Tag Archives: clare

FIGURES released last week show that 2,452 Personal Public Services Numbers (PPSN) have been issued to Ukrainians in Clare, but the numbe of arrivals here may actually be much higher. Orla Ní Éilí of the Clare Immigrant Support Centre said, “We’re a bit confused by the numbers, they’re based on PPS numbers, which people have to have. “But we can tell you in the hotels there are around 2,500 people at this stage and out in the community there are a lot more. We would say that Clare has had 10% of arrivals from the word go.” Should that be the case, then there would be approximately 3,500 Ukrainian refugees in the county. Ms Ní Éilí said that many people are still coming, with around 26 arriving on one day last week alone. Clare Immigrant Support Centre has never had to deal with a situation like this, with so many people arriving at one time, she said, while noting that …

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Semi Final Clare 0-20 Kilkenny 2-26 A disappointing opening half display saw Clare bow out of the All-Ireland Championship as a ravenous Kilkenny proved too much to handle, reports Ivan Smyth. In a first half where little went as planned for Clare, they gave themselves a proverbial mountain to climb when trailing 1-17 to 0-6 at half time. With John Conlon missing out through injury, the Clonlara’s man experience was sorely missed. The Clare defence held up reasonably well but the Clare attack misfired during the damaging opening half as they struck 11 wides and only six points. In what was only his fifth game in Croke Park with the Clare senior team, Tony Kelly was expertly marshalled by the tigerish Mikey Butler. Kelly was kept scoreless from play while Peter Duggan also held to just a solitary point from a free. With Banner hopes high after the rousing come from behind win over Wexford plus …

THE population of Clare has increased by 40% in a generation, preliminary figures from Census 2022 have revealed. Figures published from this year’s census found that Clare’s 2022 population is 127,419, up by 7.2% on 2016. It is slightly less than the 7.6% increase in population for the Republic as a whole, but represents a substantial increase from the census of 1991, one generation ago. That year, Clare’s population was just 90,918, which was a slight drop from the previous census, but every one held since has seen an increase. Clare now has an extra 36,517 living within its borders than it did then, an increase of 40%.  The increased population has been reflected in a number of capacity issues seen in the county in recent years, with health services, schools and housing struggling to keep up with the pressure from the rise in residents. Since the last census in the 2016 the population has gone up by 8,602. There …

A SERIOUS issue for a number of members of Clare County Council regarding the upcoming county development plan is the fact it contains allocations for growth. There are concerns that these are going to stymie development in rural Clare, just as remote working becomes commonplace, and this week Councillor PJ Kelly said that certain areas could be totally left behind. “I asked could we get specific about what will Kilrush get, what will Kilkee get and I was told no, it’ll be the total area. That means if you have a big demand in one corner the whole quota of the allocation could be used up in a term much shorter than the six years. “Suppose we allocate X to west Clare over six years, but there’s a big demand and it’s used up in three years. That means we can’t grant any further planning permissions,” he said. The veteran Fianna Fáil councillor said that he had listened to some …

THE welcome “with open arms” which has been given to the people of Ukraine has been praised by Ennis’ outgoing mayor as she reflected on her year in office. Councillor Ann Norton recalled “a very good and very positive year” as the county capital’s first citizen at the AGM of the Ennis Municipal District on Friday. She revealed that on the morning before handing over the chains of office she paid a visit to the children of Ennis Educate Together, which has welcomed 44 children from Ukraine in recent months. “We have a war still going on in Ukraine and we have many Ukrainian people now living in County Clare. “We have a huge amount of them in Ennis. I am the chairperson of Ennis Educate Together and we have taken 44 children into the school. “Before I finished and handed over the chains I wanted to go in and talk to them and see how they are doing and …

PLANS for the future development of Ennis have been described as “incredible, proactive and visionary” by the municipal district’s new mayor Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy. The Fianna Fáil councillor was elected mayor of the county capital at Friday’s AGM of the Ennis Municipal District. Speaking following her election she made reference to the Ennis 2040 Strategy, providing a comprehensive framework for the sustainable development of the town and the region. “This plan is a plan that sets out a future that isn’t one of stagnation but rather vibrancy for our capital town. It is a town that you will want to visit, will want to work in and will want to live in and that is something that we must applaud,” she said. This is the Ballybeg-based councillor’s second term as mayor of Ennis, having previously held the title in 2018. She also served as Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council in 2020. She told the AGM that it was her …

AN Ennis housing estate has been “abandoned” by the local authority, an Ennis councillor has claimed. Calls have been made for the Ennis Municipal District to include the maintenance of trees and cutting of wide tranches of grass on either side of the main estate road at Cappahard estate. According to Councillor Johnny Flynn large Ennis estates such as Cappahard built in the first decade of this century are “being treated unfairly” when it comes to grass cutting. He outlined that residents in the Cappahard estate of 270 houses are paying around €9,000 to maintain the area. They receive a €350 grant towards this maintenance, the same amount as smaller estates with less costs. Councillor Flynn argued that older estates and council estates have their green areas cut by the council while private estates have to pay, despite high planning development levies paid during construction and property tax “with little or no services in return”. He said that there is …

THE provision of a pre-school at Clooney National School has been given the green light by the Department of Education. Consent has been granted for the operation of the service by a third-party childcare provider in an empty classroom in the school. The move has been welcomed by Independent Clare TD Michael McNamara who said, “I was delighted to be able to assist in securing go ahead for this preschool service, which will help the school to retain its three-teacher status and increase enrolment numbers. “Clooney NS, like many other rural schools across Clare, faces the ongoing challenge of consolidating and growing the number of students enrolled there,” he commented. Deputy McNamara continued, “I want to acknowledge the Principal and Board of Management for their efforts in seeking out a third-party childcare provider to operate a preschool at Clooney NS.  “Up to a dozen children are already provisionally enrolled in the new service, which bodes well for future enrolment numbers …