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Tag Archives: Councillor Joe Killeen

West Clare councillors seek action on reform of Fair Deal scheme

A CALL has been made for progress on changes to the Fair Deal Scheme, which funds nursing home care, in the interests of Clare’s farm families. Councillor Joe Killeen made the appeal at the March meeting of the West Clare Municipal District when he proposed that members write to Clare’s Oireachtas members on the matter. “The Fair Deal Scheme takes 7.5% of the value of a family home for a period of three years,” he noted. “If someone wishes to defer payment, the State pays, and it’s essentially a loan on the estate of the resident. For those who have a farm or a business, it’s not capped and people pay indefinitely. A family farm could be lost in 14 years. The only exemption is in the case of sudden illness or disability. The Fair Deal Reform Bill proposes capping the 7.5% payment after three years, subject to terms and conditions. I am proposing that we ask our Oireachtas members …

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Moves afoot to improve access to school bus transport

RESTRICTIONS on access to school bus transport in North Clare are causing hardship and inconvenience for many parents and students in the Corofin area, a recent meeting of local councillors was told. Councillor Joe Killeen, a former primary school principal and ex-president of the INTO, called on the West Clare Municipal District committee to contact the government on the matter and to ask them to redefine the catchment area for the secondary schools in Ennistymon. “Such a move”, he said, “would make pupils from Corofin eligible for school transport on a phased basis.” The Fianna Fáil member noted that, currently, the Department of Education provides subsidised school transport for post-primary pupils who live more than 4.8 kilometres away from the appropriate school. Because schools in Ennis are closer to those living in Corofin, students currently only have ‘concessionary’ status on school busses to Ennistymon. “We have had a huge increase in the primary school population,” Councillor Killeen noted. “Now, as …

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Welcome progress with Ballyvaughan sewerage scheme plan

WORK on a new sewerage scheme for Ballyvaughan could begin next year, subject to planning permission, according to Irish Water. The utility outlined details in a response to a motion from Councillor Joe Killeen who asked for an update on schemes for Ballyvaughan and Kilfenora. In a reply sent ahead of the January meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, Irish Water said it anticipated acquiring lands and making a planning application this year for the Ballyvaughan Waste Water Treatment Plant (WwTP). “Irish Water is progressing with plans to construct a new wastewater treatment plant (WwTP) in Ballyvaughan that will serve a population equivalent of 1055, as well as a new pumping station and associated sewer network infrastructure,” the writte response outlined. “We are planning to acquire lands and submit a planning application to Clare County Council in 2021 for this project. Once planning has been submitted, these plans will be available for the public to view in the planning …

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Pedestrian Crossing Sought for Corofin

PLANS to install a pedestrian crossing in the village of Corofin have made progress, after a motion was tabled by Councillor Joe Killeen at this month’s meeting of the West Clare Municipal District. Calling for a new crossing, the Fianna Fáil members said it would be in the interests of the safety of all road users locally. “What we have is a cluster of facilities together – the GAA pitch and the playground – at the southern part of the village,” he explained. “Then, we have the medical centre just across the road. At the moment, we’re trying to encourage people to park in the car parking spaces adjacent to the GAA pitch and at the entrance to the play area. We’ve got Laghtagoona which has 100 houses and lots of the children from there come as part as the pitch and playground and we’re looking for a pedestrian crossing to try and facilitate those using the facility. It would …

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Urgent upgrades sought for sections of Wild Atlantic Way

UPGRADES are being sought for a heavily trafficked section of the Wild Atlantic Way running through North Clare to the Cliffs of Moher. The call came at the meeting of the West Clare Municipal District when Councillor Joe Killeen said local people and visitors alike would benefit from improvements to the route from Ballyvaughan, through Fanore and Doolin. “There are around 1.5 million tourists using this route every year going to the Cliffs of Moher and traffic is often tail-to-tail,” he said. “I was on the road recently when four cars pulled over to look at a fishing competition. Until they returned to their cars, nobody could pass. This area is the jewel in the crown of the Wild Atlantic Way and there are issues with the road surface and alignment, as well as a lack of areas to pull in.” The Corofin native noted that the Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar had recently visited Ballyvaughan and that action needed to be …

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Tankers On Standy-By To Ease Future Miltown Water Outages

ONGOING water outages on the supply for the Miltown Malbay area have been described as “hell” for families, farms and businesses by a member of the West Clare Municipal District. Councillor Shane Talty told the monthly district meeting that people were “crying and tearing their hair out” and that there had been more than 30 outages lasting for three days or more. The Fianna Fáil member’s comments were made as he tabled a motion calling on the council to make sure that water was tankered promptly to group schemes during future outages. “I’m calling for a protocol where, in the event of disruption, tankers would be made available within 36 hours,” he said, “and this should be the case until Irish Water completes the long-term upgrade works. Bursts and breaks will continue . We must have some kind of interim solution. I would hope we would be able to bill Irish Water, if necessary.” Backing the motion, Councillor Joe Killeen …

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