Tag Archives: Councillor Alan O’Callaghan

CLARE County Council won’t be taking over the Shannon Heritage sites in the county until a funding package is put in place to support it. That was the message contained in a report provided to councillors at their meeting on Monday. Councillor Alan O’Callaghan had asked for an update on the expected transfer. He noted that staff have been “in limbo” for some time now, while he said repairs and improvements are required at some of the sites.  Responding CEO Pat Dowling said that the Council has put a lot of emphasis on the transfer, and there have been meetings with the staff on two occasions. He said that it is crucial that the appropriate level of due diligence takes place. “I will not and cannot expose Clare County Council to any unforeseen expenditure.” Further detail to Mr O’Callaghan’s query regarding this due diligence was provided in a response from Director of Rural Development Leonard Cleary. “Clare County Council and …

DECLINING water quality across Clare will be addressed in a new draft plan for the management of river basins, councillors have been told.  An overview of the process of creating a new plan for the period 2022 to 2027 was presented at a meeting of the council’s committee on Physical Development last week.  Community Water Officer for the South West, Ruairí Ó Conchúir outlined how views are being sought across the county which will feed into a national plan for protecting Ireland’s water bodies. Outlining the situation in this county, Mr Ó Conchúir noted that the percentage of ‘high status’ waterways here have fallen from 14% to 3% between 2013 and 2018. In addition, the number of water bodies rated as being in poor condition also increased by a third since 2017 “We have seen improvements in the worst of the worst, and decline in the best of the best,” he said. He added that the biggest pressures on rivers …

FRUSTRATION has been expressed by an East Clare councillor over the ongoing delay in rolling out CCTV in the fight to stop illegal dumping. Councillor Alan O’Callaghan has raised the issue numerous times at forums including Clare County Council and the Joint Policing Committee (JPC). The issue is of national concern, with figures suggesting some local authorities are spending well over €1m annually to tackle the problem. Advice, sought from the Data Protection Commissioner has to-date vetoed the use of CCTV by local authorities, without the express permission of the Garda Commissioner. South East Clare is a particular blackspot in the view of Councillor O’Callghan. He has previously told fellow members of the Killaloe Municipal District he believes unlicensed operators are taking large amounts of waste from Limerick into remote forested areas. Raising the matter again at the meeting of the council’s committee on physical development, Councillor O’Callaghan was told that the new Circular Economy Bill makes provision for the …

ONGOING concerns about the condition of the main road from Ennis through East Clare have been highlighted by Councillor Alan O’Callaghan. He told the November meeting of the Killaloe district committee of a bad dip on the R352 close to Henchy’s Cross where larger vehicles are experiencing problems. “The location is just as you’re coming from Clooney towards Henchy’s junction on the regional road,” he said. “There’s a section where the road is narrow with a dip and a jump. I first noticed when I saw a man in front of me with jeep and trailer. There was no speed involved. The trailer jumped a fine height into air. “Maybe the road has gone down a bit. It’s not on any works programme. Can something be done sooner rather than later? This is a busy thoroughfare from Scariff to Ennis, with lots of HGVs and agricultural vehicles using it. There’s a fine jolt off it when you hit it at …

TRANSPORT Minister Eamonn Ryan has been urged to approve funding to fast-track the completion of flood relief works costing an estimated €17 million on the Galway to Limerick rail line at Ballycar, writes Dan Danaher. The plea was made this week by Councillor Alan O’Callaghan, who wants to see a long-term solution to this long-running saga. Councillor O’Callaghan stressed that regardless of the high cost involved, this work needs to be completed to remove the uncertainty created by frequent closures on this vital piece of rail infrastructure for the West of Ireland. The Fianna Fáil Councillor said one of the difficulties with Ballycar flooding is the long period of time for water to drain away once this area is inundated. Clare County Council senior engineer in the roads and transportation department, John Leahy provided councillors with a briefing on the proposed flood relief works recently. The local authority acted as a facilitator for this project, working in conjunction with the …

Wardens set to monitor Killaloe amenities with more dogs out and about in summer DOG fouling in East Clare is generating a huge number of complaints, according to the Cathaoirleach of the Killaloe Municipal District. Councillor Pat Hayes tabled a motion on the matter at the recent district meeting when he called for urgent action. “This is something that’s cropped up a lot because of the numbers of people out with dogs in recent times,” he said. “It’s a challenge we need to deal with because the amount of complaints is huge. There’s nothing as upsetting for those using buggies and wheelchairs. It leaves a very bad impression of a wonderful day at one of our public amenities.” The Fianna Fáil member said that while the issue is a county-wide one, there are areas that are particularly badly hit in the Killaloe district. “Some people are recklessly letting their dogs off, for example at Two-Mile Gate and in public parks,” …

A CALL has been made for an extension to the footpath opposite the GAA pitch in Kilkishen, in the interests of safety. The motion was tabled by Councillor Alan O’Callaghan, who told a meeting of the Killaloe Municipal District that the current situation is causing inconvenience for pedestrians. “If the council could cover this with black top, that would be great,” he said. “It’s not very long or wide and a small amount would go a long way. As it stands now, people with buggies still have to come out onto the road and that’s a situation that can’t continue.” In a written response, Senior Executive Engineer (SEE) Niamh Madden noted that the allocation for works to footpaths in the district has been significantly reduced for this year. “The footpath in question is currently a gravel footpath and should funding become available throughout the year, the Killaloe Municipal District will consider surfacing this pathway,” the reply said.

SIGNIFICANT progress has been made in relation to a spike in thefts of catalytic converters from vehicles across the county, according to Clare’s top Garda. Outlining the crime figures for the first three months of 2021, Chief Superintendent Seán Colleran noted that thefts from MPVs had more than doubled on the same period last year. The figures, presented to members of Clare’s Joint Policing Committee (JPC) bear out the big jump in reports of thefts at locations all over Clare in recent months. While all other categories of property crime fell in the first quarter, year-on-year, there was a 115% increase in thefts from vehicles. “There were 34 thefts from MPVs between January and March of last year and 73 this year,” outlined the chief superintendent. “Catalytic converters are very much the target. Significant arrests and in-roads have been made in this regard.” Reacting to the figures, Councillor Alan O’Callaghan noted that catalytic converters are stolen for their scrap value. …