Tag Archives: clare county council

CLARE County Council has moved to reassure the public that a new on-line system for advertising social housing won’t disadvantage those who are not computer literate. The issue was raised at the monthly meeting of the authority by Councillor PJ Ryan who said constituents had been contacting him to voice concerns over the new Choice Based Letting (CBL) system, which allows people to view newly-available properties and make a bid from them through an on-line platform. “There is a bit of nervousness and a genuine fear out there that if you are not computer literate, you will miss out,” the Independent member explained. “If, for example, someone doesn’t find out for a week or ten days that a property is available, it’s unfair that they might miss out. In other cases, people might not be literate and have to rely on family or friends to make their application. Those people could miss out in this system too.” Councillor Ryan’s motion …

The possibility of transferring Shannon Heritage sites under the control of the local authority or the Office of Public Works must be “explored and supported”, Clare TD Joe Carey has said. Deputy Carey spoke out after he received confirmation that the Government is to carry out a review of the Shannon Group, which currently operates the heritage sites. Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and St John’s Castle in Limerick have reopened after the lockdown but are due to close again at the end of August. Other key sites such as Craggaunowen Castle, Knappogue Castle and Dunguaire Castle have not reopened, which has created great uncertainty among Shannon Heritage employees. Speaking after he met with Shannon Heritage workers on Monday, Deputy Carey called on the Shannon Group to make a formal application for further supports to enable the heritage sites to reopen on a year-round basis. The local Fine Gael TD said: “I have raised this in the Dáil on several occasions – including last week …

WARM tributes were paid at the June meeting of the West Clare Municipal District to long-serving official John Corry, who is to move to the Roads Section of Clare County Council. A presentation was made to Mr Corry, former Town Clerk for Kilrush, after more than a decade’s service to West Clare. “If you could have picked your dream team, John would be top of the list,” Councillor Ian Lynch said. “He is a phenomenal servant to Clare.” Councillor Joe Killeen backed up those views and wished Mr Corry well in his new role. “It can be difficult for new councillors to find their feet,” he said. “As Administrative Officer, John has always been very patient and helpful and a great support.” In the opinion of Councillor Róisín Garvey, “Everybody needs a John Corry in their lives”. “If I could keep you and have you run my life, I would,” she said. “Newbies could sometimes be called scatty.” Director of …

A LONG awaited multi-million euro re-development of Knockanean National School has been given the green light by Clare County Council. The plans submitted by the Office of Public Works (OPW) include the construction of eight new classrooms, with an existing four-classroom block built in 2011 retained and integrated into the new build. The new development will not result in an increase in student numbers at the school, with a condition of planning limiting school enrolments to 297 pupils. The number of enrolments can only be changed with another planning permission. According to the planning authority, “In the interests of traffic safety and free flow, the protection of adjacent amenities and to control the intensity of use of the site, it is considered appropriate to restrict pupil numbers to current enrolment levels in order to provide for a qualitative improvement of school facilities.” Councillor Johnny Flynn, part of the project team established to realise the new development, has described the planned …

A 20-year strategy to guide future upgrades at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience is currently in development, with all works to be dependent on the availability of funding. Clare County Council, supported by Fáilte Ireland, is currently undertaking the Cliffs of Moher Strategy 2040 that will set out the future plans, including an architectural masterplan for the site and economic delivery plans for the wider hinterland of County Clare. UK-based tourism lead multi-disciplinary consultants Haley Sharpe Design are midway through the project schedule, which is due for completion in quarter one, 2021.  A separate contract running concurrently with the strategy has been signed with internationally renowned Dublin-based architects Henchion Reuter, with a value of €1.93m over a number of years, to design key infrastructural requirements. This contract will dovetail with the strategy to inform the wish list of developments that could be delivered over the long term.   The package of works for design include required upgrades to the waste water …

The innovative work carried out by the staff of Clare County Council during the Covid-19 crisis will be highlighted on #YourCouncilDay, which takes place on Wednesday, July 1. Clare’s swift reaction to the demands of lockdown saw the Library Service introduce several initiatives including a contact and collect service, a cocooning book delivery service and more than 40 online story-time, drawing and craft workshops for children. The library also offered its 75-piece toy and sensory collection to parents of children with complex needs, and distributed 500 wellbeing packs to those that are cocooning. A writing competition for children and teenagers was launched on May 4 and more than 100 entries were submitted under the theme ‘County Clare 2020: A Day in My Life’. The competition was offered as an alternative creative activity for children and teenagers by the Clare Library Service after the schools were closed on March 15. The winning and highly commended stories were selected by award-winning children’s …

Funding of €182,000 recently allocated by Minister Shane Ross will extend the EuroVelo cycling route into County Clare. EuroVelo 1 stretches from Norway to Portugal via Ireland and targets long-distance cyclists but also provides routes for users of all abilities as the criteria for inclusion specify lower-trafficked roads as well as Greenways. The route forms part of a network of 17 long-distance cycle routes throughout Europe and it enters County Clare via counties Galway and Limerick. The route in Clare is approximately 317km long and comprises six daily sections, that is sections which typically can be cycled in one day. In some parts the route ties into cycle routes already in operation, for example, the Doolin and Loop Head cycle routes. The roll out of the route will include the provision of EuroVelo signage, bike repair stands, information boards and cycle racks. Carmel Kirby, Director of Physical Development, Clare County Council, said: “This project will be a stimulus for economic …

THE Clare Economic Taskforce held its inaugural meeting at Áras Contae an Chláir, Ennis, today (Friday). The taskforce was convened by Pat Dowling, Chief Executive of Clare County Council, to inform and guide appropriate economic measures that will stimulate job creation in Clare. The group comprises public and private sector leaders and is chaired by retired Ambassador Noel Kilkenny, former Consul General of Ireland in New York. The Clare Economic Taskforce will assist Clare County Council to: Identify the immediate priority actions required to maximise the area’s local and regional economic potential; Develop future resilience in the local and regional economy. The Taskforce will progress medium and long-term projects and actions; The Taskforce will examine how Clare, as part of the Mid-West region, can facilitate and enable decentralised employment opportunities; The Taskforce will examine how national, EU and international capital investment opportunities can underpin Clare’s future economic growth; The Taskforce will build economic confidence in Clare and the Mid-West region; …