal swimming pools, similar to that …

CLARE County Council has been urged to provide a mechanism to help councillors track the progress on their public representations to the local authority, writes Dan Danaher. Councillor Gerry Flynn has asked for the introduction of performance indicators for each Municipal District to monitor representations from elected members. While several motions have been supported by councillors over the years, he claimed at a recent council meeting no substantial progress has occurred from the executive. He called for a faster turnaround, particularly at municipal district level, in response to requests from councillors. “Councillors carry out a very important role on behalf of their communities and require a timely response to their representations. “It is not rocket science to ensure that what councillors request is acted on.” Councillor Johnny Flynn said it is important to be able to demonstrate that representations from constituents, which form an integral part of local democracy, are acted upon efficiently. Having tabled a motion on this issue …

CLARE County Council is to go back to the drawing board after a number of complaints about a metal ladder installed at a very popular swimming area at Clahane in Liscannor. The busy local beauty spot has seen a big upsurge in sea swimming since the pandemic, but the installation of a steel ladder has irked a number of bathers. One of those who contacted The Champion described the structure as “medieval” and said it was causing problems for those entering and exiting the swimming area. While efforts were made by the authority to respond to swimmers’ concerns and adjust the structure, dissatisfaction reigned. “What on earth did we do to deserve the medieval addition to the ladder in Clahane, Liscannor, County Clare?” bather Margaret Hough said in an email to this newspaper. “The new ladder which was put in during the summer was causing a lot of problems for entry and exit to the swimming area. “Clare County council …

LOCAL vets have come out in support of plans for the development of a pet crematorium in Ennis which has been proposed in response to “a lack of this service” within the county and surroundings. The nearest such facility is in Kerry, with the developers of the proposal stating that the associated delay following the loss of a pet “can be very distressing” for owners. An application for planning permission has been lodged with Clare County Council for alterations to be carried out to an existing vacant unit at the Ennis Enterprise Centre in the Gort Road Industrial Estate to allow for the development of a pet crematorium for domestic pets. According to a document lodged with the planning authority on behalf of applicants Aimee and Danny Keller, there is currently no such service in the county, with only five in the Republic of Ireland. “The proposed service will be ideally suited in the mid west where there is significant …