Tag Archives: Councillor John Crowe

SIXMILEBRIDGE is to get a new car park in the near future, the January meeting of Shannon Municipal District heard. In a motion to the meeting Fine Gael councillor John Crowe sought an update on the proposed new car park, while he also suggested that it proceed in tandem with a new housing development, which he said would be going into the same field. In a written reply, Senior Executive Officer Anne Griffin said that it is planned to go ahead with the car park this year. “Clare County Council is committed to developing a car park in Sixmilebridge town centre,” said Ms Griffin. “The Economic Directorate is reviewing the proposed car parking element of the recent Part VIII in conjunction with the feedback recently obtained through the Sixmilebridge Master Planning exercise under the Town Centre First Policy. “The Housing Department has proceeded to tender for the housing element of the site in consideration of funding timelines. It is also …

DUBLIN Airport officials have been told they should be careful what they wish for, after unprecedented overcrowding at the facility in recent weeks. At the May Council meeting, a joint motion from Councillors Daly, Crowe, Begley, McMahon, Killeen, O’Gorman and Keating, called on the Department of Transport to divert spare capacity to Shannon Airport. “Dublin has clearly been unable to cater for what it has while Shannon needs more passengers,” the motion outlined.  Councillor Pat Daly outlined that he had recently met a woman from County Offaly at Shannon Airport. “She thought it was brilliant,” he said. “That shows we should be marketing to the Midlands. It’s only and hour and half from Ennis.” Councillor John Crowe said, “We should be saying ‘I told ye so’. Dublin wanted it all for the last 20 years. They got it all and they can’t deal with it.  For a short-haul flight, you have to be there between two and three hours ahead; …

A RISE in theft from shops is putting small business owners under severe pressure, Clare’s Joint Policing Committee (JPC) has heard.  An increase of 69% in reported incidents was revealed by Chief Superintendent Seán Colleran, who said the spike seems to coincide with the reopening of the economy. The figures relate to the period of November to January when compared to the same period in 2020/21. “The one thing about theft form shops is that there’s quite a high detection rate,” the Chief said. “Whereas the figure itself can be alarming, certainly we have strong investigative processes for that.” Nonetheless, the numbers were described by Councillor Pat Daly as “alarming”. “There are shops who can’t afford CCTV and they are being robbed every day of the week,” he said. “I would appeal to our Oireachtas members to see if grant support can be provided because every shop should have CCTV. In this day and age, there should be some sort …

FRUSTRATION with the waiting time for decisions on planning appeals has been expressed by members of Clare County Council.  A joint motion from Councillors Pat Daly, Mark Nestor and John Crowe made a call for staffing levels at the appeals board to be increased. The members also agreed that more planners should be appointed to Clare County Council to handle a predicted surge in applications in 2022.  “The normal planning appeals decision time with An Bord Pleanála is four months,” Councillor Daly told the December Council meeting. “In recent times, the decision process at the board has totally gone over control… So many appeals in Clare are with An Bord Pleanála for up to 12 months. “One, in particular is a proposed plaza for the outskirts of Ennis. Clare County Council gave its full planning permission 12 months ago creating up to 130 jobs and there’s still no decision [on the appeal]. The reply the frustrated applicant get from the …

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 …

DANISH midfielder Christian Eriksen inspired a motion at the local authority meeting his week, when members backed a call for funding for defibrillators and training for communities across Clare. Councillor John Crowe recalled the dramatic scenes at the Euro 2020 match against Finland last month, when the 29-year old suffered a cardiac arrest and was saved thanks to prompt intervention with a defibrillator. “The European Championships brought it home to everyone,” he said. “What happened to Christian Eriksen really highlighted the issue and showed what a defibrillator can do. The Minister for Health should be looking at a scheme to fund defibrillators and training and €1,700 for a club or village is a very small price to be looking at. We should write to the Department to seek money for communities. Every second family has heart problems going down the generations.” The Fine Gael member also recommended that all councillors receive training. The motion was seconded by Councillor Cillian Murphy. …

CLARE’S Garda chief has promised a “proactive” approach to an illegal encampment at the Station Yard in Sixmilebridge. The matter was raised at this week’s meeting of the Joint Policing Committee (JPC) by Councillor PJ Ryan. The Independent representative said there was considerable concern because those involved had turned down an offer of Council accommodation, and were refusing to move on until they are provided with housing at an alternative location of their choice. Deputy Cathal Crowe expressed his annoyance at the situation, saying it threatened the integrity of the social housing system. “At this stage, they are absolutely taking the mick,” he said. “They have obviously travelled from somewhere, during Covid, and despite the travel restrictions. They now say they can’t travel back to the UK, because of Covid, and that the Council has to house them as a solution. “It is important to say that Travellers have the right to housing. Everyone respects that. However, there are a …

A ‘MINEFIELD’, is one of the words used by members of Clare’s Joint Policing Committee (JPC) to describe data protection regulations, which currently prevent the council from using remotely-operated CCTV to stamp out illegal dumping. Outlining the current legal situation under GDPR, Senior Engineer Cyril Feeney said it appears that the only viable option is to ask the permission of the Garda Commissioner. Mr Feeney outlined the council’s powers under the Waste Management Act, and noted that that legislation does not allow the remote operation of CCTV. “We have seen an uptick in illegal dumping with Covid-19,” Mr Feeny said. “It is of particular concern in parts of South East Clare. We undertook a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) to see what the implications of the CCTV option might be, and found that GDPR would apply and that we would need the consent of those engaging in illegal dumping and clearly that is not going to happen.” Explaining a proposal …