This article is from page 66 of the 2006-10-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 66 JPG
CAIRDE Chuan Chinn Mhara (CCCM) are to put forward a candidate to fight next year’s General Election because they have “lost all faith” in the Government’s willingness to complete the promised €3 million sewage scheme for the Kinvara area The Clare People can reveal.
The identity of the candidate is likely to be decided upon at a meeting of CCCM in two weeks time, but the organisation confirmed yesterday that the candidate would be one of the ten people currently sitting on it’s committee.
“This is really an act of desperation at this stage,” said Stan Mac Eoin of CCCM. “We feel that we really have no choice now but to go down this path. Raw sewage is being pumped into Kinvara Bay every day. The ecoli count is huge and the sailing club have been told that it would be very dangerous if any sailor or child fell into the water.”
The campaign to construct a sewage treatment facility in Kinvara has been ongoing for the last 19 years. Funding for the project was announced in 2003, with details for the plant being submitted to the Department of the Environment in February of that year.
The project stalled at this point, however, with no progress being made until June of 2005 when the department referred the plans back to Galway County Council for modifications. To date, no further movement has been made by either organisation.
“CCCM has lost faith in the political process and the ability and will of politicians, both national and local, to provide sewerage treatment for Kinvara,” read a statement from CCCM. “Our experience in lobbying for a treatment plant for more than a decade reveals, we believe, a deeper malaise at the heart of Irish politics.”
CCCM believe that a lack of political will is at fault for holding up the project and are hopeful that they would stand a good chance of having a candidate elected.
“The frustration level is huge in Kinvara about the continued delay of this project,” continued Mr Mac Eoin. “We have been told that we are fifth in the priority list in the county but it’s hard to imagine anywhere that could be worse than this.”
This move could be more bad news for Fianna Fáil who currently hold two of four seats in the constituency. The Kinvara candidate could increase the pressure on Deputy Noel Treacy (FF) who polled the lowest of all elected candidates in the 2002 election.