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Tag Archives: Councillor PJ Kelly

Rural Clare ‘has fight on its hands’ with planning regulator

A DIRECTION from the Office of the Planning Regulator requesting Clare County Council to dezone huge tracts of land for development in the Draft 2023 to 2029 Clare County Development Plan has been criticised by local councillors. Describing a new document from the OPR as “frightening and unbelievable”, Councillor P J Kelly has urged councillors to unite to oppose the recommended changes. Council chairman, Councillor Tony O’Brien called a meeting of councillors from different political groupings on Tuesday and requested them to discuss this issue at Municipal District level to try and establish a consensus for challenging this intervention. While Cooraclare and Broadford have been earmarked for new waste water facilities under a proposed national scheme, Councillor Kelly noted material amendments to facilitate development have been ruled out in both locations, placing a question mark over the viability of these facilities. Speaking at a West Clare Municipal District meeting on Tuesday, the Lissycasey councillor claimed the OPR has wrongly based …

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Claims against Clare County Council double from 2020 to 2021

THE COST of public liability claims against Clare County Council more than doubled last year, according to figures released to a West Clare member. Councillor PJ Kelly sought detailed information about public liability claims against the local authority over the years 2020 and 2021, ahead of the Council’s July meeting. In a written response, the Lissycasey man was told that 159 claims were settled over the last two years, with payments made in 127 cases. The cost of claims settled came to just under half a million Euro in 2020, while in 2021, the figure was €1,009,173. According to the Council’s data, the average award over the past two years was €9,485. The average for 2021 was €14,213. The largest category of claim related to “footpath slips/trips”, the response said. The Council stressed that their insurers “contest every claim through the various stages” and noted that 32 claims were settled over the last two years, with zero financial payment. Those …

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Clare ‘In-fill’ sites motion generates Council controversy

RURAL development is being seriously stifled by restrictions on ‘in-fill’ sites, a West Clare councillor has said.  At this week’s local authority meeting, Councillor PJ Kelly described the situation as “a landmine” and he called for all references to in-fill sites to be removed from the forthcoming Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029. The Fianna Fáil member said that some people were being refused permission to build a home, on the basis that developing their site would create an in-fill site, a situation the Council did not want to see.  “I know of situations where a farmer wants to give land to a son for example,” he outlined. Planning permission is refused because if son got it, there would be an in-fill site beside it.  This situation is not good enough and it’s downright discrimination. If there’s an in-fill site, someone with plenty of money can come in from outside and build. I have no objection to that and Iove to …

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Clare councillors to ‘clear the air’ with planning regulator

THE REGULATOR of planning, Niall Cussen, is to address councillors, amid ongoing concerns over the impact of regional and national strategies on rural Clare. A motion inviting the CEO of the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) was tabled by Councillor PJ Kelly. The Lissycasey man, a long-time advocate for rural development, was described by Councillor Gerry Flynn as “our own expert in terms of planning”. Outlining the motion, Councillor Kelly noted Mr Cussen’s close connections to Clare. “Planning law is very complex and we now have to deal with the OPR’s views and other regulatory guidelines,” he said. Describing the issues that have arisen, particularly in relation to the growth of rural Clare, during the drafting of the Development Plan for 2023-2029, the Fianna Fáil member remarked, “Many questions have been asked, but not answered.” The motion was seconded by Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy, who described moves to invite Mr Cussen as “very positive”. Referring to a response to …

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Council waits on landowners before progressing coastal works

COASTAL protection works in Quilty will progress when signed agreement from the parties is returned to Clare County Council, local councillors have been told.  The matter was raised at the March meeting of the West Clare Municipal District by Councillor PJ Kelly who sought a report on the proposed works at Clohaninchy. “For a parish like Kilmurry Ibrikane who are in the habit of winning, I’m disappointed this has taken so long,” Councillor Kelly said. “It is a longstanding problem.” A written response to the motion came from Gráinne Reddan, Senior Executive Engineer (SEE) with the Project Management Office (PMO). “To progress the Cloughaninchy Flood Relief Scheme, Clare County Council have been negotiating with landowners over the last number of years, which has proved very time-consuming,” the reply said. “Landowner agreements were issued in February 2022 and Clare County Council await the return of signed agreements from all parties. Provided that Clare County Council receive signed agreements, Clare County Council …

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Give €30k to people building own house, says councillor

A CLARE county councillor has called on the government to give a grant of €30,000 to people building their own houses, writes Owen Ryan. THIS week’s meeting of Clare County Council heard a call from Councillor PJ Kelly for Government to be requested to introduce the grant. He said that in the past proportionally larger grants had been available. The Lissycasey man said that he had done some research and his view is that a very large proportion of the cost of building a house is the money one ends up paying to the State. “There’s a sum of €70,000 to €90,000 that anybody building a house has to pay to the State,” he claimed. He said that in addition to more obvious costs, duty on fuel, income tax on workers, and tax on profits made also goes back to the State. Councillor Kelly claimed that the €70,000 to €90,000 is “a separate mortgage to be paid back over 20 …

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Population plan the ‘end of rural Clare’

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 …

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‘Old Bog Road’ not a hit with Clare Council, complains Kelly

FUNDING concerns have prompted a West Clare councillor to remark that “’The Old Bog Road is not in the Top 20’ when it comes to the priorities of the local authority. Councillor PJ Kelly made his comments as he tabled a motion before the July county council meeting asking why a decision, made five years ago, to raise a significant loan for local roads was not complied with. The Local Improvement Scheme (LIS), which has funded privately-owned roads for several decades, was scrapped temporarily between 2012 and 2017, prompting a country-wide outcry. In response to that situation, Councillor Kelly tabled a motion in March of 2016 proposing the raising of a loan of €1.6m. He cited the centenary of the 1916 Proclamation and its aim to “cherish all people of the national equally”. At the time, the motion went to a vote and was supported by all 24 members present. At last week’s local authority meeting, Councillor PJ Kelly asked …

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