CLARE County Council is urging the general public to have their voice heard in relation to the formulation of a 6-year social and economic development plan for Ennis and surrounding areas. The new Ennis and Environs Local Area Plan 2015-2021 will guide the development of the Clare county capital and its environs in terms of economic development, recreational and community requirements, as well as residential, retail, transport and infrastructural needs. A draft of the Plan is due to be completed by the end of 2014. Community groups, individuals and stakeholders are encouraged to make written submissions or observations no later than 4pm on Tuesday, July 29 next. Senior planner with Clare County Council, Gordon Daly explained: “The Local Area Plan will seek to guide and facilitate the future growth and economic and social development of Ennis. Therefore, it is vitally important that the council receives the input from all sectors of the community.” “The overarching aim of the new plan …
Read More »‘Magnified’ economic decline in Gort
By Nicola Corless UNEMPLOYMENT and emigration rates increased more in Gort than any other town in the country, according to research revealed this week. Figures for towns in other parts of Ireland will not be released until April, but Professor Cathal O’Donoghue of the Teagasc’s Rural Economy Development Programme outlined details of the group’s research in Gort to a meeting of Galway County Council on Monday, as part of a presentation from The Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Area (CEDRA). According to its national town rankings, which take into account unemployment and emigration rates, Gort has seen the biggest fall nationally in a Teagasc index of small and medium sized towns. In 2002 and 2006 it was just outside the top 10% of towns in Ireland but by 2011 it had slipped to the bottom 10%. The South Galway town lost 400 jobs in just five years, between 2006 and 2011. While the population of the town dropped …
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