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LAST Friday’s vote against altering the zoning of 24 acres of land in Clarecastle for the construction of a crematorium was the second time in just four days that councillors voted against crematorium plans, which the council planners had been in favour of.

While planning permission for the Clarecastle crematorium and grave- yard had not yet been granted, the proposed material contravention was the last obstacle in the way of planners issuing a green light for the proposal.

At Monday’s meeting of Clare County Council, councillors decided not to sell land for a crematorium in Shannon, even though the project had been granted permission by the local authority and the council had put the land up for sale earlier this year.

The land, which is located at Illaun- managh in Shannon, was purchased by Clare County Council from Shannon Development in 2002, with planning permission granted for the creation of a crematorium in March of 2009. A proposal to sell the land was opposed by Shannon Cllr Gerry Flynn (Ind) who claimed that the land should be kept in local authority ownership and for the future use of the people of the Shannon area.

Cllrs Flynn’s proposal not the sell the land was then opposed by his neighbouring councillor, PJ Ryan (Ind) from Sixmilebridge, who argued that a Clare businessman should not be prevented from developing a legitimate business on the site.

The vote was held to decide the situation with the councillors voting by 14 votes to 11 to retain the land in council ownership.

The land was granted planning permission in March of 2009, with both the Shannon local area members and a full meeting of Clare County Coun- cil voting to sell the 1.29 acre site to Illaunmanagh Ltd for € 140,000 later that year.

The purchase of land never took place however and in March of last year a second developer, Jim Cranwell, applied for an extension of the planning permission for the crematorium. The land was offered for sale by Clare County Council at this time with Mr Cranwell making an offer of € 140,000 – the same amount offered in 2009.

THE Government has been accused of treating rural Clare like a game of Jenga – and dismantling it one block at a time.

The comment was made by former Fine Gael councillor Ian Lynch (IND), while speaking on a motion regarding possible changes to the way in which social welfare is paid, which could put the future of dozen of Clare post offices in jeopardy.

The motion, which was put forward by Cllr Bill Chambers (FF), is seeking to prevent the Government from passing the new Social Welfare and Pensions Bill, which, if adopted, would remove An Post as the designated payment services provider for Social Welfare benefits.

“If this bill goes through Dáil Éireann, something like 500 post offices will be under threat and I would like to think that that won’t happen,” said Cllr Chambers.

Speaking on the motion Cllr Lynch told the Government to “back off” and stop threatening rural services.

“They are playing a game of Jenga with rural Ireland. They’re pulling out the blocks one by one and it’s time we told the Government to back off,” said the former Mayor of Kilrush.

The motions comes as discussion are ongoing about the future of the Cratloe Post Office with a number of other Clare post offices understood to be under threat.

“They are trying to close down a post office in our area at the moment. It will have a devastating effects on our community,” said Cllr PJ Ryan (Ind).

“It seem that someone up in Dublin just makes a decision to close down a post office and does not have any consideration with the local community at all.”

The future of Cratloe Post Offices is set to be decided in the coming weeks. A local group made a submission to an post 10 days ago and are awaiting a response from the company.

CLARE is facing a ticking timebomb with a dramatic increase in the size of the county’s social housing waiting list and reports of a number of people being made homeless be- cause their rent allowance is no longer enough to cover their rents.

According to figures obtained by The Clare People , the number of people on the social housing waiting list has grown from 2,312 in October of 2012 to 3,066 this month.

This represents an increase of more than 32 per cent over the last 20 months and leaves the number of people waiting for social housing approaching an all time high.

This situation has been exacerbated by the recent increase in rental charges within the property market in urban parts of the county, with rent al- lowance payments no longer able to keep pace with the rising rents.

Ironically the news of the shortage of social housing units comes within a week of reports of a record number of properties currently unoccupied in Clare.

THE new West Clare Municipal District has been described as unmanageable and a thinly cloaked attempt to downgrade Clare County Council.

Councillors at last Friday’s meeting voted to write to the Department of the Environment and insists that the old electoral boundaries be restored.

In terms of geographical size, the West Clare Municipal Area is now the largest electoral area in the country, taking up just under half of County Clare. In a joint motion put forward by three councillors from the area, it was claimed that the council will not have the resources to meet the needs of such a large area.

“I think the boundaries as set out are wrong and I cannot see them working on the ground. The overall size of the area is unmanageable, there is just one senior engineer in Kilrush now, we lost one in Ennistymon. The idea behind this is to downgrade local government as was done with the NRA and Irish water. We should go back to the old system.

According to Ennistymon Cllr Richard Nagle (FF), the council will face major budgetary difficulty in the years ahead.

“What we are facing as we go about preparing a budget for 2015, is that we are now totally dependent on the Department of the Environment to provide the finances that the people of this county have rightly come to expect,” he said.

“When the property tax was first introduced we were told we would get 100 per cent of the money. This year we are getting none, next year we are getting 80 per cent. We need to make sure that we don’t end up getting 80 per cent of the property tax but with the ministers from various departments taking back the funding we recieve – leaving us with the same level of funding or less.

