Tag Archives: Sean McLoughlin

ONE of the only planned towns in the country, somehow Shannon has developed without a conventional centre or streetscape, and it is something locals have been seeking for years. Only recently the group behind the Venue (a proposed multi-functional Community, Civic and Arts Centre for the town) stepped away, after several years of unsuccessfully seeking funding. Derek Barrett was part of that group and has lived in Shannon since he was a child, arriving in the late 1960s. A former member of Shannon Town Council and Clare County Council, Sean McLoughlin has been in the town since 1970. The two met with the Clare Champion on Monday, and Derek said in his view the town is missing something important, which was there in his youth. “Shannon was well planned, it had the community hall, the shopping centre, all around Drumgeely Hill. There was a focal point. I know a streetscape is now being mentioned as the thing that Shannon needs, …

By Owen Ryan SHANNON is being neglected, the April meeting of the town council heard. Complaints arose after a letter was sent to the council that ruled out bringing a motor tax service to Shannon. At a previous meeting of the town council, a motion was passed requesting that the county council open a motor tax service locally. However, the letter from the council ruled that out. “Motor tax services are available online at www.motortax.ie. Year-on-year, the county-wide take-up of online motor taxing is growing, with a 46% increase in the proportion of online usage between January 2011 and January 2014. “For the month of January 2014, 13,715 motor tax transactions for County Clare were processed, of which 56% were handled online, with the balance transacted by post or over the counter in Ennis or Ennistymon. “The delivery of motor taxation nationally is currently being reviewed, as part of the national service efficiency reform agenda. Until the direction of national …

CLARE County Councillor Sean McLoughlin has called for a review of Government and banking policy to help the thousands of Clare people who find themselves in a “property ladder black hole”. The Shannon-based Councillor said people on lower incomes are being left behind and unable to own, purchase or build homes due to restrictive social housing list and mortgage qualification criteria. “In a State that boasts a constitutional entitlement for every person to own a home, it is clear that not all of our citizens are being catered for. Many cannot get on the council housing list, cannot secure a mortgage or do not qualify for rent supplement,” he stated. Councillor McLoughlin explained the “property ladder black hole” related to individuals on an income of €35,000. He continued, “The simple matter is that any person earning €35,000 or under cannot obtain a mortgage yet many are paying a monthly rent equivalent to a monthly mortgage payment. Similarly, persons earning €35,000 …

Dan Danaher SHANNON was one of 44 Irish towns that didn’t comply with mandatory effluent quality and sampling standards in 2012, a newly published report has confirmed. The Environmental Protection Agency report found that Shannon was one of the areas that “did not meet all the relevant mandatory effluent quality standards for biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, nitrogen and phosphorus”. The report said that Shannon failed to meet the standards set for effluent quality and pointed to “persistent failures”, in that at least 50% of the effluent samples from the town’s treatment plant did not achieve all of the relevant quality standards during 2012. It said that such a performance is “indicative of poor plant performance or overloading of the treatment plant”. In a statement, Councillor Sean McLoughlin said he was dissatisfied with the report, claiming it failed to adequately address concerns regarding odours coming from the Shannon Sewerage Scheme. The former Mayor of Shannon said, “The EPA has …

ANTI-social behaviour is a serious problem for some residents of Rossbracken, this week’s meeting of Shannon Town Council heard, while there were calls for CCTV to be introduced at the estate. There were also calls for two laneways in the estate to be closed, a proposal two of the members brought before the meeting. Councillors Sean McLoughlin and Gerry Flynn put forward a motion asking that “Shannon Town Council request Clare County Council to begin the process to close the alleyways between 4 and 5 Rossbracken, due to some unsociable activity causing disturbance to local residents.” However, in a written response, Eugene O’Shea, the senior executive engineer for the Shannon area, opposed closing them. “The alleyways between 4 and 5 Rossbracken are public rights of way with underground public services and the area office would not favour closing them. Members of the public have the right to access these alleyways. Instances of anti-social behaviour at these locations should be referred …

DEBATE and disagreement broke out over the scale of the rat problem in Shannon at Tuesday’s town council meeting. There have been numerous complaints about the amount of rats going around the town in recent weeks but at Tuesday’s meeting, there were suggestions that the problem isn’t as bad as has been claimed, something some of the members angrily refuted. At the meeting, Councillor Sean McLoughlin put forward a motion asking that County Council carry out rat baiting on a regular basis in Shannon and for the council to clean out any place where rats might nest. Councillor Cathy McCafferty had another motion requesting that members be informed of what arrangements the council had entered into with regard to pest/rodent control since the last local elections in 2009. The written response to Councillor McLoughlin’s motion from senior executive engineer Eugene O’Shea said Shannon isn’t worse than any other county. “While it is impossible to inspect all possible locations where rodents …