This article is from page 4 of the 2006-05-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE legitimacy of Clare County Council’s decision to instigate legal proceedings to remove 19 buskers and traders from the Cliffs of Moher has been thrown into doubt, with a survey by The Clare People revealing that the majority of county councillors are opposed to legal action being taken.
Of the 32 elected members of the council, sixteen are opposed to legal action, 9 are in favour of it and 7 have declined to comment. The local authority presented the 19 buskers and traders with notice of court proceedings last Thursday.
“Taking legal action without engaging in dialogue is an admission of failure and the opportunity for dialogue has now been lost,” said Cllr PJ Kelly (FF).
“A small bit of dialogue could have saved a lot of trouble, but there was no broker there, no independent person who could have solved the problem. There are two sides to the arguments and the buskers have rights too, and they have precedent on their side.”
West Clare councillor Oliver Garry (FG), also opposed to the instigation of legal proceedings, said the council should not be going to court to settle the dispute.
“They are being too hasty and should be very sensitive in going to the courts with these people, many of which have been operating at the cliffs for years.”
The Director of Service at Clare County Council and head of the Cliffs of Moher Project, Gerard Dollard declined to comment on the results of the survey, but his actions were defended by some elected members of the council.
“I support Ger Dollard 100 per cent at what he is trying to achieve at the Cliffs,” said Kilrush Councillor Tom Prendeville (FF). “The traders have nothing to fear from coming on board with Clare County Council and I think that it is in their own best interests in the long run.”
Another in support was Shannon councillor, Patricia McCarthy (Ind), who said the council had no other choice.
“I think that they are right to go to court at this stage, there has been consultation going on for years and they have exhausted all other options,” she said.
Three locally based councillors, Martin Lafferty (Ind), Christy Curtin (Ind) and Flan Garvey (FF) also suggested that an independent third party should be brought in to resolve the situation rather than pursuing the legal route.
In a separate survey conducted by The Clare People , 25 of the 29 councilors who gave an answer, said that some accommodation should be made for traders and buskers at the Cliffs, in addition to the 6 traders who were to housed in the main visitor complex. In response to this , Gerard Dollard said that some buskers would be issued with licenses from the council.