Tag Archives: Noeleen Fitzgerald

A BID has been made to reduce the backlog in West Clare of local roads that need upgrading under the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS), writes Fiona McGarry. At the July meeting of the municipal district, Councillor Gabriel Keating proposed that, in view of the 220 roads on the waiting list in the West Clare district, funding might be contributed from the income generated by the Local Property Tax (LPT) to match that from the Department of Rural and Community Development. In a written response to Councillor Keating’s motion, Noeleen Fitzgerald, Director of Finance said the matter would be considered when the 2022 budget was being drafted. “The draft budget 2022 process has commenced and will be considered by members at the statutory budget meeting later this year,” the reply stated. “The Local Government Act 2001 Section 102 as amended by The Local Government Reform Act 2014 provides the legislative basis for the preparation of the draft local authority budget. “This …

Political manoeuvring will intensify amongst Clare county councillors ahead of a council meeting next Monday to secure support for a controversial €10 million loan for what has been described as a new public-private partnership to provide a major development facelift for Ennis. Ennis 2040 Designated Activity Company (DAC) has been registered as a company to assist in formulating identified opportunities for development and employment in Ennis and making the town an attractive place to live and work. The new high powered committee, which is chaired by former Roche Clarecastle chief executive, Gerry Cahill, includes TTM Healthcare Ennis chief executive Brian Crowley, Kieran Considine, head of AIB in Clare, Limerick and Kerry, Corporate Excellence Ireland chief executive, Linda Barron, Councillor Claire Colleran-Molloy, economic director of service, Liam Conneally and director of finance, Noeleen Fitzgerald. It is expected that Councillor Johnny Flynn and Councillor Ann Norton will become members of the board in the near future. This plan is expected to generate …

CLARE County Council will face a major financial headache trying to balance its books next month following confirmation the authority is facing a €12.6 million deficit in funding due to the catastrophic economic impact of Covid-19. The grim financial situation facing the council was laid bare this week after it emerged the projected loss of income from commercial rates will total €5 million, €5.6 million will be missing from other income that is normally generated, while an additional €2 million had to be spent on unplanned public health measures. The major financial challenge facing the council was raised by Councillor Pat McMahon at a recent local authority meeting when he asked chief executive Pat Dowling to outline the financial impact of Covid-19 on the operations of the council and the council’s interactions with other bodies and agencies. Councillor McMahon stressed it will be vital to seek substantial government support as no local authority could sustain this shortfall. Commenting on the …

AN ECONOMIC taskforce is to be set up to address the massive financial impact of the coronavirus on Clare economy, which the council’s CEO has likened to that of a “juggernaut”. Members of the local authority were updated on the measure, as they gave unanimous backing to a cross-party motion to freeze commercial rates for the duration of the crisis. At their monthly meeting, councillors heard that the authority anticipates a hit this year of €19.7 million. They agreed that central government must compensate for this loss. Calling for “a complete freeze on the collection and charging of commercial rates… for the duration of this pandemic and for a time after at the very least,” Councillor Mary Howard said business owners were distraught. She also called for a “mandatory fund” from central government to compensate councils. “I’ve been getting calls from tearful people who didn’t know when they would be able to re-open their business,” she said. “Some still don’t …