Tag Archives: Councillor Johnny Flynn

CLARE County Council has been urged to provide a mechanism to help councillors track the progress on their public representations to the local authority, writes Dan Danaher. Councillor Gerry Flynn has asked for the introduction of performance indicators for each Municipal District to monitor representations from elected members. While several motions have been supported by councillors over the years, he claimed at a recent council meeting no substantial progress has occurred from the executive. He called for a faster turnaround, particularly at municipal district level, in response to requests from councillors. “Councillors carry out a very important role on behalf of their communities and require a timely response to their representations. “It is not rocket science to ensure that what councillors request is acted on.” Councillor Johnny Flynn said it is important to be able to demonstrate that representations from constituents, which form an integral part of local democracy, are acted upon efficiently. Having tabled a motion on this issue …

CONCERNS about the risk of flooding on the Tulla Road, close to the site of a proposed €1.2 billion Ennis data centre, have prompted calls for screens to be put in place at bridges to prevent blockages, writes Jessica Quinn. However, while council executive engineer Barry Conway has confirmed the local authority will carry out maintenance and clearance works, he cautioned about the use of screens. The engineer said that screens “can often times create bigger issues than they resolve”, citing recent “devastating consequences” when screens were installed in Dublin and Donegal. Flooding at Aughavadda on the Tulla Road and Gaurus Bridge was highlighted by Councillors Johnny Flynn and Mary Howard at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District. Councillor Flynn pointed to “historic” flooding of R352 Tulla Road and previous river flow blockages/restrictions at Aughavadda bridge and concern about the river flow capacity at the downstream Gaurus bridge. He urged the Ennis Municipal District to “immediately” provide screens …

PEOPLE have been forced to sell their house and emigrate because of anti-social behaviour carried out by “neighbours from hell”, a local councillor has claimed. Clare County Council has undertaken 1,731 callouts dealing with anti-social behaviour this year. Many of these call outs were repeat calls where an incident of anti-social behaviour was reported the team would have initially responded to that complaint and would have followed up with repeat calls to help prevent recurrences. Since his election to Ennis Town Council in 2004, and ETC and Clare County Council in 2009, Councillor Johhny Flynn has expressed concern about the actions of a small but very troublesome minority of local authority tenants that are creating “havoc” for vulnerable neighbours, while vulnerable children in these households are also at risk. “Since the abolition of Ennis Town Council as a housing authority, I have seen a huge increase in influx of ‘neighbours from hell’ from rural parts of the county that have …

COUNCILLOR Johnny Flynn has called on the developers of a proposed €1.2 billion Ennis data centre to make substantial changes to their plans for the development, writes Dan Danaher. A significant number of objections have already been made to Clare County Council in relation to the planning application lodged by Art Data Centres Ltd. An objection to the plan made by Future Proof Clare includes the signatures of 250 people, the majority of which the organisation say were gathered within seven hours in Ennis’ town centre. Concerns have been raised about the planned development by politicians, individuals and groups with Future Proof Clare, Extinction Rebellion Clare and the Clare Environment Network joining forces in their opposition to the proposal. Friends of the Irish Environment, Environmental Trust Ireland and Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe are also among those who have lodged submissions. In a comprehensive submission to the local planning authority, Councillor Flynn outlined he is in favour of the development …

Ennis councillors to further discuss reinstating railings around restored O’Connell monument in the county town MEMBERS of the Ennis Municipal District have remained on the fence when it comes to the possibility of reinstating wrought-iron railings around the O’Connell monument. Councillor Johnny Flynn has urged the municipal district to start a public consultation process on the potential of reinstating a portion of the railings at the Height. Workers have had “unpleasant dealings with people who occupy the area” around the Height, and railings would help prevent litter in the area, he told the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District. Councillor Flynn said the work would “complement and enhance” planned public realm works in O’Connell Square and Bank Place as well as the conservation works on the O’Connell monument. “Such works could also be seen to be complementary to proposals incorporated in the current Part 8 planning application for welcome public realm upgrades to O’Connell Street and Barrack Street,” said …

REMOTE working for those living in the county town has taken a major step forward with the opening of the Ennis Digital Hub. The state-of-the-art facility at the Quin Road Business Park was officially opened by Minister Heather Humphries at the end of last month and brings to ten the number of hubs operating under Clare County Council’s Digiclare initiative. Among those welcoming the centre was Councillor Johnny Flynn who said the hub was a long-time goal for the county town. “Six years ago, I tabled a notice of motion requesting a feasibility study be carried out on the development of a hub for Ennis,” he outlined. “I believe the facility will be critical in enabling people living in the area to enable employment. The Ennis hub is the tenth in the county, so the people of the county town have been waiting patiently as the rural centres were developed first. The potential of the hub is huge in enabling …

ENNIS has been described as “a ship without a captain” in terms of its development, due to the ongoing lack of an updated Local Area Plan (LAP). It follows the decision by county councillors to defer the County Development Plan (2022-2028) for seven months. The move has implications for the creation of the Ennis LAP, a process that started in 2015, but which was paused pending the finalisation of the county-wide plan. It also delays placing the Ennis 2040 plan on a statutory footing. Prominent Clare-based chartered building surveyor, Fergus Merriman voiced frustration saying he believes opportunities are being lost. “An Ennis LAP would be a field-by-field plan with clarity about acceptable development,” he said. “Ennis 2040 is a welcome long-term plan, but we cannot lose sight of day-to-day development. In the absence of a local plan, the risks are too high for many developers.” Mr Merriman noted that the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) wrote to the council …

CHILDREN walking to a local school are being forced out onto the road due to localised flooding, writes Jessica Quinn. Calls are being made on the local authority to carry out works over the school summer holidays to address flooding issues, and a “current road safety hazard” at Doora National School. The Ennis Municipal District is now set to contact the school to identify their concerns. Councillor Johnny Flynn, speaking at a recent meeting of the Ennis Municipal District urged the Council to, “carry out works over the summer school holiday period to reduce the current road safety hazard being experienced by Doora National School going children and vulnerable pedestrian road users”. The councillor said issues of speed and volume of vehicles at that location were problematic, and that the works would also address the winter localised flooding at the location which at times forces children out onto the road carriageway. He said that there are around 100 vulnerable road …