Tag Archives: West Clare Municipal District

A SCATHING attack on the slow pace of repair works on local roads has been launched by an Ennistymon-based councillor. At the January meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, Councillor Shane Talty described the Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) as “unfit for purpose”. The scheme involves the council drawing down national funds to repair privately-owned roads, and levying a contribution on those using the routes. According to figures given to Councillor Talty, the scheme has only addressed a fraction of the demand for works over the last three years. “I’m sure that like myself, other members are inundated with queries and requests from people who have applications in under the LIS,” the Fianna Fáil member said. “These are applications that – as far as they’re concerned – are in there for years and they’re expecting that a response or a solution is only around the corner. At the current rate of progress, over the last three years, from the figures …

CONSULTATION with landowners will be central in the development of the West Clare Greenway, a senior council official had pledged. Leonard Cleary made his remarks in response to a request from Councillor Susan Crawford for an update on the long-awaited trail which will run through Ennis, Corofin, Ennistymon, Lahinch, Miltown Malbay, Quilty, Doonbeg, Moyasta, Kilrush and Kilkee. At the January meeting of the municipal district, Mr Cleary said that landowners and the farming community would be consulted at every stage. In response to the motion from Councillor Crawford, Seán Lenihan, Senior Engineer with the council’s Project Management Office (PMO) said that technical advisors for the Planning and Consent Phase and Detailed Design Phase for a 20km section between Kilrush and Kilkee will be appointed by March. “Following the council’s commissioning of a positive Feasibility Study, we were fortunate to secure €255,000 from the Department of Transport’s Carbon Tax Fund to progress the proposal through the various stages required,” Mr Lenihan’s …

THE plight of a family of seven, living in a two-bedroom apartment has been highlighted by a West Clare councillor. Councillor Ian Lynch told the January Municipal District Meeting he knew of a number of families whose children had been hoping Santa would give them a new home for Christmas. The Independent councillor secured figures showing a total of 704 people in the area on the housing list, with the greatest level of demand in Kilrush (135), Ennistymon (105), Kilkee (68), Corofin (61) and Miltown (53). “In response, the only housing that we’ve come up with is 57 new houses and 33 vacant units,” he said. “Matching that reality with peoples’ expectations is a huge problem. I have a number of families that are in desperate, desperate need of a large house. I have a five-child family in a two-bedroom apartment who are crying out for assistance. They recently applied for a three-bedroom house, but were told it wouldn’t suit …

INSURANCE hurdles stand in the way of the development of another “Grade A” tourism product for the Loop Head Peninsula, members of the West Clare Municipal District have heard. Addressing the January meeting of the committee, which took place online, Councillor Cillian Murphy appealed to the authority to consider taking a newly-created access path into Carrigaholt Castle under its public insurance policy, issued by Irish Public Bodies Mutual Insurances (IPB). The Fianna Fáil members commended the work of the local heritage group who had secured funding for the access route and noted that the insurance for public amenities is a recurring issue of concern. “The community group there have done some Trojan work,” he noted. “It’s taken them a long, long time to get to the bottom of ownership and to get permission from the owners to allow work. They’ve got significant funding from The Heritage Council and it’s the end of a long road, if you’ll pardon the pun, …

A WEST Clare councillor has called for equality for his area, saying that many people have the impression that the local authority’s unofficial title is ‘Ennis County Council’. Councillor Ian Lynch made his remarks at the January meeting of the West Clare Municipal District when he called for the area to have its own plan to rival the recently unveiled Ennis 2040 blueprint. “What I’m looking for is equality among the municipal districts,” he said. “This came up at the county council meeting when we were told that Ennis 2040 is not just a municipal district plan, it’s a county-wide plan. Well, I take a bit of offence to that. That plan was put together by the hard work of the municipal district in Ennis. We are a municipal district with the same size and the same clout as Ennis, and in this motion, I’m requesting that we have a strategic plan, broken into two distinct areas. There’s very strategic …

WORK on a new sewerage scheme for Ballyvaughan could begin next year, subject to planning permission, according to Irish Water. The utility outlined details in a response to a motion from Councillor Joe Killeen who asked for an update on schemes for Ballyvaughan and Kilfenora. In a reply sent ahead of the January meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, Irish Water said it anticipated acquiring lands and making a planning application this year for the Ballyvaughan Waste Water Treatment Plant (WwTP). “Irish Water is progressing with plans to construct a new wastewater treatment plant (WwTP) in Ballyvaughan that will serve a population equivalent of 1055, as well as a new pumping station and associated sewer network infrastructure,” the writte response outlined. “We are planning to acquire lands and submit a planning application to Clare County Council in 2021 for this project. Once planning has been submitted, these plans will be available for the public to view in the planning …

PLANS to install a pedestrian crossing in the village of Corofin have made progress, after a motion was tabled by Councillor Joe Killeen at this month’s meeting of the West Clare Municipal District. Calling for a new crossing, the Fianna Fáil members said it would be in the interests of the safety of all road users locally. “What we have is a cluster of facilities together – the GAA pitch and the playground – at the southern part of the village,” he explained. “Then, we have the medical centre just across the road. At the moment, we’re trying to encourage people to park in the car parking spaces adjacent to the GAA pitch and at the entrance to the play area. We’ve got Laghtagoona which has 100 houses and lots of the children from there come as part as the pitch and playground and we’re looking for a pedestrian crossing to try and facilitate those using the facility. It would …

CLARE County Council has been urged to apologise for the role it played, in the 1920s and ‘30s, in the running of the County Clare Nursery in Kilrush. Last week, in the Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, the high infant mortality rate there was revealed. The deaths of so-called “illegitimate” infants is recorded as 168 during a ten-year period from 1922 to 1932. The commission concluded that the vast majority of those children died at the home. The facility was owned and financed by Clare County Council. At the outset of this week’s meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, Councillor Shane Talty proposed that an apology would be issued by the council at its February meeting.  He said the council was proud of its history but added, “We should acknowledge our dark chapters and if the local authority had a role in that, albeit nobody today can take responsibility, I think at a …