Tag Archives: Leonard Cleary

AN assurance has been given that jobs at Shannon Heritage sites in Clare are secure, as the transfer to the local authority is expected to be approved shortly by government.  Leonard Cleary, Director of Services for Tourism, said the authority expects sign-off very soon for the transfer of the sites to Clare County Council. “We would like it to happen, with government approval, before summer,” Mr Cleary told a meeting of the Council’s Rural Development committee.  Efforts to transfer the sites from the Shannon Airport Group met an impasse at the end of last year, when the government offered a fraction of the €15 million funding package sought by Clare County Council. Since then, a range of options has been explored and meetings have continued into this week in an effort to resolve the issue and protect amenities and jobs at sites including Bunratty Castle, Craggaunowen and Knappogue Castle. Addressing a rural committee meeting in Ennis on Tuesday (February 21), …

THE long-awaited transfer of Shannon Heritage sites to Clare County Council hangs in the balance after Chief Executive, Pat Dowling told councillors he was informed by two senior government officials a funding package estimated to be €15 million over three years would not be approved. While some councillors who attended a two-hour briefing behind closed doors to the public and media on Wednesday are adamant that no final decision has been taken by the council, this latest bombshell represents a major setback to the proposed transfer. An Taoiseach Micheál Martin gave a vague response about the future of this deal when questioned by Deputy Michael McNamara this week. Speaking in the Dáil on Wednesday, Deputy McNamara recalled the Taoiseach had told him on Tuesday he had met Mr during his recent visit to the Shannon Industrial Estate and the CEO had identified there was a funding gap from the council’s perspective. Deputy McNamara said the Taoiseach also stated, “I have …

FAR reaching questions about the operation of the Joint Policing Committee (JPC) have been raised by a West Clare councillor, who believes the local authority can do more to support the Gardaí. At the quarterly meeting of Clare’s JPC, Councillor Ian Lynch said the most active participants appeared to be An Garda Síochána and more integration between the stakeholders is possible. With the development of a new seven-year plan for the JPC, the Independent member said the time was opportune to address the issue.  “The meetings are very functional and serve a purpose,” he said, “but there are a couple of things I think we need to look at. “There are seven aims in the plan and they’re very needed and very topical: Supporting the JPC in Crime Prevention; Protecting the Vulnerable, Anti-Social Behaviour, Supporting Community Initiatives; Supporting Volunteers; Responding to Victims’ Needs and  Road Safety. “They all come up here regularly. The problem I have with the current set …

AN INCREASE in the cost of burial plots could be on the cards in a bid to boost resources for cemetery services in Clare. Following a detailed review of burial ground management, the council’s rural policy committee was told that just half of the costs of running cemeteries is covered by the income generated. The review, which was presented to the council’s rural policy committee, was conducted by former Fire Chief and Director of Services with Limerick City and County Council, Ollie O’Loughlin. It examined eight aspects of the operation of burial grounds in Clare. Among the report’s recommendations is an increase in clerical and technical support for the Burial Ground Unit, something that could potentially be done by pooling resources with those for community playgrounds. Mr O’Loughlin is also proposing a review of the bye-laws governing burial grounds in order to address issues including anti-social behaviour. In addition, Mr O’Loughlin has recommended a licencing system for those working in …

A DIRECTOR of Services with Clare County Council has been ordained a deacon of the Diocese of Cloyne. Leonard Cleary, who is Director of Rural Development and responsible for the West Clare Municipal District, is now a permanent deacon, assigned to minister in the Parish of Charleville in north County Cork. Mr Cleary who is from Corofin and a very popular member of staff at the local authority in Clare, served as a pastoral assistant in Charleville for some time before his ordination on Sunday August 15. In his capacity as pastoral assistant, Mr Cleary has assisted in preparation for the sacraments and addressed the parents of the Confirmation and First Holy Communion children. He has read the Sacred Scriptures at Mass, acted as Minister of the Eucharist and collected. Mr Cleary also attended all the meetings of the Charleville Pastoral Council until the pandemic came along. Last year, Mr Cleary was made an acolyte of the Diocese of Cloyne, …

RURAL councillors will have to “toughen up” to ensure that smaller communities have a chance to develop in the face of a new national directive which threatens to de-zone lands without wastewater treatment facilities. At a discussion this week of a review of Clare’s Rural Development Strategy, members noted the challenges facing communities in accessing such infrastructure. Clare is still the only county to have a rural strategy and Director of Service Leonard Cleary told members of the Rural Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) that it is now being reviewed to take account of changes including those caused by the pandemic. Councillor Pat Burke said that committee members would have to work hard to have their concerns addressed in the new County Development Plan. The forthcoming blueprint will have to take account of the National Planning Framework, which stipulates that lands where there is no prospect of wastewater infrastructure being built in the lifetime of the plan must lose their zoning …

CONSULTATION with landowners will be central in the development of the West Clare Greenway, a senior council official had pledged. Leonard Cleary made his remarks in response to a request from Councillor Susan Crawford for an update on the long-awaited trail which will run through Ennis, Corofin, Ennistymon, Lahinch, Miltown Malbay, Quilty, Doonbeg, Moyasta, Kilrush and Kilkee. At the January meeting of the municipal district, Mr Cleary said that landowners and the farming community would be consulted at every stage. In response to the motion from Councillor Crawford, Seán Lenihan, Senior Engineer with the council’s Project Management Office (PMO) said that technical advisors for the Planning and Consent Phase and Detailed Design Phase for a 20km section between Kilrush and Kilkee will be appointed by March. “Following the council’s commissioning of a positive Feasibility Study, we were fortunate to secure €255,000 from the Department of Transport’s Carbon Tax Fund to progress the proposal through the various stages required,” Mr Lenihan’s …

THE plight of a family of seven, living in a two-bedroom apartment has been highlighted by a West Clare councillor. Councillor Ian Lynch told the January Municipal District Meeting he knew of a number of families whose children had been hoping Santa would give them a new home for Christmas. The Independent councillor secured figures showing a total of 704 people in the area on the housing list, with the greatest level of demand in Kilrush (135), Ennistymon (105), Kilkee (68), Corofin (61) and Miltown (53). “In response, the only housing that we’ve come up with is 57 new houses and 33 vacant units,” he said. “Matching that reality with peoples’ expectations is a huge problem. I have a number of families that are in desperate, desperate need of a large house. I have a five-child family in a two-bedroom apartment who are crying out for assistance. They recently applied for a three-bedroom house, but were told it wouldn’t suit …