Tag Archives: Gerry Flynn

THE real drama of the weekend’s election count in Clare came after 5pm on Sunday, when the final seat in the Shannon Electoral Area was being decided. In the end, Gerry Flynn was elected to the council for a fourth term but he will never be pressed harder. Both he and Garret McPhillips were exactly level after a recount of votes. In such circumstances, what happens is that the candidate with the greater number of first preferences goes through and the 1,041 Flynn number ones was greater than McPhillips’ 939. While reporting on local politics can be dreary, that certainly wasn’t the case on Sunday evening. Shannon was the last electoral area to be counted and Cathal Crowe was way ahead of everyone else, with a massive 2,575 first preferences, far in excess of the 1,406 quota. The second count saw Fine Gael’s John Crowe home, his 1,308 first preferences topped up by another 121 from his namesake’s surplus. Count three …

AFTER a draining evening Garret McPhillips lost out, tying with Gerry Flynn, but not taking the seat because the Independent candidate had more number one votes. While they were dead even after six counts, one recheck and one recount, the greater number of first preferences is used as a means of separating candidates in such circumstances, although it almost never happens. In the immediate aftermath, Mr  McPhillips said he had advice that he could seek a more extensive recount to the one carried out on Sunday evening, but even at that stage he was inclined not to press ahead with that course of action. “Look, I don’t want to go down the legal road. When it says I’m entitled to a full recount it means a full recount of the whole Shannon district, I don’t know, I need more clarity. But at the moment it is what it is, I congratulate Gerry 100%, I congratulate Mike (McKee), especially with his …

ELECTION counts often provide a few hours’ entertainment for the casual visitor, but they can be hellish for the candidates and those close to them. Last Sunday evening will surely never be forgotten by Gerry Flynn as he was announced as winner three times, but on two occasions recounts were sought, meaning a long and difficult evening for the Miltown native, who has made his home in Shannon and represented the town for many years. While he shook hands with Garret McPhillips after the initial recheck, there was no handshake between the two after the final outcome. Speaking this week, Councillor Flynn said that at that stage he was quite drained by the process. He was clearly irritated by the fact that Mr McPhillips had sought the recount after the recheck, despite the two having shaken hands. “If I shook your hand and congratulated you, I’d mean it. What’s wrong at all now, is there no substance in a handshake?” Councillor …

A PLANNED town it may be but Shannon has never had a proper centre and this week’s meeting of the local municipal district council heard several calls for change. There were also calls for those who had been involved in the Venue project (a proposed civic and arts centre for Shannon) to keep going, despite some recent setbacks. Sinn Féin Councillor Mike McKee put forward a motion that the local county councillors meet with senior officials from the county council’s planning department and other interested parties to agree a strategy for developing a streetscape. At the meeting, he said he had read one very critical comment from a visitor to Clare’s second- largest town. “The first thing you notice about Shannon is that there really isn’t much to the town,” he quoted. “That struck me; I didn’t like to read that,” he added. As a youngster in the North, he said that removal men came to his family’s home to …

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, …

COUNCILLOR Gerry Flynn has criticised An Bord Pleanála after it rejected the advice of its own inspector, to turn down Aldi’s application for a store in Shannon. He said it is not the first time the body has done something like this regarding a Shannon proposal. “That has happened before, if you remember, it was the same with the crematorium. I don’t know why they have inspectors at all, the powers that be seem to see them as surplus to requirements at time. If an inspector comes out that has the knowledge and expertise to make a decision on a proposal, would you not think that this is the expert you have to listen to? “The board can say that even though you went out and did your job and gave us your recommendation, we have the power to overturn it and we can decide yay or nay. It’s a regular occurrence that an inspector’s report can be overturned or …

At this month’s meeting of Clare County Council, Councillor Ann Norton called for the local authority to allocate more resources into statutory enforcement on planning, waste, illegal camping “and all other areas that are being flouted”. The councillor stated, “Not a week goes by that councillors aren’t being contacted by people complaining about illegal dumping and encampments. Unfortunately, it is costing the council a serious amount of money.” Speaking about illegal encampments, she said that, in many cases, “unless there are legal proceedings brought, they won’t move.” “This is putting a lot of stress on people living in the area and is bringing down the value of houses,” she added. Councillor Norton pointed out that large gates were recently installed at the Rocky Road in Ennis to help tackle illegal dumping in the area. “This is unacceptable. We have to say no,” she stated. She asked for details of the cost of the gates and the executive said this would …

Expenses totalling €12,329 were incurred by 20 Clare county councillors for their attendance at a training conference in Donegal last year. Councillor Gerry Flynn, who did not claim any of his statutory annual training allowance of €3,300, has called on the Government to provide in-house upskilling for councillors at local level, to eliminate the need to travel to the four corners of the country. His call came after almost three-quarters of the 28 elected members travelled up to Buncrana for the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG) conference on May 5 and 6 of last year. Councillors Michael Begley, James Breen, Pat Burke, Bill Chambers, Clare Colleran-Molloy, Joe Cooney, John Crowe, Christy Curtin, Pat Daly, Pat Hayes, Michael Hillery, Gabriel Keating, PJ Kelly, Pat McMahon, Paul Murphy, Richard Nagle, Tony O’Brien, PJ Ryan and Bill Slattery each made the round trip of 672 kilometres. They received payments ranging from €453 for Councillor Christy Curtin to €680 for Councillor Bill Chambers, …