“My fear is that we won’t be left with the money to live up to the promises that were made. These promises were made by the Department of the Environment and not Clare County Council.”

Independent Cllr Christy Curtin said the situation wasn’t ideal, but councillors had to work with law.

“I share the frustrations but the law is in place. There is now a challenge on us to use this as best we can to serve the people,” he said.

A WOMAN whose home is due to be repossessed by a financial institution has been told she will be able to stay there for Christmas.

The woman was one of a number of debtors who appeared at a sitting of the County Registrar’s court at Ennis Courthouse on Friday.

A financial institution is seeking possession of the woman’s house in Clare. Details of the application were not heard, as this was the first time the application was before the court.

County Registrar Pat Wallace asked the woman who was living in the house. The woman said she and her two children were still in the property. She said she would not be contesting the application. Mr Wallace adjourned the application to November 14.

“Do you think I’ll still be in the house for Christmas,” she asked the registrar. He told her she would.

In another case, the county registrar advised a couple seeking to adjourn an application for repossession to “stop this mumbo jumbo for legal aid”.

The couple owes € 74,795 to AIB for a mortgage in South East Clare.

The defendants, who were not in court and not legally represented, have failed to make monthly repayments.

Solicitor for the bank said attempts to make the couple re-engage with the process have proved unsuccessful.

Mr Wallace said, “I don’t know what is going on with these defendants. The money is not insurmountable.”

The court heard that couple are attempting to get legal aid and have sought an adjournment of the application.

The registrar said he believed the application was a “waste of time” as he believed legal aid would not be granted.

He told the bank’s solicitor to make contact with the debtors. He said it was time for the couple to start engaging with the process. “Tell them facts of life and that something is going to happen”.

“They have to stop this mumbo jumbo with legal aid that will probably be refused,” he added.

He directed the bank to make contact with the debtors. He adjourned the application to November.

NEARLY ONE in every 8 Clare homes are contaminated with radon – a colourless and odorless gas which contributes to the development of a number of cancers, especially lung cancer.

The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland have just released the results of the largest survey of radon levels ever conducted in Ireland.

The survey, which compiles thousands of radon test taken in houses over more a decade, reveals that just over 12 per cent of all Clare houses recorded unsafe levels of radon.

Of the 4,316 Clare houses tested for radon as part of the study, 433 were found to have radon levels in excess of the safe level of 200 bq/m3.

One Lisdoonvarna home was recorded as having a radon level in excess of 3, 500 bq/m3 – more than 17 times higher that the safe levels.

The average radon level in the Clare houses surveyed was 89 bq/m3 – one of the highest levels of radon in Ireland.

Because of the county’s limestone and karst landcsape, large sections of county Clare are specifically vulnerable to radon.

Radon has been proven to signifi- cantly increase a persons chances of contracting lung cancer. The gas also seems to act in conjunction with cigarette smokers – with people who smoke in high radon areas having a disproportionately high change of contracting lung cancer.

“Radon is the principal source of radiation exposure to the Irish population, contributing over 55 per cent to the average radiation dose.

“The radiation dose to individuals from radon can vary substantially with some people exposed to a fraction of the average radiation dose while others are exposed to hundreds of times the average,” said Dr Ann McGarry, Chief Executive of the RPII.

“Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas which can accumulate in buildings to unacceptable levels. It is the second biggest cause of lung cancer after smoking and is linked to up to 250 lung cancer cases per year in Ireland.

“Most of the radiation dose from radon is received in people’s homes although exposure at work is the largest contribution to occupational radiation exposure.”

Less than 1 per cent of the average radiation dose absorbed by Irish people is due to exposure to artificial sources such as Sellafield and Chernobyl.

CLARE County Council has applied for approval from the Department of Environment to raise loans of € 1.75 million to fund an ambitious re-development of part of the Ennis Market.

Members of the former Ennis Town Council previously approved the raising of the loan to develop a covered market and other infrastructural works at Garraunakilla.

In a report to Ennis councillors, Ennis Municipal District Coordinator, Ger Dollard states, “At this point in time, formal approval has not to date been received but the Council is continuing to engage with the Department in relation to the matter. It is unlikely that any significant financial requirement will arise in the current year and it is the Council’s intention to progress the project to a shovel ready stage. At that point, it would be essential that formal funding decisions are made in relation to then project”.

“The project offers a very significant basis for rejuvenation of the area and the intention would be to follow on, subject to funding, with further phases of the Market redevelopment project.”

The proposal to re-develop Garraunakilla includes the building of a structure that according to the Council will have “multifunctional uses”. The proposed structure would consist of two adjacent pavilions with a plexi-glass roof covering the central corridor.

Mr Dollard told the meeting the construction of a covered market formed phase one of an overall re- development of parts of the town centre.

The plan also envisions developments at Barrack Street, Lysaght’s Lane and Moran’s Car Park.

He was speaking in response to a motion tabled by Mayor of Ennis, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) at yesterday’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District Committee.

