Tag Archives: clare county council

The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Heather Humphreys has joined with Pat Dowling, CEO, of Clare County Council to encourage everyone in Clare to take part in the first Cruinniú na Cásca, a new national day of culture and creativity. It will take place on Easter Monday as part of the Creative Ireland programme. Cruinniú na Cásca is a day-long national celebration of culture and creativity, which will take place in Dublin city centre and around the country. From live music and dance, to coding, theatre, art and music workshops, talks and tastings, readings and screenings, for the first time this year, special Cruinniú na Cásca events will take place in each of the 31 local authorities across the country. Admission is free (although tickets are required for some events with limited capacity) and there is a special focus on events for families and children.

CLARE County Council and the Creative Ireland national team are to host an open meeting on Thursday, at the Temple Gate Hotel at 7.30pm. On the evening, they will share details about the Creative Ireland programme and look at exploring opportunities to increase access, engagement and collaboration in the local arts and creative industries. Enabling creativity in every community is a core pillar of the Creative Ireland programme, an ambitious five-year initiative, from 2017 to 2022, which aims to place culture and creative communities at the centre of creative policy. Creative Ireland is to lead on the development of a dedicated culture and creativity plan for the county, based on the premise that participation in cultural activity drives personal and collective creativity, with significant implications for individual and societal wellbeing. This year will see a special focus on children and young people, with the specific objective of fast-tracking the Charter for Arts in Education, which will significantly increase access and …

Former chief executive of Clare County Council Tom Coughlan has been announced as the chairman designate of the board of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). Mr Coughlan who was council CEO from 2009 to 2016, is a board member of the Shannon Group PLC. In accordance with the Programme for a Partnership Government, Mr Coughlan is scheduled to appear before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation prior to the confirmation of his appointment. This appearance will take place on Tuesday, April 11. The announcement was made today (Friday) by Minister of State at the Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation Pat Breen. Three of the ordinary members, who were recruited to the board of the HSA via the Public Appointments Service (PAS) in 2014, have been re-appointed for a second three-year term. They have been joined by a new appointee, Ms Deirdre Cullivan.  Ms Cullivan was recruited through PAS and is a science graduate with senior level …

Failure to develop Limerick’s planned Northern Distributor Road would impact negatively on future investment potential and jobs at the National Technology Park, leading multi-national employers and the IDA have said. Three of the largest FDI employers, Johnson & Johnson Vision, Cook Medical and Northern Trust, with a combined work force of over 3,300 people and the IDA have come together to state their concerns that rejection of the proposed road by councillors would be a significant regressive step for the city, county and region and send the wrong signal to inward investors. A spur from the Limerick Northern Distributor Road (LNDR) is seen as the panacea to existing capacity constraints on the main road through the National Technology Park (NTP) and UL, which has up to 40 minute delays that will deny further expansion and investment into the area. The closing date for submissions from stakeholders and the wider public on the LNDR is Monday next, Limerick City and County …

Representatives of Clare County Council met with senior executives from Tourism Ireland in New York over  St Patrick’s weekend. They were briefed on Tourism Ireland’s extensive promotional programme for 2017, which is in full swing right now. Tourism Ireland aims to build on the success of 2016, which was the fourth record-breaking year in a row for Irish tourism from the United States. Tourism Ireland is prioritising North America this year, as a market which offers a strong return on investment, in terms of holiday visitors and expenditure. Our important ‘culturally curious’ and ‘social energiser’ audiences are being targeted with distinctive vacation experiences, events and special offers tailored to their interests. Tourism Ireland is creating ‘stand out’ for the island of Ireland in the US, highlighting experiences like the Wild Atlantic Way, the Causeway Coastal Route and Ireland’s Ancient East. Promotions aim to grow travel to the regions of Ireland, during the shoulder and off-peak seasons. With the recent announcement …

A CLOUD of gloom hung heavily over Clare County Council this week following the sudden death of senior engineer Sean Ward. The 63-year-old Abbeyfeale native, who moved to live in Sixmilebridge after joining the council in 2001, fell ill on Saturday and died unexpectedly last Monday morning. At his funeral mass, Bishop Emeritus Willie Walsh paid tribute to the major contribution that Mr Ward made to public service and to the local community, through his musical talents with the Sixmilebridge Folk Club. Musicians from throughout the county played various pieces in his memory during a moving and emotional ceremony attended by a large number of officials from Clare County Council and other local authorities where he previously worked. An accomplished accordion and concertina player, he could play a variety of instruments, including the fiddle, tin whistle and piano. Funeral goers were told that the deceased had expressed a wish to donate all of his instruments to his beloved folk club. …

Irish Water has appointed contractors to carry out repair and upgrade works to the Kilkee wastewater pumping station, with all works on site due to be completed within the next two months, in time for the start of the 2017 bathing period. A ‘Do Not Swim’ notice issued by Clare County Council in December remains in place pending completion of the work at the pumping station. This notice was issued in the interest of public health following an emergency discharge of storm water containing elements of wastewater from Kilkee pumping station into the sea via Kilkee beach. The emergency discharge occurred due to a failure in an operational safety device at the pumping station, combined with heavy rainfall in the area. Since then, Irish Water has commissioned the manufacture and installation of a new surge protection system to replace the one which failed in December. A specialist electrical contractor has been appointed to review all electrical issues at the pumping …

Minister For Employment and Small Business Pat Breen said he is satisfied that progress is now being made on the Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme as the project has gone to tender. “It is my understanding that the tender documents will be going out to contractors for pricing on Monday (yesterday). The tender period will be eight weeks, and pending no further complications, work is to commence on the ground in July,” said Minister Breen. “This third phase of the Ennis Flood Relief Scheme had been delayed due to technical difficulties, but I am pleased that the project is finally moving on,” added Minister Breen. “I understand the frustration of residence effected by flooding in this area of Ennis as they await the project to begin, a frustration that must be multiplied in recent days during the inclement weather, and I sincerely hope this is the beginning of the end of flooding issues for these people. “I have been working …