Car Tourismo Banner
Home » Tag Archives: Councillor Johnny Flynn (page 2)

Tag Archives: Councillor Johnny Flynn

Complications drove flood relief cost from €6m to €14.4m

EXPENDITURE on the Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme increased dramatically from about €6 million to €14.4 million a new report has revealed. An examination of the considerable additional expenditure was outlined in the Statutory Audit Report to Clare County Council for December 31, 2020 at the April meeting of the local authority. This was due to emergency work that was necessary during the project and the urgent installation of a sheet pile wall along the full length of the originally proposed earthen embankment to protect 120 homes, numerous commercial properties and community buildings as such as St Flannan’s College. The original contract award for the earthen embankment was €5.1 million, while design emergency work required following the slippages cost €1.8 million. The cost of sheet pile design defence was €8.5 million, while the credit provision for the original works not completed was €1 million. The total revised cost of the contract was €14.4 million. After negotiating on a revised tender …

Read More »

Councillors call for electives-only public hospital in Mid-West

RECORD overcrowding at the Mid-West’s main hospital has been strongly condemned at a meeting of Clare County Council, with an urgent call for a new regional facility for elective procedures. A motion from Councillor Johnny Flynn at April’s meeting called for a public, electives-only hospital, “in light of the record trolley numbers, lack of bed and clinical capacity at UHL”. The Fine Gael member said it would be “a failure of government” if no such facility was provided, given the worsening issues at University Hospital Limerick (UHL), in terms of emergency care and the growing waiting lists for elective procedures. “Everyone is very familiar with the Teamwork Report, published in 2009, because it recommended the closure of three Emergency Departments,” Councillor Flynn said. “At that time, they had combined admissions of 39 people per day. In March 2022, that figure was 245. In January 2012, there were 304 people on trolleys and that was considered to be an emergency. “In …

Read More »

Clare dividend from water abstraction plan questioned

CLARE County Councillors have expressed concern about the lack of a definite commitment to provide an economic dividend to the county if the controversial Lough Derg water abstraction proceeds. Irish Water is planning to proceed with its €1.3 billion project to pipe water from the Parteen Basin to Dublin using a 170 kilometre pipeline. Irish Water Resources Specialist, Angela Ryan said she would bring the request for a community dividend back to Irish Water to see if it can provide any more information on this proposal. She stated that any proposed economic dividend for Clare would be considered by Irish Water. While acknowledging the Shannon Scheme provided economic benefits for the country, Councillor Johnny Flynn said it posed major financial difficulties for Clare County Council, which wasn’t provided with any funding to deal with health issues for 5,200 workers. Councillor Flynn noted Clare County Council was so badly hit by increased costs it went into a dissolution in 1942. He …

Read More »

Large firms among those behind as Clare rates arrears hits €11.6m

THE Covid-19 pandemic has left it mark on Clare County Council’s coffers, writes Dan Danaher, following an 8.1% rise in the overall amount of uncollected commercial rates, which soared to €11.619 million on December 13 last. Numerous businesses throughout the county were forced to either scale down their operations or close for extended periods due to Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021. New figures obtained by the Clare Champion have revealed the rates arrears increased from €10.78 million at the end of 2017 to €11.619 million on December 13, 2021. A buoyant local and national economy helped the overall rates arrears bill to fall to €10,465 million in 2018 and it fell again to €10.043 million in 2019. However, the onset of the pandemic seems the most likely cause of an increase to €11.578 million in 2020 and €11.619 million in 2021. The figures, which were released under the Freedom of Information Act, show one large business in the county …

Read More »

Flynn: Ennis air quality warnings needed to protect vulnerable

POOR air quality events in Ennis are driving trolley numbers up at Limerick’s A&E an Ennis councillor has said. Councillor Johnny Flynn called for “urgent action” to be taken on what he describes as a “human health and environmental hazard”. Councillor Flynn was speaking at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District where he renewed calls for a Clean Air Strategy for the county capital in the wake of “concerning ongoing poor air quality results for Ennis from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)”. He said he has become “frustrated” with the ongoing issue. Councillor Flynn pointed out that Ennis and Clare rely on the only Level 3 hospital in the region for 24 hour A&E in Limerick, and outlined that studies have shown that poor air quality has a “huge impact” on hospital admissions. The councillor welcomed plans to install a number of new sulphur dioxide monitors in Ennis. However, he insisted that more is needed, “so people can …

Read More »

Lack of diabetic supports putting Clare people at risk

THOSE living with diabetes are at serious risk of life-altering complications due to delays in recruiting specialists in the Midwest, a meeting of the Council has heard. A joint motion from Councillors Johnny Flynn, Mary Howard and PJ Kelly called on the authority to intervene with the Minister for Health over several posts approved a year ago.  “I’m a diabetic for nearly 20 years myself,” Councillor Flynn told the meeting. “I’m a Type One diabetic, which means I’m insulin-dependent. This isn’t a criticism of the excellent diabetic clinic that is managed and run in Ennis. It’s in University Hospital Limerick (UHL) the problem is.”  The Fine Gael member outlined how programmes offering support with diet and insulin pumps are offered elsewhere in the country, but not by the University of Limerick Hospitals Group (ULHG). “The effect of the low level of staffing is that 663 people with diabetes from Clare and Limerick are waiting on specialist treatment, with half of …

Read More »

County Council costs have risen by 40% since 2018

THERE has been a 40% hike in the overall cost of running Clare County Council since 2018, according to an analysis of recent Budgets. The adopted Budget has increased from €111 million in 2018 to €117.5 million in 2019, €128 million in 2020, €131.4 million in 2021 and to €138.6 million in 2022. Back in 2018, Clare County Council’s commercial rate was the sixth highest in the country and looks set to climb even higher in the national league table after the decision to increase rates by 3.8% for the first time in 13 years. It has emerged that since 2014, commercial rates have increased by Ennis increase by 16.73% in Ennis and by 22.38% in Kilrush. A submission made by the council to the Local Government baseline review in 2018 highlights ”the need for change in order to bring greater balance and equity for funding for County Clare”. “Clare County Council was penalised by the Needs and Resources model …

Read More »

Council spent €180k renting five public toilets in Clare this year

COUNCILLORS are seeking a review of spending on public toilets after a Clare Champion investigation revealed the local authority spends almost €180,000 renting five automated public conveniences in different locations, writes Dan Danaher. The expenditure on contract automated public conveniences increased slightly from €179,202 in 2020 to €179,714 in 2021, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act. This includes an annual cost of €37,834 for a single automated public convenience in Killaloe, Market, Ennis, Abbey Street, Ennis, Kilkee and €28,375 in Kilrush. The cost of running and maintaining permanent facilities in Lahinch Seaworld fell from €49,701 to €37,355, while expenditure on Lissycasey public convenience fell from €7,077 to €2,012. This doesn’t include the estimated cost of €141,500 additional temporary public toilets that were put in place from May 1 to September 1. The authority spent €50,000 providing toilet facilities in Doolin Pier, €40,000 on Fanore Beach, €21,500 in Ballyalla, Ennis, €14,000 in Ballycuggeran, Killaloe and €6,000 in …

Read More »