Cllr Mary Howard (FG) told the meeting the proposal represents a “very exciting project” for Ennis. She said covered market has the potential in time to become one of the town’s “iconic” buildings.

She said it would be beneficial if the new councillors received a full briefing the project.

Cllr Ann Norton (Ind) agreed that it would be useful if all councillors were brought up to speed.

Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) said she had concerns at how the Council could afford to take on such a costly project at a time when it is struggling to provide resources for “basic public services”.

Cllr James Breen (Ind) said he had been approached by some people in the Market area who claimed the planning notice for the development was not displayed properly in the market.

Mr Dollard said this was not correct. He said the former Ennis Town Council received a high volume of submissions in relation to the project. He said there was a high degree of knowledge among the public about the project.

In his report, Mr Dollard that initial archaeological investigations had been completed and a detailed design is being prepared so the project can be brought to tender.

A NEW community organisation, which aims to support people with disabilities in the Clare, will host its first meeting later this Friday. People with disabilities from across Clare are invited to come together with interested members of the public and community activists for the first meeting of The Clare Leader Forum.

“The Leader Forum provides a space for people with disabilities to talk to people who understand, without having to explain. As part of their work they will encourage all people with disabilities to come together and offer each other support, advice and exper- tise through a peer support network,” said Susan O’Brien of the Center for Independent Living.

“The purpose of the peer support network is to offer people the opportunity to make contact with others who are having similar life experiences. Through these groups a support network is established.

“This support can take the form of conversation and sharing experiences or simply listening to others. In some instances the network may decide to take an active part in promoting change or educating the public about issues they are experiencing in their area.”

Similar Leader Forums are already operating in several counties across Ireland and nationally through the Na- tional Leader Forum and the Center for Independent Living. The meeting will take place at the Junction at Cloughleigh in Ennis this Friday, July 18 at 11am. The new organisation forms as disabled Clare people have been expressed their frustration over the future of the Mobility Allowance and Motorised Transport Grant. Both grants have been closed to new applicants since March of last year, which the government undertakes a review of the schemes.

While the review is taking place, no new Clare applicants have been granted access to either scheme – resulting in a number of disable Clare people being left without a suitable transport options.

CLARE County Council has been urged to “go all out” and purchase a site in the Buttermarket, Ennis for the development of a new car park in the town.

That’s according to former Mayor of Clare, Cllr Pat Daly (FF), who raised the issue at yesterday’s meeting of the Ennis Municipal District Committee.

In a motion, Cllr Daly called on the Municipal District “to seek funding for the purchase of the site at Buttermarket, Ennis with a view to constructing either a ground floor car-park or a multi-story car park, particularly as parking in the town is at a premium presently”.

Cllr Daly told the meeting there are very few sites in Ennis that would be suitable for car-park development.

He said parking is a major issue, particularly for businesses in the town.

He said the Council should “go all out” to purchase the site, even if that meant lobbying the Department of Environment.

In his reply, Senior Executive Engineer, Eamon O’Dea said Ennis Town Council had previously “pursued acquisition of this site for the purposes of car-parking and had agreed a purchase price and paid a deposit”.

He continued, “Following examination of title and other matters, the Council on advice of the Town Solicitor and in the absence of issues being clarified by the liquidator, the sale did not proceed. The property was recently offered again for sale and the Council has again submitted a bid for the property”.

Director of Service and Ennis MDC Coordinator, Ger Dollard, said he was aware the site had recently been sold at auction and the issues around title had been resolved.

Cllr James Breen (Ind) told the meeting it is “very necessary” new parking facilities are developed in the town. Cllr Mary Howard (FG) said she fully supported the proposal.

THE FORMER home of controversial Clare novelist Edna O’Brien could be purchased and maintained by the Irish state.

Calls have been made for the State to intervene and purchase Drewsborough House in Tuamgraney after the property failed to sell at auction earlier this month.

The property, which was a central setting for O’Brien’s debut book, the partially autobiographical ‘The County Girls’, failed to reach its guide price of € 350,000 at auction.

Indeed the property, which was val- ued in excess of € 1 million during the Celtic Tiger years, was taken off the market with bidding reaching just € 200,000.

The house and adjoining land is being sold by the estate of the late Claire O’Brien, the novelist’s sister-in-law, who lived at Drewsborough with the novelist’s late brother, who ran his medical practice from the house.

According to auctioneer Noel Corcoran negotiations for the sale of the property are ongoing with one of bidders involved in the auction.

The property was described by O’Brien as “a font of inspiration” during an unveiling of a plaque in her honour at Drewsborough House in 2011.

O’Brien’s childhood there was not a happy one, as detailed in her 2012 memoir, Country Girl.

She was born in 1930 and her first novel, The Country Girls, is credited as breaking the silence on sexual matters and social issues in Ireland. The book was banned, burned and denounced from the pulpit following it publication, leading to O’Brien leaving Ireland and settling in London where she now lives.

Calls have been made for the state to acquire the house and develop it into a writers retreat and museum but to date there has been no formal government statement on the proposal.