Tag Archives: Michael Hillery

JUDITH Ironside, a woman whose voluntarism permeated through local and national organisations all her life, died peacefully at home in Spanish Point this week. Wife of the late James Ironside, a well-known vet, Judith was a person who threw herself headlong into any projects she became involved in. She was a founding member of Ennis Soroptomists, one of whose most significant achievements was to set up Caring for Carers, subsequently to become Caring for Carers Ireland, with a presence in 23 counties. Judith was a great ambassador for West Clare in a quiet way, as she attended many prestigious functions over the years. She was especially proud of Spanish Point and Miltown Malbay and was involved in several committees who shared a common goal of working to achieve major social and infrastructural improvements in the area. She was an active member of the local Church of Ireland community and was a member of the committee responsible for the €22,000 restoration …

Clare County Council has today (Friday) signed contracts for the delivery of a €661,000 upgrade and extension of Kilkee Fire Station. The project involves the construction of an extension to the rear of the existing building including a new drying room and BA servicing /compressor room, and the provision of a lecture room and kitchenette on a new first floor, new mezzanine floor for storage, female shower and toilet facilities with disabled access, two roller shutter doors and various other upgrade to services. The contract is being funded by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, which is providing €661,000 for all costs,including construction costs and design fees. Kilkee Fire Station is being relocated to Dough in order to facilitate construction work which will commence in the coming weeks and is expected to be completed during early 2019. Mayor of Clare, Tom McNamara, said,“The signing of this contract represents a …

DEBTS owed to Clare County Council exceeded €28 million last September. This represents about 25% of the council’s expenditure of €110m for the next 12 months. The figure has prompted a call from Councillor Michael Hillery for Government to give more statutory powers to local authorities, to pursue people of good financial means who will not pay. For those who cannot afford to pay a bill upfront, Councillor Hillery noted at a council meeting on Monday, that the authority will work with debtors to discharge what they owe over a longer period of time. However, he believes the authority should be given powers akin to the Revenue Commissioners to legally pursue those who have money but refuse to pay. Describing the outstanding €17.4m rates bill as “worrying”, he hopes it will decline by the end of the year with the upturn in the economy. The debt includes €17.466m in outstanding commercial rates, €6.837m in development contributions, €1.806m in housing loans …