Tag Archives: Councillor Joe Killeen

HEARTBREAK is being suffered by those struggling to find a home, when so many properties are left vacant and derelict, a meeting of Clare County Council has heard.  The comments came from Councillor Shane Talty in response to a motion tabled by Councillor Joe Killeen. The Ennistymon postmaster agreed with calls for stronger Council powers to use Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs). “If your family are housed, you might not even see the derelict properties,” he said, “But, for families and young people, and older people for coming off an income cliff in their transition to retirement age, if you’re passing out these derelict properties every day, families are literally heartbroken and say, ‘Why can’t I get an opportunity to make a home and make a life for a family there’?” Tabling the motion, Councillor Killeen said, “Every opportunity must be made to try and alleviate the situation by making more homes available. We must register our frustration at the number …

HEALTH services for women in the Mid-West must be improved as a matter of urgency, according to a former Mayor of Clare. At the April meeting of Clare County Council, Councillor Mary Howard described the waiting list for gynaecological appointments at Ennis General Hospital, which are the second highest in the country, as a sign of an “ongoing crisis”. In a joint motion, tabled with Councillors Donna McGetitgan, Alan O’Callaghan and Liam Grant, the Ennis woman outlined how figures released to the Dáil recently. These show the average wait time for an outpatient gynaecology appointment at the hospital is close to one year and five months and is second only to Tallaght Hospital nationwide “Waiting times at University Hospital Limerick are around half that number, averaging out at 291 days,” the motion said. “Some 599 women are currently waiting for such appointments in Ennis, along with a further 1,455 at UHL. “On foot of this information we request the Minister …

EXPANDING the benefits of the West Clare Railway across North Clare is the aim of a motion tabled by Councillor Joe Garrihy at the local municipal district earlier this month.  The Lisdoonvarna man called for plan to link Corofin, Carron, Kilfenora, Lisdoonvarna, Doolin, Liscannor and Lahinch with a greater range of walking and cycle routes “to ensure these settlements and communities have appropriate attractive and safe linkage to the overall West Clare Greenway in progress and the Green Road to the Burren, Fanore and Ballyvaughan”. Councillor Garrihy also asked that cycle and walking connectivity from from North Clare to County Galway through Bellharbour, New Quay to Kinvara and Boston/Tubber area to Gort be progressed. “Cycling and walking amenities are among our most successful tourism offerings,” he told the meeting.  The motion was backed by Cathaoirleach, Councillor Cillian Murphy who agreed with the potential that connectivity to the West Clare Greenway offered.  Councillor Joe Killeen agreed with the huge benefits of …

EXTRA resources are to be available in West Clare to welcome visitors over the St Patrick’s Day Bank Holiday weekend. At the March meeting of the municipal district, motions were tabled by two North Clare members calling for action following the exceptionally busy seasons in 2020 and 2021.  Councillor Shane Talty said the pandemic had created “crazy staycation pressure” over the last two years and he highlighted the need to be prepared in terms of lifeguard resources. Both he and his fellow Ennistymon area councillor, Joe Killeen, called preparations for the 2022 season to be stepped up. “Thankfully, people chose Clare as their preferred destination,” Councillor Killeen said. “However, it felt like we were putting emergency measures in place right through the summer season. There were several issues highlighted during the season and action had to be taken on a number of pinch points. Thanks to everyone who got the county ready.” Senior Executive Officer (SEO) John O’Malley outlined the …

THREE North Clare councillors have tabled a motion urging people to inform themselves about the changes proposed in the new Draft County Development Plan. At the December meeting of the local authority, Councillors Joe Killeen, Shane Talty and Joe Garrihy asked for an outline of arrangements for information and consultation sessions. They also sought clarity on proposed taxes on vacant, zoned sites, “to give confidence to relevant landowners”. Proposing the motion, Councillor Joe Killeen said it is vital that members of the public inform themselves. “This plan is going to last until 2029 so it is significant,” he said. Councillor Garrihy noted that “long, hard process of workshops” had gone into producing the draft. “I think all of our strategies – Housing for All, our tourism strategy – everything is impacted upon and needs to converge in a joined up way. The more engagement we get with our communities on this the better.” Councillor Killeen noted that the draft plan …

Councillors want legal advice on means to challenge NDP projections A COUNCILLOR has blasted proposed population allocations for the county saying it “effectively will be the end of rural Clare”. Legal advice is to be sought by Clare councillors on the constitutionality of proposed population allocations for the county set out in the National Planning Framework. Councillor PJ Kelly at the monthly meeting of Clare County Council insisted the population targets in the framework, which has to be adhered to in drawing up the County Development Plan, are “discriminatory” and “effectively will be the end of rural Clare”. He was backed by Councillor Joe Killeen who, while welcoming projected population growth in Ennis and the Limerick / Shannon Metropolitan area, said “the difficulty is for the remainder of the county the population projections are very low for Clare”. He said this puts services for communities in rural Clare “in jeopardy” with “a further diminishing of what is there already”. In …

CLARE’S Oireachtas members have been urged to lobby for a dramatic change in the allocation of population growth for the county compared to other counties and cities along the West coast, writes Dan Danaher. Under the National Planning Framework, Councillor Joe Killeen said Cork City is to grow by 105,000, Galway City is expected to increase by 45,000, Limerick City is set to attract an extra 35,000 to 40,000 inhabitants, while Clare’s population is expected to jump from 119,000 to 130,000. With Ennis projected to grow from 25,000 to 35,000 under the Ennis 2040 plan, and a 3,500 increase planned for the Limerick/Shannon Metropolitian area, Councillor Killeen told a council meeting on Monday there isn’t a huge population growth planned for West Clare, North Clare and North East Clare. He claimed people living in some parts of the county were effectively paying the price because they couldn’t afford to secure new homes in tourist hot spots. “We are delighted we …

THREE Ennistymon area councillors have raised concerns about the adequacy of resources in the local authority’s Planning Department, citing a backlog with access to pre-planning advice. In a joint, cross-party, motion tabled before the July meeting of the local authority, Councillors Shane Talty, Joe Killeen and Joe Garrihy described the pre-planning function as being “bedevilled by delays”. “Pre-planning should be the cornerstone of building a house,” Councillor Talty told the meeting. “Planning staff now appear to be swamped with full planning applications. Those have to get priority. This is not a criticism of the Planning Department, but there are delays, in getting pre-planning meetings, in some cases of four or five months and that’s not serving anyone. People are getting frustrated with the wait and they’re firing in their applications and then getting into conflict.” The Fianna Fáil member also described a “geographical lottery” for those looking for pre-planning advice. “There are huge build-ups in some areas and a long …