Tag Archives: west clare

A WEST Clare councillor has called for the reclassification of regional roads in the district to facilitate more regular gritting during a cold snap. Councillor Murphy proposed the R487, R488 between Kilkee, Carrigaholt and Kilbaha, and the R473 between Kildysart and Labasheeda, be included as strategic regional routes in future winter service plans as Priority Two. Speaking at a recent West Clare Municipal District meeting, Councillor Murphy said these two strategic regional routes were not included in the Winter Plan for treating roads, despite the fact they served significant populations. The Kilkee Councillor said the R487 is effectively a main road to the Loop Head Peninsula for about 3,000 people. “These roads should be treated as Priority Two, which means their treatment will not be done on an ad-hoc basis. This would ensure they are a core part of the treatment of roads rather than we will get to them if we can. “This is exactly the kind of stuff …

TRUMP International spent just under €4.5 million on wages and salaries in 2021, newly filed accounts show. While the company was one of West Clare’s largest employers with an average of 230 staf in 2019, this dipped to 112 in the first year of the pandemic, before coming back up to 137 last year. The amount spent on wages increased by €1.27 million in 2021 compared to the previous year. Trump International made an operating profit of €509,892 for the year, rebounding from an operating loss of almost €2 million in 2020. However, despite the operating profit, its net assets declined by over €1 million, largely due to depreciation and amortisation of €2.054 million. During the year the company received €1.85 million in government grants. While 2021 was a difficult year because of Covid restrictions, a note accompanying the accounts said Trump International had performed quite well in the circumstances. “While the hotel had to close to the public for …

THE water supply in west Clare has gone “beyond breaking point”, a meeting of local councillors heard. Councillor Gabriel Keating put forward a motion at the recent meeting of west and North councillors asking that Irish Water, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the County Council resolve the “long standing frequent bursts and outages due to the poor condition of the asbestos watermain situated in the raised bog rampart on the N67 south of Doonbeg Village.” He said that the N67 south of Doonbeg is deteriorating and is a health and safety hazard, as well as “a regular inconvenience to the residents of the area due to the frequency of bursts over a number of years”. Councillor Keating said that dealing with the issue every time there is a leak is costly, even if an overall project requires a good deal of funding. “I’d love to know how much each leak costs,” he mused. He said that people are left without water …

A NUMBER of councillors in West and North Clare have raised concerns about the impact of tourist vehicles using smaller roads and boreens in the district. The Green Party’s Liam Grant was first to raise the matter at a meeting of councillors, in a motion stating, “A number of bus operators are using unsuitable roads to travel to tourist attractions in North Clare. I call on Clare County Council to write to the National Transport Authority and request stricter enforcement of the allocated routes. “I would also request that the Cliffs of Moher consider not allowing bus operators, who do not take the allocated routes, park at the visitor centre.” The finger was also pointed, however, at GPS navigation systems, which routinely point drivers towards the quickest, most direct routes, regardless of the state of the road. Later in the meeting, Councillor Ian Lynch had a motion which asked for signs to be put up in certain places, urging people …

AMBULANCE services in Clare came under the spotlight at the monthly meeting of Clare County Council, when a call was made to review the deployment system.  Councillor Ian Lynch demanded that the Health Minister review the ‘dynamic deployment’ process operated by the National Ambulance Service (NAS), asserting that the system does not work in rural areas.  “I have been raising this issue since I’ve been elected,” the Independent member said, “and it has been falling on deaf ears. The service is under-funded across the country and to talk about international best practice and dynamic deployment is a smokescreen. “That’s fine in urban centres, but it doesn’t work in rural Ireland. I have had contact from Waterford, Galway and Mayo on this and if someone who is a critical patient has to wait 90 minutes for an ambulance, it’s clear that the system isn’t working.” The Kilrush man noted recent tributes to the emergency services by broadcaster Marty Morrissey. On The …

COW dung got a large share of the blame for the state of the L2000 road, at last week’s meeting of Kilrush and Ennistymon area councillors. Councillor Cillian Murphy called for repairs to the road, in a motion he put to the meeting which asked that, “an assessment of the works required to bring the L2000 up to a standard expected of a primary route for tourism on the Loop Head Peninsula, including to the Bridges of Ross, be carried out, including a timeline for undertaking them.” However in a written reply, Senior Executive Engineer Alan Kennelly said livestock are causing an issue which would need to be resolved first. “The L-2000-0 is the access route to the Bridges of Ross and Ross Bay and is an important tourist route. While the road surface overall is in reasonable condition there are sections of it that would benefit from resurfacing works. Shorter sections require both road reconstruction and resurfacing works. “There …

Court users in West Clare are being driven ‘batty’ over the forced closure of the courthouse serving the area for much of the remainder of 2021. This follows the discovery of a colony of rare bats in the attic of Kilrush Courthouse that has prompted the Courts Service to write to solicitors, Gardai and other court users on Wednesday to confirm that Kilrush Courthouse will not hold any scheduled sittings next month, October and possibly November. The Courts Service has told court users that workers at the Kilrush courthouse made the rare bat discovery during a course of roof repairs. The Courts Service note states as the bats are a protected species, “certain procedures must be followed before work on the roof can recommence”. The note states that the repair works “already carried out makes the courthouse unsuitable for court sittings”. A spokesman for the Courts Service said on Wednesday: “No bat roost will be moved from the roof space. …

GARDAÍ are appealing to motorists accessing the county’s beauty spots to show consideration for residents and other road users, with the mercury soaring to 30 degrees this week. Staycationers, in unprecedented numbers, have brought a welcome boost to Clare’s tourism economy and created a festival atmosphere in conditions that have been more or less idyllic all week. The only down side the authorities have reported is significant traffic congestion at locations in the North and West of the county. Spanish Point, Seafield and Doolin were highlighted as particular areas of concern with heavy traffic and parking issues causing chaos. “The Garda message is that the roads, and the facilities, are there for everyone,” said Superintendent John Galvin of the Killrush Garda District. “We’re appealing to people to obey the traffic regulations because everyone wants to enjoy the summer safely.” Hot today and dry with hazy sunshine. ☀️Highs of 26 to 30 degrees🌡️, with slightly lower temperatures along southern and eastern …