Tag Archives: county council

AN emotional Mary Howard was this afternoon elected Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, while her Fine Gael colleague Pat Burke was elected Leas Cathaoirleach. Both positions are essentially ceremonial, with the Cathaoirleach expected to represent the Council at a wide variety of events, while also chairing meetings of the local authority, while the Leas Cathaoirleach will deputise for her over the coming year. Councillor Howard said she was hugely honoured with her election. “To represent my county and its citiens is a lifelong dream and to be here now is humbling, exhilarating and a wonderful privilege,”she told this afternoon’s council meeting. She was very emotional as she paid tribute to the impact her late parents had upon her. “My late parents were firm believers in hard work as well as family, community, public service, playing ones part and contributing to ones home place,” said the Ennis woman, Councillor Burke said he believed it was the first time ever Fine Gael …

SHANNON’S Donna McGettigan is likely to replace the late Mike McKee on Clare County Council. This week Ms McGettigan confirmed she is interested in taking up the role and it is understood that the local party are also set to support her. Ms McGettigan actually ran in the Ennis Municipal District for last year’s local elections, despite the fact that she was living in Shannon. In the coming days, invitations will be sent out to Sinn Féin members in the area who would be eligible to take on the role. Following this, there is likely to be a selection convention towards the end of the month. Speaking this week, Ms McGettigan confirmed she would be looking to fill the seat. “Mike himself would have asked me before he passed if I would put myself forward. Gary Fitzgibbon was interviewed about it and a lot of people afterwards would have suggested myself. As I walk through the Town Centre I’m always …

THE death of County Councillor Mike McKee has been announced today. Councillor McKee won a seat on Clare County Council for Sinn Féin in each of the last two local elections. He was also a fixture on Shannon Town Council and previously the Shannon Town Commissioners for many years. Councillor McKee was set to stand for Sinn Féin in the next general election, but had withdrawn from the race after becoming unwell. Despite being noticeably ill he still made the effort to attend the recent opening of the redeveloped Shannon Town Park and even managed to go to a Municipal District meeting the same day. In his early life Councillor McKee’s family left Belfast under threat from loyalists, relocating to Omagh and then coming to Shannon, in the 19770s. He is survived by his wife Eileen, son David, daughter Janet and two granchildren. Funeral arrangements have yet to be confirmed.

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 …