Tag Archives: Shannon Municipal District

A STRETCH of road which extends across two different municipal districts will be repaired this year, but is not on the current roads programme for this year. The poor condition of the road at Ballycar North, Sixmilebridge, which crosses from the Killaloe to the Shannon Municipal District, was highlighted by Councillor Alan O’Callaghan. At a meeting of the Killaloe district committee, he called on the engineer from the area to meet her Shannon counterpart to draw up a proposal for the road. “This road is divided between both districts and in a very poor state,” the Fianna Fáil councillor said. “A lot of people use the route and it’s in need of a lot of repair. I understand it crosses two districts, that’s why I’m calling for the two engineers to work together on this.” In a reply to the motion, Senior Executive Engineer (SEE) Niamh Madden said she had spoken with the Shannon SEE on the matter. “As this …

POLITICAL support is increasing for a number of Clare householders whose properties are beginning to crack and crumble as a result of defective material in the blockwork. Since it was formed at the start of last month, the Clare Pyrite Action Group has had more than 30 people come forward from all parts of the county to highlight the condition of their homes. After a virtual meeting with Deputy Cathal Crowe last week, the action group is to hold an open event on Monday in the hope of garnering the support of more Oireachtas members and county councillors. To-date, a number of parliamentary questions have been tabled on their behalf about the possibility of extending a remediation scheme for those affected by defective blockwork, but none has received a positive response. Last week, the Department of Housing approved a call to have Limerick city and county taken under the remit of a scheme for homes where pyrite is present in …

THE lack of traffic calming measures at one of the county’s top tourist attractions has been highlighted. Councillor John Crowe, at a meeting of the Shannon Municipal District, has urged “that traffic calming measures to be installed in Bunratty Village due to the large volume of traffic passing through and for the safety of pedestrians in this area”. He pointed out, “This is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the county with a large volume of buses and cars every day. There is no facility for traffic management. This needs to be done sooner rather than later”. Eugene O’Shea, senior executive engineer for the district, responded, “In order to determine whether traffic calming measures are warranted in Bunratty Village, a detailed traffic survey will have to be undertaken and arrangements to have this survey carried out will be made as soon as possible”. Councillor PJ Ryan supported Councillor Crowe’s call saying, “You don’t need any survey, just stand on …

THE proposed sale of Ballycasey Craft and Design Centre by Shannon Group was criticised at this week’s Shannon Municipal District meeting. Shannon Group were criticised for short-term thinking by looking to sell property, while it was claimed that selling the premises is very worrying for many of the business people based there. Councillor Gerry Flynn put a motion before the meeting asking that the Shannon Municipal District “call on Shannon Group to provide information concerning the sale of property from the property portfolio provided by the Government to maintain and support Shannon International Airport. That information also be provided concerning the recent proposal to offload Ballycasey workshops and also advise the council of any property in their ownership in the vicinity of SkyCourt Shopping Centre.” The independent councillor said that the closure of the old Shannon Development offices close to the town centre had a negative impact on the nearby businesses, while he said the council could do with knowing …

IRISH Water is like a teenager going out to a disco, so conscious is it of its image, according to Councillor Cathal Crowe. At last week’s Shannon Municipal District meeting, the Meelick man spoke about how quick the controversial utility had been to get in touch with him after he posted a critical tweet. “They’re like a 15-year-old going to a disco; they are very image conscious,” he claimed. While he said that local staff are outstanding, he was very critical of failings of Irish Water on a recent occasion when there was disruption to services in a number of areas in South-East Clare. He said they had informed people that the problem was a leak in Kilkee, while separately they had said a crew was sent out on a Sunday, when that was not the case. “The communication is absolutely dire; it’s chronic,” the Fianna Fáil councillor claimed. Councillor Mike McKee said that a number being used by representatives …

ONE Shannnon man has vowed he will chain himself to gates at the site of the proposed crematorium at Illaunnamanagh to stop machinery getting in to start work. Pat Madden says he is utterly determined to prevent the crematorium going ahead at the current location, which he says is very inappropriate. “I’m only speaking for myself here now, my colleagues and I have to debate it, but I am prepared to chain myself to the gate. Should it proceed a bit farther, there is another option open to me,” he said. While he didn’t go into detail on what other options he might be considering, he added, “I’m prepared to take very, very extensive measures, but that’s not a threat of violence or anything like that.” However, he indicated that his own personal safety might be at risk. Even if the crematorium were built, he said he would be moved to protest when funerals began. “If it is finished, the …

Clare County Council will close the Westbury Area Office in southeast Clare when the present lease expires next month. The closure will not result in any job losses as staff working in Westbury will be redeployed to other positions in the council. The decision not to renew the lease follows an examination of the level of activities at the Area Office which has identified that in 2015 the majority of the contacts, either through personal callers or telephone calls, were in relation to motor tax transactions and primarily to renew motor tax online. Excluding motor tax, a total of 400 contacts were made with the office throughout 2015. This equates to less than 10 contacts per week. The council said it is “conscious that with advances in phone technology in particular, access to online facilities is now much greater than when online access facilities were initiated at the office. An increasing number of people are renewing motor tax on-line in …

CHIEF Executive of Clare County Council Tom Coughlan is set to come under pressure for answers about the non-renewal of Neil Pakey’s contract at Shannon Group and the non-progression of the Lynx Cargo facility at the airport. Mr Coughlan is a member of the board of Shannon Group and at next Monday’s meeting of Clare County Council, the six Shannon councillors will look for standing orders to be suspended for a discussion of the two issues. Just before Christmas it was announced that Mr Pakey’s contract would not be extended beyond next June. Also, in a letter to Clare County Council last month, Shannon Group confirmed that the Lynx Cargo project, which it was once claimed could deliver a huge amount of local jobs, is not going to proceed. On Wednesday, Independent Councillor PJ Ryan, who is chair of the Shannon Municipal District, said there is a need for information on why Mr Pakey is not being retained. “What we …