Tag Archives: county council

YOUR local council will be taking more of your money, as your representatives have opted to increase property tax in Clare by the maximum amount possible. On Monday, councillors increased the property tax by 15%, meaning they will extract the greatest amount of money possible from Clare householders. Have no doubt, the hit you face would be even greater but it was not legally possible to charge more. Bizarrely, some of those advocating raising the tax said that they were in favour of doing so, as the money collected would be spent in this county. As if the money being demanded from Clare householders was going to be sent elsewhere otherwise; as if the decision will not leave Clare consumers with less to spend in their local villages and towns. Perhaps the most irritating thing about Monday’s decision to increase the property tax is the detached attitude displayed. Only an idiot would disagree with Councillor Ann Norton when she said …

IN a first for any local authority, Clare County Council, together with The Clare Champion, will conduct a full live video broadcast of a local election count. The Clare Champion and Clare County Council are partnering up to produce this fully programmed live streaming broadcast, ensuring the public are kept up to date on events as they unfold from the count centre. Counting for the 2019 Local Elections will begin at Treacy’s West County Hotel on Saturday morning and continue into Sunday, after the county goes to the polls on Friday. Clare Champion editor Peter O’Connell said he is conscious that the way the general public consume news is changing and that, as a media organisation, it is important to adapt to meet that demand. “The print edition of The Clare Champion will always take priority for us but the way in which people consume media has altered radically and we want to ensure that we are at the forefront …

SHANNON’S flood defences are not adequate, and unless €14.6 million is invested, a massive €693 million worth of damage could result. That is the conclusion of the report on the Shannon Town and Airport embankments, carried out on behalf of Clare County Council, the Office of Public Works and Shannon Group. The report warns, “There are considerable concerns regarding the adequacy of the existing embankment flood defences fronting both Shannon Town and Airport. The findings of the investigations undertaken for this report confirm that these concerns are justified. The embankments do not provide an adequate standard of protection from flooding from the Shannon Estuary.” It said that because of the hydraulic connectivity between the town and the airport, and the common flood risk, measures should be taken jointly by the three bodies. Regarding what works should be carried out, the report says, “The preferred method of providing an appropriate standard of defence to the two frontages is by the raising, …

WHILE a Bord Pleanála inspector actually recommended that Clare County Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for an Aldi store in Shannon be overturned, his own board have rejected his conclusion and have denied planning. It seems to be the end of the road for the proposal for the Aldi store, something that many local people would consider to be a step in the right direction for the town and a step towards developing a conventional streetscape. In his report, Inspector Rónán O’Connor wrote, “I do not consider that the provision of the convenience retail store would diminish the range of services within Shannon Town Centre but rather would be complementary to same. This would, in turn, increase the attractiveness of Shannon Town Centre with a potential reduction in vacancy rates in the town.” He found that the development would increase competition within the town, which would also be in keeping with national retail policy. There is not another alternative …

CLARE County Council have said that the depth of snow has generally varied from 10-20cm, but it has been deeper on elevated ground in the north and east of the county. There are reports of drifting in some places, and it says that it expects many roads to be impassable. While the N67 at Corkscrew Hill was impassable for 48 hours, it expects this situation to improve soon. Eighteen calls were made to its helpline up to 9.30am this morning, while the local authority is still advising people to stay at home unless absolutely necessary. The Council has five snow ploughs, that it says are currently engaged on clearing snow along the county’s national secondary and main regional routes.   Owen Ryan  

Clare County Council, on the advice of the Health Service Executive (HSE), has announced that due to the possibility of elevated levels of bacteria in the bathing water arising from heavy rainfall over the weekend, swimming is still prohibited at Kilkee beach. Public bathing notices and red flags indicating that swimming is prohibited at Kilkee were originally put in place on Wednesday last due to the malfunction of a pumping station which has since been rectified by Irish Water. Staff from the Environment section of Clare County Council conducted water quality tests today (Monday), the results of which will be known on Wednesday. Resumption of swimming will be recommended when results are deemed by the HSE to be within bathing water quality limits.

A cost benefit analysis should be conducted on a proposed twinning arrangement between Clare and a province in China, according to a local councillor. Councillor PJ Kelly has urged Clare County Council to complete a thorough review on the costs and benefits of sending a delegation to Yuman Province, to prevent members ending up like a “shower of fools”. While Councillor Kelly is not opposed to the council’s bid to explore establishing a new twinning arrangement, he stressed the importance of proper planning and research on what the Chinese like to do when they travel abroad, before a decision is made on the trip. While the Lissycasey councillor admitted that the public may not happy with the cost of the trip, he warned they would be even more dissatisfied if the delegation returned without achieving a defined set of objectives. The council has accepted an invitation from the People’s Republic of China to send a delegation to the country later …