Tag Archives: illegal encampment

A RECOMMENDATION contained in a Traveller accommodation expert review report repealing trespass legislation would make it almost impossible to move on illegal encampments in Clare. That’s according to Deputy Cathal Crowe, who has described this proposal as “crazy and political correctness gone mad”. The Meelick Deputy has also expressed concern about the colossal legal fees faced by local authorities in defending themselves in court on matters relating to Traveller accommodation. In 2021, Clare County Council spent €1.1 million defending legal actions taken against it by various individuals and bodies. “It is a waste of public money that would be much better spent in providing accommodation, rather than lining the pockets of lawyers,” he said. Speaking in the Dáil recently, Deputy Crowe cited one of the recommendations contained in the report, which was published in July 2019, proposing to “repeal the Trespass legislation, in particular as it applies to publicly owned land, until an appropriate network of transient provision as envisaged …

THE occupants of an illegal encampment in Sixmilebridge train station car park are now using this location for their postal address, a local councillor has claimed. Councillor Alan O’Callaghan said it is “shocking” the occupants of this encampment can use the car park as a location to receive their post. “If I drove into Limerick Train Station and left my car overnight without paying parking charges, my car would be impounded and taken away, with a huge fine to pay to get it back. Maybe, the law needs to be changed. The Fianna Fáil Councillor told a Joint Policing Committee meeting on Tuesday there is a lot of frustration over the length of time it is taking to remove this illegal encampment of three caravans, considering it was quickly moved out of Shannon last January. He recalled the occupants of the encampment originally tried to move on to the car park in the Twelve O’Clock Hills, but decided to go …

RESIDENTS of an Ennis housing estate are appealing for help from the council in clearing a significant amount of human waste and litter left behind after an encampment that sprang up on a vacant site beside their homes, earlier this month. While a number of caravans left the site beside Castle Rock on the Tulla Road last Tuesday evening, there are still concerns about the hazard posed by the waste, in terms of Covid-19. The area is also expected to be visited in the coming days by judges from the Tidy Towns, prompting further frustration among local residents. Councillor Johnny Flynn who raised the residents’ concerns at a meeting of Clare County Council welcomed the decision of those involved in the encampment to move, and the intervention of Gardaí, said a significant public health issue remains. “Often, we find ourselves incurring a major costs after an illegal encampment,” he said. “In this case, there is a major public health concern …

AN illegal encampment may jeapordise the future of a planned development of social housing in Ennis, it is feared. Plans are underway by the council to build 40 housing units at Ashline to, according to the council, “address the high needs in the Ennis area”. However, a family has set up an illegal encampment in a nearby laneway regularly used as a shortcut to Ennis National School. Last month Clare County Council assisted the gardaí in removing the barriers after parents told how their young children didn’t feel safe going to school along the route. Members of the Ennis Municipal District voiced their concerns at their monthly meeting where plans for the housing development proposal at Ashline were outlined. A preliminary public consultation meeting about the development is set to be held on Tuesday next,  June 19 in the Temple Gate Hotel from 6pm to 7.30pm. While councillors welcomed the plans, they highlighted the need for the illegal encampment to …